The Absurdity of it All

I've seen Iron Maiden 4 times not once with ear protection. Yes I am a complete zipperhead. My 3rd time was @ MSG in 2016 and my ears literally rang for 4 days. I have lost quite a bit of trust in my ears, but it was so worth it, LOL!

But I can still hear well enough to hear that sweet sound of my Dynaudios and know when I added my Bifrost 2 there was a huge audible improvement!

Possibly of interest: "We propose that age-related hearing loss may be associated with poor micronutrient status. Two of the most common vitamin inadequacies in the elderly are vitamin B-12 and folate (15).....The cochlea of the inner ear is where much of the hearing loss in the elderly is believed to occur (23). The cochlea is highly vascularized and is supported by a single artery. High homocysteine concentrations associated with low vitamin B-12 status, low folate status, or both were shown to be a risk factor for cerebral, coronary, and peripheral vascular disease (24). Perhaps high homocysteine concentrations associated with poor vitamin B-12 or folate status also adversely affect blood flow to the cochlea. Low vitamin B-12 status may also impair myelination of the neurons in the cochlear nerve...." https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/69/3/564/4694205

@jpeters568  

Thank you for being open to considering these things.

I live with changes, adjustments, components in my system for a while so as to become numb to the changes. I need to hear the thing for what it is, what I like and what I dislike. That takes some time for my brain to shift to the new norm. Then I make changes. 

It's not like its a lot of work anyway, I'm always listening to something be that radio - while working or driving, my DAP if on the subway or traveling, mostly vinyl when "enjoying music" and for convenience (and cost), digital when I try to seek out new music.

Did some listening tests - speed listening yes - to a bunch of vintage amps that a friend had going through his place for one reason or another. Differences were not subtle. Ranging from bright and thin, to dark and bloated, from dynamic to a bit flat. It also happens that he has a ton of speakers in his place of differing designs, styles and sizes. (which I built). The "winner" of the amps, the one we preferred changed with which speaker it was mated with. So, decisions were made about which amp should stay based on removing the least interesting one of the bunch as well as the most "exciting". Interesting side note. I built him a pair of 8" full range horns (took some convincing as his main speakers were British stand mounts) My reasoning was I could build him another 3 way, but why?  He already has one, why not go in a completely different direction and see what you think? He agreed to the 74"X14"X17" double back loaded horns. Are they particularly "accurate" from a measurement stand point? No. I also convinced him to buy a Heathkit tube amp from 1963, as a cheap experiment. I replaced the main power cap for him to get rid of the severe hiss, that was it. Again, flawed? for sure! However, the synergy between the big horns and that little 8watt amp is stunning. So much air moving, so open and transparent, so lively and present, yet in no way fatiguing at all. 

In that set up, he was running some rather "cheap" interconnects. I built some new wires for him (nothing extravagant, but properly made) and they did reduce the noise (better shielding) and were more "open"in the presentation.

A lot of gear has gone through his place during the past year (covid...) but the Heathkit and the double horns remain. But, they can not be used as a reference tool, because their signature is so unique. He has 10 pairs of various enclosures for 4" drivers. They are all vastly different. The electronics are for sure the biggest part of the listening, tweaks to a lesser degree for me, but it all matters and all adds up.

After spending time setting up a system, tweaks and all, if you were to suddenly remove all the little details, there would be a void left in the sonics.

@edgewound    

What?

Tweaks are not something that have to be overcome!

Lets see... The components need to sit on top of something. Hmmm, do they sit atop a rickety old chair, or a solid platform?

Tweak one...

Now, to better control vibration, both inside and outside of the gear, some kind of isolation would be useful.

Tweak two...

These things all run on electricity. Not sure how clean the power is in my place, so some kind of protection/filter is likely a good idea.

Tweak three...

Now, I have to connect these components to the power. I'm going to get a well made cord that uses good materials and is properly assembled as opposed to some wire that was thrown together with plastic encasing it which was done by a giant machine designed to produce the most cost effective product possible.

Tweak four...

Now, I have to run the signal from the source to my amplifier. Now I know that small electrical signals are subject to interference from electrical noise, so I'm going to get some good interconnects that are shielded to preserve the integrity of that tiny signal. Don't want it getting muddied or distorted by this noise.

Tweak five...

My speakers are stand mounts. Going to need to put them on something. That sideboard is not such a great idea, its a big open box, and I'm sure the sound isn't going to benefit from that big open "bass bas" underneath. Stands are probably a good idea.

Tweak six...

Those speakers are going to be shaking a lot. Think I'm going to put something between them and the stand so as they vibrate, they move in such a way as to not fight with themselves. Want as much clarity as possible from them.

Tweak seven...

Going to have to connect them to my amp. They are really efficient, so its probably a good idea to buy some decent speaker cable. They are going to enhance any distortions because of their sensitivity, so no lamp cord here. 

Tweak eight...

So edgewound, explain to me where the hurdle is here that needs to be jumped, or overcome?

I qualify for old guy at 72. I never wore ear protection at rock concerts. The army never gave me ear protection to shoot a rifle. Have bad hearing but the one thing that some old guys have is a lot of disposable income...!The wife and I had no kids so gotta spend it on something. Have been buying back the vinyl I sold 30 years ago to go digital...!