What a 3 kHz peak (and other FR features) actually sounds like

Frequency regions map to repeatable listening impressions, and learning a few landmarks makes graphs immediately useful. The 2-4 kHz region is where the ear canal naturally amplifies sound and where vocal presence lives: a broad peak beyond the target there reads as shouty, honky, or fatiguing at higher volumes, while a dip reads as polite, distant, or 'veiled': vocals sit behind the instruments.

Sub-bass (20-60 Hz) is rumble you feel more than hear; a sub-bass shelf above the target gives physical weight to electronic music and film scores without muddying vocals. Mid-bass (60-200 Hz) is punch and body. Too much bleeds into the lower mids and makes everything sound thick or boomy.

The 5-8 kHz region controls sibilance: 'S' and 'T' sounds turn piercing when a narrow peak sits there. Slightly above, 8-12 kHz contributes 'air' and the sense of detail; elevated treble is often perceived as higher resolution in short demos, which is worth knowing when a shop demo sounds impressively 'detailed'.

Two caveats: narrow peaks are more objectionable than broad tilts of the same height, and the treble region is exactly where measurement rigs are least reliable and unit variation is highest, so treat any single narrow treble spike on a graph as a hint to listen for, not a fact.