The short answer
There is no single average that applies to every adult male speaker. Published results depend on the population, language and speaking task; a reference band is a comparison aid, not a target.
These values describe fundamental frequency, or F0. They do not measure resonance, vocal weight, attractiveness or vocal health.
Why averages differ
Studies use different languages, age groups and speaking tasks. Reading a fixed passage can produce a different average from spontaneous conversation or a sustained vowel.
- Age and puberty history
- Language and habitual intonation
- Emotion, loudness and social setting
- Microphone and analysis method
How to compare your result
Use at least three relaxed ten-second samples and compare their medians. A single unusually low or high reading may reflect the sentence, room noise or an unstable sample.
Natural overlap is normal. A result outside a broad average is not evidence that anything is wrong.
Work through an example
Suppose three comparable recordings show medians of 118, 123 and 120 Hz. Describe the result as approximately 120 Hz under those conditions. Choosing only the lowest sample would misrepresent the session; these numbers are an illustration, not population norms.
Check what a comparison actually means
Compare reading with reading and conversation with conversation. A study's mean and this tool's median summarize data differently. Neither a difference from an average nor overlap with another group establishes identity or a medical problem.
Sources and further reading
Sources checked: