Ears, amps and Speakers.

[Pieoftheday]

Hello mikmas,

Thanks for your reply.

These fateful events that can affect our lives, yours a healthy swim in the sea and mine a visit to the NHS to have my blocked ear syringed has given us these problems.

Yourself and pieoftheday seen to have had positive results from these hearing aids. I might further investigate, but the thought of it is making me feel old and also I'm waiting to see if it receeds, but having had hit for 5 months now I'm feeling slilghty pessimistic.

3 year wait? It's probably 5 years now!

A graphic EQ seems like the next and correct logical step, I don't mind spending around £100 or so on one provinding it can be moved on later.

Rob, I waited just 3 weeks, got a referral from my gp to Specsavers, had the test and got the hearing aid there and then

[Parcelmonkey]

Hello walpurgis & pigmy pony,

Thanks for your replies.

Have either of you ever heard my Kefs or similar Kefs of the period?

They (852s) actually sound like they might be similar to my KEFs, but I would like more civilised mids/highs. If there's detail, the KEFs will try to find it.


Walpurgis:

An EQ is beginning to feel like a necessary evil.

Pigmy Pony:

"I suffer from a constant high-pitched whistle in my ears, which most of the time I barely notice".
That sounds very similar to mine, most of the time when busy I don't notice it, but in quiet situations I do and after a period of HiFi listening.

It is really annoying having Tinnitus. I've suffered with the constant ringing for over 5 years now but in that time it has subsided quite significantly as you become accustomed to it. A little trick I use if it becomes acute, a slight punch on the side of your chin will change the frequency. Weird but it works for me!

I also listen to my music on occasions for up to 14 hours. Not really loud, around 75db without it affecting the Tinnitus, I found a speaker change helped enormously.

Good luck in your quest & yes distraction really can help take your mind of the constant ringing. Just remember not to punch yourself too hard!

[struth]

Had tinnitus for 30 years. It was an industrial accident. Took a long time to get used to it but you do. I usually leave tv on when I go to sleep to mask it. Just on quiet but it works. It's inclined to get worse if listening too much

[Lawrence001]

Not tinnitus for me thanks goodness, but I have a dull feeling like a blockage in my right ear, a volume level imbalance in the highs (they seem to come mainly from the left side) and a crackle from certain notes sung by sopranos. First started on landing after a return flight to Shanghai. Went to a specialist who did sound frequency and pressure tests and said there was no significant measurable problem. I had intense pain in that ear for a while during a flight yesterday, not had that before.

Regarding speakers, I found the 952/MD to be very smooth sounding in the highs so I would take a punt even if it's the metal dome version. The 852 might also be a Robin Marshall design like the 952.

Sent from my BLN-L21 using Tapatalk

[Pigmy Pony]

Yes I think Robin Marshall went on to develop the Epos ES14, very highly regarded in its day, and possibly another worth considering.

[Lawrence001]

Possibly consider the early copper dome Celestion SL6, I think they have quite a smooth (low?) treble output, but they're a bugger to drive so you'll need a few watts.

Sent from my BLN-L21 using Tapatalk

[Macca]

There's an assumption being made that the problem lies in the high frequencies whereas my hunch is it is in the presence band so changing speakers won't make any difference.


If you are over 40 likelihood is that you can't hear over 15Khz anyway so a speaker that has strong output above that frequency won't sound any different to you than one that does not.


Added to which people often complain about 'bright' speakers but when you look at the measurements they are flat all the way to 20Khz, the same as pretty much any multi-way speaker. Perception of 'brightness' is due to bass levels being too low compared to mid and top, or distortion in the sound originating from upstream of the loudspeaker. Usually the latter.

[alphaGT]

I use equalizers all the time in live sound reenforcement. Quality equalizers don’t have to cost a fortune, and they do less damage to the sound than many believe. They are best used sparingly, just barely nudging certain ranges from flat. Equalizers were used in the making of every recording we listen to, so, they can’t be too bad? Recording studios use some very fine parametric equalizers, I’ve considered trying one on my stereo. While it may cost you a bit of air on the signal, it can correct a lot of errs. Due to room shapes and sizes, ceiling heights, coverings, wife acceptance factors, furniture and decor, it can prove impossible to solve all our placement problems. So for the same reason I use one at a venue, to overcome shortcomings of the room, it may be wise to use one at home? Perhaps a PA type EQ could be an affordable choice? A used DBX, or Ashley, can be had in your price range. Some may have RCA jacks? Most will be XLR.

I’ve had speakers that seem to shout at you! The louder it got, the shoutier it got. And I bought a pair of Vandersteen 2Cs and they didn’t get louder, they got bigger! The image grew as it got louder, most desirable quality.

Russell

[Pigmy Pony]

Could it also be the listening room, maybe higher frequencies bouncing off surfaces and clashing with each other? There are probably so many variables, that all you can do is try stuff in your room and see.

I was told by some 'expert' years ago, that the speaker that impresses immediately is the one most likely to 'grate' with extended listening, while tonally less exciting ones will probably be a more satisfying sound in the long term. Was this crap or did he have a point?

[jandl100]

A cheaper option would be a graphic equaliser, that would let you adjust frequency bands until you find a balance that does not aggravate your condition. I know it isn't exactly purist but you can get high quality units from Klark Teknik if you are especially picky about such things. Although I'd start by buying a cheapo used one to experiment with first.

+1

I currently have hearing issues due to side effects from a summer flu virus.
Blocked Eustachian tubes (and maybe other inner ear issues) mean my hearing sensitivity is down in both ears, more so in the left ear, and I hear treble distortion (tinnitus) when the sound level is above moderate.

I happened to have a Behringer DEQ2496 on my spares shelf, and that has helped enormously with a quite carefully tuned in treble cut as well as left/right balance adjustment.
(Previous experience showed that the Behringer is a nicely transparent device, especially used in pure digital mode but is still good when using the onboard ADC and DACs).

Also, try headphones - with my own current ear issues they are by far the best way to listen to music.
The last couple of days I have dug out an old (but beautiful) Rotel RX-603 receiver as a headphone driver - not only does it look great but its balance and tone controls work well to alleviate my (hopefully temporary) hearing problems.