The dependence of spectral‐shape discriminations upon presentation level was studied using stimuli consisting of a bandpass noise and a less intense pure tone. The level of the noise band was held constant (+10 dB) relative to the level of the tone, and the minimum change in the intensity of the tone was measured across a range of presentation levels. The results demonstrated that, for tonal frequencies located near the upper edge of the noise band, subject’s optimal performance occurred at intermediate presentation levels and became considerably poorer at high levels. This result is in accordance with upward spread of masking and emphasizes that presentation level is an important parameter to consider when measuring discriminations of complex spectral shapes.