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.
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.
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.
@dadork...not until you mentioned it, and the back of my mind dredged up "..tail on the donkey!", "Pinna yo' ears back, jack..." before hitting the mute.....
Even if you consider everything to be "normal", it's a fun little exercise that tells you how different every person hears their system. Ears stick out? Pin 'em back while listening, or if not so much, move them forward, as a little experiment.
You'll be surprised at the difference it makes, and how subjective listening is and what makes for a good system.
I would have to say this is why I like KEF's, ultra articulate; and Magnepan's, omni directional sound. Also my preference for solid state. And that with box speakers I always add a rear firing driver. My favorite for this driver is the Fostex: FE168EZ 6.5" Full Range Sigma Series.
And if you are a slave to other peoples technology, just let this last observation go, K?
@nonoise...poor guy, must be one of the 'old 901 collective' whose front driver cooked unnoticed....spent their later years in 'forced reflection'....*tsk*
I don’t see or have any issues , and yes the speaker type can have a direct correlation how you hear it a standard direct reflecting speaker has the most potential issues with reflection ,I have room panels to the rear ,up behind, and on first reflection ,as well as in front rug for bounce reflection all this helps with hearing without all these added reflections , the MBL Omni directional speaker is the easiest for the ear to except for it generates all around and if you ever heard them setup properly would be amazed.
Yeah, you do want to block certain noises from the side and the back if your in an imperfect room. You’re just not reading the posts here, you’re not getting it.
Your response indicates that you have not read any of the posts, and is an auto-knee jerk bleat.
Sorry, but this thread kind of shocks me. Of course, cupping your hands behind your ears will enhance your hearing of sounds directly in front of you; all of these products merely replicate that age-old trick in a hands-free way. Great for eavesdropping on conversations across the room, or for making out dialog on TV if you have old ears and brain and have come to that point where it's difficult to filter the signal from the noise. But for stereo listening? Are you kidding?! I've read many sales pitches for devices that claim to enhance the soundstage which suggest you try cupping your hands behind your ears in order to see what product X (an amplifier, an omnidirectional speaker, a channel crossfeed headphone processing circuit) is intended to cure! Note that the "Earglasses" product advertises as one of its virtues that it "blocks noises that come from your side or your back." You DO NOT WANT TO DO THIS if you want to enjoy the illusion of instrumental placement, soundstage width and depth, "air" around instruments, and even accurately perceived instrumental timbre.
This is the point I was hoping to get to here. If I have to do it because of dinky ears plastered to the side of my head, anyone who wants to take the entire "system" into account, or that is just a bit scientifically curious, should try changing the orientation of their pinnas, cup their hands behind the ears etc.
I can say, after a bit of playing around with throw pillows this morning, that if I wasn’t going to remodel our family room so that I can rotate my system, the best solution for me, without spending a fortune on room mods, would be a high wingback listening chair that suppresses rear reflections.
I realized when I got back into sound systems that I never got the maximum out of my older systems because of this, and used an equalizer to bump up the highs.
But the fact behind this little musing is that since no two ears are the same, meaning that no two listeners are the same, no one is hearing a particular system the same. So all the equipment talk and preferences are based on opinion biased by the listeners body.
Do we all hear about the same? Yep, but we hear differently enough so that we all should realize that, given a "perfect" stereo source, all of us would notice slight differences in the sound of the system. How a system sounds to that group would look like a bell curve of variations in sound, and the middle 60% or so would pretty much agree on certain characteristics.
But for me, I'll now consider that someone may not hear something I do or do not in system sound.
And of course, if you have "normal" ears and enough money that spending a tidy sum on your system and room modifications, this is fairly irrelevant to you, unless your just curious, and want to have the ability to cut others some slack from time to time.
Put headphones on behind the ear. You will be amazed. I have hearing lose and wear hearing aids but fortunately for me, my roommate in college is one of the best ear doctors in the country. The hearing aids are state of the art and highly customizable so music is still with me.
On occasion when I don't feel like wearing the aids I put the headphones on behind my ears and the results are fantastic. Also have hands free for cocktails.
I've often wondered if the different tastes/preferences of different audiophiles for different gear/brands wasn't due in large part to ear size and orientation. If true, how silly when people would criticize another for their different preference as something attributable to ignorance or poor taste. Maybe some of us have silver ears, others platinum ears, others golden ears, etc.!
For those who would use wood, I'd guess if you contact Cardas they'd build you some out of that fancy Myrtle wood, but they wouldn't be cheap. I'm sure the sound difference wouldn't be subtle. 🎶
My hearing is not great so when I'm in a crowded restaurant trying to hear someone across the table, I cup my ears. It works really good. And, yes, I've done it with music with excellent results as well.
This problem cannot be solved by audio equipment. The enhancement in sound is not at all like something that can be done by bumping treble. I know, I have tried using a equalizer in the past.
They make a two-part material for making moldable in ear hearing protection that has neutral sound. Harder material, wood as an example really bumps the upper mids and highs.
A wide pillow would work as @oldhvymec said if your head rests on it, with a semi reflective surface applied to the sides, something as minimal as paper. I use a memory foam pillow behind my head , since my system is set up in the room width wise, that really helps with the acoustics since the rear wall is about 16-18” behind my head.
I use "Clicks" reading glasses, and just taped a piece of cardboard to each side behind my ears angled in about 30°. That works well, so I now have an unobtrusive way to mount something that I can do some experimenting with, and the added benefit of already being accustomed to them being there. Does this make them reading-listening glasses?
I take my hat and glasses off too. Sometimes I forget. That messes with stuff.
I flip my hat around backwards too and tip my head back a bit. Collects pretty clearly. No high back chairs. BUT I have used 2" foam 12-14" wide just the height of my head with great result in a lively room. Just lean against a piece 24" long or so. I suppose cardboard ears could work..
Modify a Burger King Crown, turn it upside down and go from their. :-)
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