Ears, amps and Speakers.

[meBob]

Hello Macca,

Thanks for your reply.

I actually looked at a few graphic EQs on ebay a few weeks ago, one of them a technics for £130, but just felt strangely like I was cheating and it was retrograde step.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Technics-...sAAOSwV01bhuFx

I've never actually used one decent/proper one, I've only used the ones inbuilt into low end systems and they weren't too impressive.

Why did the they die out?

[meBob]

Hello Hifinut,

That's why I'm looking a speakers first, there's a lot of cheap vintage speakers on ebay.

[meBob]

Hello Pieoftheday,

The hearing aid you mentioned might be a possibility, but everything else just seems like professional soothing the brow (with nothing else to offer) just like my doctor.

[Pieoftheday]

Hello Pieoftheday,

The hearing aid you mentioned might be a possibility, but everything else just seems like professional soothing the brow (with nothing else to offer) just like my doctor.

It maybe, plus it's free it's a shame that a consultant could not be of more help,the chap I saw was very helpful , granted there isn't a cure as such but for some it can be managed quite well, hope you can find better help, Jim

[Macca]

Hello Macca,

Thanks for your reply.

I actually looked at a few graphic EQs on ebay a few weeks ago, one of them a technics for £130, but just felt strangely like I was cheating and it was retrograde step.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Technics-...sAAOSwV01bhuFx

I've never actually used one decent/proper one, I've only used the ones inbuilt into low end systems and they weren't too impressive.

Why did the they die out?

Flat Earth philosophy in the 1980s dictated that you wanted as simple a signal path as possible (which obviously does make sense) so equalisers, tone controls and the loudness button all faded away. I agree using one is sub-optimal, except if the result was that you could listen to your system without any problems. I'd try it with the cheap one, and if it works splash out on a quality studio-grade effort from KT.

[walpurgis]

Has anyone heard Monitor Audio R852 speakers, there's a pair I can have if I want them? I'm particularly interested in the mids and treble.

The R852 is a really nice sounding compact speaker and in a totally different league to the Ditton 15. They have a clean, nicely detailed top end and good transparency. I'd say grab them, they have a bit of a following.

Oh. And I dislike graphic equalisers in Hi-Fi systems. They're often employed as a cheap fix for a poorly balanced system, but they tend to flatten the sound.

[mikmas]

I have had tinnitus and partial deafness in my right ear since my early 30s following an ear infection (swimming in polluted sea)

Initially it was quite severe (and really annoying) and at the time I made extensive use of an equaliser to give some balance to my music listening - equalisers are indeed a tad shit under normal circumstances but it was a damn sight better than the alternative.

In the meantime I managed to get an NHS hearing aid (took me nearly 3 years !!!) and this sorted out the problem without the intervention of an equaliser. Interesting that they used an equaliser of sorts to set the hearing aid up for the correct frequency boost

The tinnitus is still there but has faded though time - or maybe my brain has adjusted to cope - never really bothers me now

[Pigmy Pony]

I used to have some Monitor Audio R352, which would probably be a lot further down the range. They were so sweet and unfatiguing at the top end I could listen to them for hours. I wish I'd kept them. They were the non-MD versions (I believe the metal dome ones were brighter). So I imagine the 852's will be tonally similar, but better. Monitor Audio always made a real effort with finish quality too.

I suffer from a constant high-pitched whistle in my ears, which most of the time I barely notice, but when playing music at high-ish volumes, the whistling increases as though to compete. I am beginning to think much of the brightness of my setup is due to this, as when hearing some shockingly high-cost systems, they too sound bright to me when played loud.

My advice would be to 'go for it' with the MA's, providing you can get them for a good price. Then if you decide they are not for you, advertise them on here and I'll buy them. (I'm thinking of upgrading speakers in my second system!)

[meBob]

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.

[meBob]

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.