Frequency Response for head phones?

Question

Would a head phone with 20Hz-20kHz or another one with 16k-20kHz be better? I know the human is sensitive to 20Hz-20kHz but would a larger range be better? Or worse? Or is it not much of a difference?

Answer 1

The range isn't nearly as important as how flat the frequency response of the range is.  For instance, if the range is 20-20kHz but it's flat to +/-0.5 dB, it will sound much more natural than 16-20kHz that is only flat to +/- 3.0 dB.  Since the latter 'phones will vary the sound by a factor of 2 (dB is a log scale), that means that some frequencies will sound twice as loud as others at the same volume.  So, a high guitar might be twice as loud as the base, or vice versa, on the latter 'phones, where the first 'phones would sound much more natural with the smaller variation due to frequency.

Go for the flattest response and don't worry about those last 4 Hz...