Great subject! I started noticing tinnitus several years ago. I went to have my hearing evaluated, and found that I struggled to hear high frequency tones above 8 kHz. I was bummed. But then I sort of “self-evaluated” my music listening, by listening to familiar music from the past that I used as demo material 30-40 years ago, to try to identify what might be different/missing. I can absolutely still pick out areas of the songs that were points I’d evaluate for sound quality, but I also noticed certain high frequency notes in some songs were “missing”, or just lower in level relative to the rest of the sounds. Last year I upgraded from Magnepan 1.7i to 3.7 speakers, which I had been putting off, thinking that the addition of the ribbon tweeter would be lost on me. That turned out to be false. I can hear and appreciate the improvement that ribbon makes in the sound presentation. How? I have no idea, but I’m glad I went for it! I’ve also been evaluating some amplifiers, to choose the best fit for my speakers/room/preferences. I can CLEARLY hear the differences between these amplifiers in my system. I’ve done phono cartridge comparisons in the last few years, and I had no problem sorting out the sounds of those. I’m in the process of working to improve what I use for streaming, and I can hear differences in quality between the music services I’m trying. I just started a Qobuz subscription to try that as well. My point is that even with the knowledge that my hearing is in decline, I can still evaluate differences in quality, and I still enjoy good sound from my system.
Does Hearing Loss Disqualify Me from Audiophiledom?
For one thing, it makes it really challenging to take advice from the experts with good ears. As a result of loss in the higher register, tinitits and unbalanced hearing, I tend to go for dynamics and soundstage as opposed to accuracy and subtleties. How do others who suffer from hearing issues "offset" their challenges? Can we still be in the club?
Current Rig - Bluesound Node 2i > Danafrips Ares II > Freya + > Krell Duo 300 XD > Forte IVs / SVS PB 4000. In case you have suggestions...
And yes, the Forte's can be a bit bright and fatiguing with certain music.
Showing 2 responses by krelldreams
@gruvjet : I doubt there is a Krell amp ever made that would be uncomfortable driving Maggies (how they may sound is a different matter)… I haven’t heard them all, of course, but I have heard many. One of my favorites was a KSA 250. I had auditioned newer models during the time that I owned it, but that one was best, overall, in my opinion. The amp I’m using now that sounds the best (so far) in my room, in my system, with my music, at the volume level at which I listen, is a Music Reference RM 10. I even preferred it to Music Reference’s own RM 200, which I purchased new from Music Reference. |