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
   Hearing loss is heartbreak for everyone. Comes on so gradually for most but those interested in good sound from their audio systems and what sounds good their ears have a higher regard for subtle sounds.
   Hearing loss is a natural process of aging. It is accelerated by longtime exposure to high volume sound. Most experience loss first in the higher frequencies. Inability to understand conversation in a noisy environment, such as in a bar or at a party. Your hearing loss, aside from the aging process, is also due to loud sounds exposed to in the military.So, multiple ranges may be affected.
  Please don't think that I am assuming that you have not done everything you can to improve your hearing and have investigated the best hearing aid options for your loss. But, a detailed audiogram of your hearing ability across the whole range of frequencies is a vital tool. I also have some hearing loss from playing in rock bands at a young age and the aging process has added to that. Good luck to you and I commend you with your efforts to achieve the best possible.

   One comment about amps to use with PSB speakers..... I also use PSB speakers with two 10" subs. Before getting the PSB speakers I got a NAD integrated amp thinking it would be an upgrade to the amp I was using with my former Klipsch Reference speakers. I was disappointed. Sounded like someone put a blanket over the speakers.
   Then I went back to the dealer who sold me the NAD amp and auditioned it with some PSB speakers. What a difference! Seems that NAD and PSB are or were sister companies. So if you decide to change amps don't rule out NAD. Sure, they don't stack up to all the rave reviews of others but the do have synergy with PSB. Some models have a second pre out so connecting subs is easier.

(note to EBM: this may be too lengthy for you :) ). Thanks to the others here for their ability to understand the issue at hand! To all others, I apologize in advance if this message is too lengthy.

Profile: Valve-based Audiophile (whatever that means), Board Certified Otolaryngologist-Head / Neck Surgeon for 27 years ("ENT" physician), many, many past/current 2x/month LOUD thrash,speed,black,doom metal/rock/eastern indian/folk rock and classical music and firearms exposures - since Hendrix (51 yrs ago) to the present, although COVID-19 cancelled everything since 2/2020! Began wearing custom/professional hearing protection 20 years ago - better late than never.
There are many more like us with this issue - with SIGNIFICANT mid to high frequency hearing loss that impairs what I used to listen to at age 15 on my parents Thorens/valve MacIntosh setup. The mindset of the here and now is accept what limitations you have and go with that - knowing that it’s never going to sound like what your memory may remind you of.

I also wear hearing aids - not something I prefer, but in certain social situations it’s essential. I don’t wear them when listening to music (live or otherwise) and for the best listening environment I rely on my Sennheiser HD650 powered by either a WOO or other headphone amp). Headphones are themselves limiting, but an often sonic refuge.

I have CONSTANT, intensity variable high pitched tinnitus with which I try to ignore and mostly do - BTW there is NO effective treatment for this.

You also seem to have experienced the frustration that I did - having gone through amps, speakers, etc. to achieve some sort of "normalcy" in listening. It’s a compromise to be sure, and without driving yourself crazy you need to find that "acceptable" interpretation of the music that meets your new, realistic expectations - as it looks like you have done. Kudos to you, sir.
I have no evidence to this, but I believe that audio manufacturers are aware that there is a certain significant population that have our issues of hearing loss. When our numbers become large and vocal enough I envision that they will develop gear that can be (much like all high end hearing aids) tune-able to our specific and individual frequency losses, in an attempt to recreate a more youthful listening experience (it in fact, that’s ever possible).
Contact me by PM if you need any details/other questions !

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
asvjerry,
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