I spent $450 on mid-range earphones (Shure SE315) and custom-made sleeves at an audiologist.

Even though I'm old and have some hearing-loss from the military and outdoor activities, I am able to tell the difference between sound files encodings on familiar music. Also, I can hear on my Macbook Pro when the amplifier circuits get power - there's an audible hiss.

If I can hear it, someone younger can almost certainly hear it, if they've trained themselves in how to listen and don't try and multitask.