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My father is an 88 year old audiophile who has suffered some moderate hearing loss. He no longer enjoys his big Naim/ Pro Ac system. Two years ago I bought him a Schiit Modi/Magni system and hooked it up to a nice Project cd transport. He enjoyed listening to cds on it until recently. He has always used dynamic headphones, specifically Grado and Sennheiser. Two decades ago he had a Stax system.
My question is this; would trying some different types of headphones possibly help him?Perhaps some IEMs or planar magnetic? Maybe go all the way and dish out the cash for a new Stax system. The headphone world is still new to me. Anyone's relevant experience would be appreciated. I know nothing about audiology.
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Cut to razor sounding violins
What exactly is he missing? I have some hearing loss where I am missing some high frequencies. At the same time though I find those upper frequencies uncomfortable to listen to giving a pokey, bright sound. I've tailored my main system to tone those down a bit with my Schiit Loki, tube preamp, neutral sounding cartridges, amp and speakers. I have Sennheiser Momentum headphones that I use occasionally which I like. I auditioned a host of Grado headphones and found them all too bright for me, although I love their cartridges.
Find out what he is able to hear and see what products might work well in that range. The Loki is in my main system between preamp/amp, but I suppose it could work with headphones too.
Does he have a hearing aid? He could work with a good audiologist to contour it to give a reasonable result
I just bought a pair of FiiO FH7 IEM earphones and I like them a whole lot. They come with three sets of filters to augment different parts of the audio frequency spectrum. These things are really awesome in my opinion and they're quite comfortable, too.
Happy New Year!
John Elison
My 2 cents is that more expensive equipment wont address the issue. Hearing loss. IMHO I would start with something that allows adjustment of frequencies he might not be hearing which leads him to less enjoyment.
Lots of products that allow you to adjust the sound to his preference.
I have normal hearing and things are way more enjoyable with my BBE sonic maximizer. Its more than an eq and does other things. Imagine a group on stage with the lights out. The BBE is like turning on the lights.
https://www.amazon.com/BBE-282iR-Maximizer-Unbalanced-Connections/dp/B00FRLB87Q/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=bbe+sonic+maximizer&qid=1577559377&sr=8-9
Belari makes one and Schiit has the Loki IRRC which is just an eq.
Start there before jumping into expensive equipment.
Said another way, I recommend this even if you don't have hearing loss. I was a pure purist and would never dream of running the signal into another box. But now I just prefer better sound regardless of how I have to cheat.
Cut to razor sounding violins
That is an excellent suggestion! I agree and will start with a Schiit Sys and then progress further if it helps. I price the Bellari at $99 and the BBE at $149. All reasonable.
I too was a "purist" for years until I stumbled across a home theater speaker selector that added zero to the sound.
I will report back in two weeks. Thank you!
Pretty sure the $149 was the xlr version of the BBE.
Here is the $99 one that is rca.
https://www.amazon.com/BBE-282iR-Maximizer-Unbalanced-Connections/dp/B00FRLB87Q/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=bbe+sonic+maximizer&qid=1577559377&sr=8-9
Also the Schitt loki might be the best choice since its just an EQ and will fit with his existing equipment.
Good luck and also its not audiophile but you might want to look into bone conduction headphones. My mom who has 2 hearing aids really seemed to appreciate the bone conduction ear phones more than the highend normal phones I gave her.
Cut to razor sounding violins
Another great suggestion. Was there any particular brand of bone conduction headphone that worked for your mom? Glancing at Amazon, it looks like the usual mish mash of made up brand names. I suppose reading several dozen reviews might help.
I will also research to see if any of the big name headphone companies bother with bone conduction.
Your time and attention is greatly appreciated.
She has the Aftershocks Treks or something like that. Just a bluetooth model. Here is a wired version
Cut to razor sounding violins
I think these will only work if the hearing loss is to otosclerosis, a condition of the middle ear.
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