hearing loss and amp choices


Found out yesterday that I have about 25-30% hearing loss in the right ear. Anything around 4000 hz and I display a sharp drop.

Currently looking for a new integrated such as the Vsi75, Sim Audio 700 series, Pass int 25, Belles Aria Sig and my distributor recommended the Rotel RA 6000 series which they are about to carry this  month.

The speakers are the very neutral and flat Studio 100's by ProAc.

My question revolves around the fact of hearing loss vs. expense for SQ. In other words what am i doing to be looking at a 10 or 16 thousand dollar int if my hearing won't appreciate it?

Do I look for something more articulated like the Rotel? Can I appreciate the nuances of tube gear with their richness?

Had Primare stuff (I-30) prior to this but it blew during a power surge and to tell the truth, thought the sound was a bit sterile with this series with little mid bass weight. Now I wonder if all this doesn't matter and should be looking for something with articulation that previously may have thought as "cold".

Just exploring what some of you may have experienced with any hearing loss in regard to previously perceived perceptions to SQ.

arro222

Showing 1 response by markmuse

Oh boy. Good topic. I can’t hear anything above 8k and I have tinnitus, but that doesn’t stop me from really enjoying music. I have several things to say about what has been said so far:

• Hearing aids: most of them are truly junk. They, and audiologists, focus on boosting perception of the human voice - all else be damned including the quality of that sound. If you think bad audio sounds bad, you haven’t heard bad yet. I have two pairs ($6000 and $6500 - one is Phonak Audeo) sitting in a drawer because they are irritating at best, and listening to music with them is like going back into the stone age of solid state music repro (think bad transistor radio in 1962). And if you have tinnitus like I do, they just aggravate the hell out of it. I am aware of Widex but have not been able to listen to them yet. Maybe....

• Audio systems: I guess equalizers might be helpful, but I find that even with my hearing loss I am easily able to discern the quality of gear and recording quality without making adjustments like that. A few specifics: The top tier series of Fyne speakers have a presence control that includes your hearing loss frequencies, though I keep mine at slightly minus of neutral. GaN based amplifiers are very clean in the upper mid to high frequencies which make it easier to perceive (avoid Pass and the like). Very high resolution gear, like ARC preamps, are also helpful (I have a REF 6SE on order). Yes, tubes!

Bottom line for me is I really enjoy quality music reproduction in spite of my hearing problems. Hope this helps.