Hard of Hearing Audiophile.


This is for my hard of hearing audio peers. I lost a lot of hearing from exposure to big guns in the military. Wasn't bad until my fifties then caught up with me and pretty much killed the hobby. With the virus quarantine, I set out to build a little system that would serve me. I was motivated by enjoying Spotify through my JBL 200 Life bluetooth buds. 
I went through four sets of speakers, six integrated amps and a set of headphones in my quest. I have Widex hearing aids and they do have a less than perfect Music setting. Kind of harsh and peaked in the upper midrange but not totally bad for live performances and listening in the car with road noise. 
For my audio system, I quickly realized that I had to listen through these hearing aids to get decent sound so my goal was to find something that was neutral to easy going and not peaky or harsh. 
I went through several sets of speakers. Got a good deal on some PSB XB bookshelf's but they lacked the body and bottom end I wanted. Klipsch M600 were too forward and brash. After reading some reviews, I settled on ELAC Debut 62 speakers. These are great $600 speakers. I later added two eight inch Outlaw M8 subwoofers and they really added to the sound quality and the PSB monitors were very nice with the subs. I kept both the PSB XBs and the Elacs.  I settled on Audience Ohno interconnects. They got a good review in Absolute Sound and are excellent interconnects. I'm using 3130 Mogami OFC speaker cables nicely terminated to look professional. Conductor size came out to about 9AWG. (two 12 gauge on each leg) The sub cables are some Belden 8412 with Canare F10 RCAs Terminated by me. Good sub cable but sucks as an interconnect. I cant speak highly enough of adding the Outlaw M8 subwoofers. It made a huge difference in the system. 
Sitting on a wooden shelf, I slipped an 18"x18" Ceramic tiles under subs. Seemed to tighten up the bass a fraction. 
I had a OPPO 93 DVD player and it is my CD source. 
Amps are where I had trouble. Luckily, I discovered the Yamaha S801 integrated, and it's calm honest influence makes the entire system sound really good to me. One of Steve Guttenberg's favorites along with the PSB XB speakers.
I passed on the Cambridge 100 receiver for being dead sounding. Denon PMA800 was nice but no sub out. Outlaw receiver had a characteristic sound to me and music seemed not to escape the front of the speakers. I ordered an IOTA  integrated from England and couldn't get it to work for me sonically.  The Vincent 500 had a nice midrange but lacking in bass control and fitness in the details. Parasound 200 integrated and great bass and the remote was the absolute best I've ever seen, treble, bass and balance being adjustable from your listening position and you can see the bar easily from, in my case eight feet away. Too harsh and forward for me. 
I found a used set of HiFi Man headphones for $130 on Ebay and they join the mix. 
This setup is in my garage/work shop. I got some foam sound material from Amazon and glued it to the wall behind the system. My speaker stands are a very sturdy work counter. I have limitations. The speakers can be set out from the wall one foot max. 
Thats been my adventure. If you have hearing problems, just experiment and look for the neutral sounding equipment that other may think are not exciting enough. For me it works. I don't know if any other hearing aid has a music setting or not.  I am super happy with my enjoyable system now. I even got a stamp of approval from an audiophile friend with good hearing. 
My thanks to Crutchfield for their generous patience with my returns and ditto for Audio Advisor. I expected to be red tagged as a return abuser but it never happened. 
Remember that my hearing is damaged and your mileage may vary. Objets in the mirror are closer than they appear.

fredcdobbs

Showing 2 responses by asvjerry

fredcdobbs...You're just subject to the same limitations that many here are subject to, but are loathe to admit....imho.  Yours truly as well....;)

Tinnitus for me is a consistent non-varying 'hiss'; ignorable when occupied, but becomes my version of 'counting sheep' @ bedtime....

That, and todays' visit to an audiologist confirmed major mid-range loss in both ears; low and high Hz are 'acceptable', but mids....blotto...major dB down....

Getting fitted tomorrow for a pair of Phonak Audeo Marvel B90's.

Since they get programed for my state of being, I'm definitely going to query the nice audiologist about how the initial eq is done, to see if 'flat response' means the same for them as for me.

The Audeos' do have an 'onboard eq', but it's pretty basic compared to the 1/3 octave eqs' I have at my disposal. But one of the features of said equalizers is the means of adjusting themselves (and my equipment) to 'run the room' with flat response...within reasonable limits, of course....

Now....I've gotten used to listening to said space with my damaged ears.

It ought to be 'interesting' to learn and hear what I've apparently not been hearing previously.  Now, there's an opportunity in that....

Maybe I'll have to play EVERYTHING I've got to 'learn' them all over again. *L*

Divine torture, of some sort....;)

I wear 'roadie' ear plugs to concerts, anyway.  It's not the performance that's an issue for me, it's the 'pink noise' of the cheering crowd that's an annoyance for me.

Enjoy the music despite ourselves....;)

Cheers, J
@bigwave1...*G*  Thanks for the advice, tho I may have to 'pick 'n choose' amongst those...and perhaps the 2 cardiologists that have a vested interest in me....;)
TAVR with an 'onboard' defib/pacemaker...the latter as part of a volunteer study nationwide study with 499 subjects and me. *S*
'New models require test drivers', and I was happy to do so.
During my rather brief therapy, I'd occasionally skip a beat or three, then resume.  Totally unnoticed, except for the RN @ the monitor....

She'd startle, look @ me....look back @ her screen...walk over...

"Did you feel that?  Feel what?
"Your heart stopped for a couple of beats."  Beats me, felt nothing...*shrug*  I'm sure you'll let me know if I don't restart....if I haven't noted such already...

The onboard unit merely monitors me.  If I miss a beat or so, the defib 'taps' my heart with the pacemaker. If I stop and stay stopped, the defib will start low @ first, rather than flooring me with the big jolt.
That...it saves for non-response to the small tap or two....

Long story, shortened to a novella:
I already take a number of drugs daily.  Eliquis and Entresto both, although both labels say they shouldn't be taken together, blood thinners, anti-chlorestrol, anti-inflam, anti-this, that, the other....D3, potassium....
to boost my resistance, fish oil, supplements...

'Breakfast #1 is 11 tabs, caps, plus an inhaler.  #2 is food.

I'm a walking lab rat.  To add anything to the routine, I consult the cardios 1st.

"You shouldn't smoke, or drink so much coffee..."

True...I shouldn't put Southen Comfort in the coffee, either.
If you want me to stop smoking, help legalize hemp in NC.
But the bright side is....These 'self-meds' keep me from strangling the random stranger, whether or not they deserve to receive such.

I bruise if you look at me hard.  The slightest scratch will make me bleed like I've hit something serious...

"You OK?!"  Yeah, just hydralic 'ooze'...let me know if I create a puddle...

If I didn't have the sense of humor that I posess, weird as it may appear...
Then you would and should be worried...

...but I'll thank you again for the suggestions. *S ;)

Cheers, J