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Blind testing a 20 Pitch Difference

Change the target here:  50c  20c  10c  5c  2c  1c 

Purpose

How good are you at hearing pitch (frequency) differences?

Files being tested

20c Up 20c Down 440Hz Flat

The first audio file plays back a 440 Hz sine tone characterized by a sudden increase in pitch occuring after 1s (20cent in this case). The second file introduces a decrease in pitch by the same amount. The third one is flat.

For better results, use headphones to perform this test. Avoid using multiple speakers (a single speaker is OK) as the relative phase between the speakers will introduce frequency-dependent level changes. These changes in perceived loudness may help you to detect inaudible frequency changes.

The Test

20c Up 20c Down 440Hz Flat
Listen to [?] then vote — multiple guesses not allowed (your vote triggers a new draw)

To pass a blind test, you will need to perform 10 trials at least, obtain a high score and reach a high confidence level: 95% is standard to rate statistical significance. It means that your score outperforms random guesses by 95%. There is still a probability that you just got lucky though, 5%. To reduce such probability to 1%, keep testing until you reached a confidence level of 99%.

To make the test easier, one can use sawtooth tones instead of sine waves: the presence of harmonics in the sawtooth increases our perception of a change in pitch. To switch to the easier sawtooth test, click here.

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Take up the challenge

  • Find the smallest difference in sound levels you can detect. 
    The Level Series:  6dB  3dB  1dB  0.5dB  0.2dB  0.1dB 

  • Find the highest frequency you can reliably hear.
    The Frequency Series:  10kHz 11k 12k 13k 14k 15k 16k 17k 18k 19k 20kHz

  • Find the smallest difference in pitch (frequency) you can hear. 
    The Pitch Series:  50c  20c  10c  5c  2c  1c 

  • Find the shortest timing difference you can reliably hear. NEW
    The Timing Series:  1ms  2ms  5ms  10ms  20ms  50ms  100ms 

  • Find the highest dynamic range offered by your listening environment. 
    The Dynamic Range Series:  36dB  42dB  48dB  54dB  60dB  66dB  72dB  78dB 

  • Do you have the absolute hearing ability? 
    The Perfect Pitch Blind Test:  C Scale  Chromatic 

  • Are your ears sensitive to Absolute Phase? 
    The Absolute Polarity Blind Test:  Here 

  • Can you hear a difference between 16-bit and 8-bit audio files? 
    The 16-bit v/s 8-bit Blind Test

For sound and studio engineers