Don’t want to freak you out…

Some of this has been taken seriously.  Take a look at Flare Audio Ltd.  They have done considerable work on this subject.  It does not appear to be a joke.

@termite 

Oh, I'm not joking. That people would obsess over every aspect of their system and dismiss the physics of anatomy seems odd to me.

Of course our brains compensate as best they can for minor physical differences. But, if people do alter the position of their ears and say they can’t hear the difference, that would be odd.

Just like when I was posting back and forth with Miller Carbon about how, as we get better systems and pay serious attention to listening, we improve our listening skills and improve our hearing. Audiofiles, excuse the pun, are looking for details that other people wouldn’t possibly notice in music.

I'm an artist, and I can tell you for certain that I see things the casual observer does not when looking at something intently. 

By bumping my pinna out a bit, I hear the highs that our systems tend to beam, in my case, by my ears, not into them. So the Flare Audio Ltd little focusing devices would be good for me when watching tv, and my wife and I wouldn’t have to argue about the volume. But I wouldn’t use them when listening to my system, for the same reason I wouldn’t use hearing aids, too much coloration.

Thanks for the note on Flare.

It is interesting that Flare Audio has several devices that modify the structure of the ear and ear canal.  They have one device called Calmer.  It is a soft plastic insert that goes into the ear canal something like an earplug.  The device  effectively changes the shape of the canal.  Flare suggests that it reduces sharp sounds and some forms of distortion.  Don't hold me to this, read their ads.  Some people have reported that they reduces tinnitus and stress caused by load sounds.  I am driven up the wall by tinnitus and thought that I would just try them.  They are soft, easy to install devices with no moving parts and no electronics.  They no not block sound in any obvious way, but I have found that the take the edge off higher frequencies and reduce distortion at higher listening levels.  I'm not even going down they path of why they might do this, but they do.  I don't use them when listening to my system because both transients and high frequency just are not the same..  Guess that is the point of their design.  Hope this is not too far off point.