Well maybe it IS my hearing


Hi everyone,
Lately I've gotten into some lively debates. One thing which I'm afraid we don't take into account enough is our own personal hearing. Truth is there's now way I can hear like I did when I was 20 something. So, quite likely I hear very differently than other A'goners. Just because I personally can't hear a difference in a power cable / tweak doesn't mean you don't. I don't make that claim. 

However I think it is also unfair to accuse me of having an agenda if I can't.


Lastly, if I can't hear a difference, the financial value I place on a more expensive tweak = zero. That's just the way my wallet operates. I'm not buying to impress others. My stereo is not my Mistress whom I must serve with more and more expensive shoes.  I just made her a very pretty red and carbon fiber and aluminum power and she's going to have to be happy with that.


I do take exception to over broad, fact less claims of performance however, or people working very hard to explain to me how wrong a person I must be if I can't hear a difference.


I think this is good for you as well. Buy what your ears tell you have value, and don't be swayed by crowds.


Best,
E
erik_squires
Really a good point.

I recently had an appointment with an audiologist and they compared my hearing levels to 5 years ago.  It looks like I lost some additional hearing in my high frequency levels, which is quite normal for a 70 year old.

I wonder if this might explain why I was unable to hear a difference when the retailer demonstrated a REL S3 with a pair of Vienna Acoustic towers.  I still wonder if I should spend the money to add a pair of REL T/9i's?  The retailer is really honest and I trust him.  He told me today I might be trying to hard to hear the difference.  I do think instead of hearing an increase in bass extension, I might have heard more of a 3 dimensional sound which he says is sound stage.  I also think I heard the vocals sound less harsh, which is the main reason why I am thinking about adding the subs.

Be interested in everyone's opinion, as this group has exceptional knowledge.  However, I must say, I do think this group does split hairs a lot of the time and I wonder if they are like most audiophiles who buy more and more expensive gear so they can pound their chest and say to their buddies, "See what I have!"
Hearing is not just dependant on the "ear". While most hearing issues can be blamed on the "ear", the sensation of aurality is complex. After the "ear", there are numerous pathways that must work in sync. There are numerous nerves that must come together as one and then some cross over from one side of the brain to the other. There are numerous very small nuclei within the brain structure that are then necessary to interpret that data. This does not even include the influence of ingrained memories within our neurons. All of these potential pathways can be affected by microvascular disease, mineral and vitamin fluctuations, trauma, medications, memory loss, etc.

As an analogy, consider the sensation of taste. I am now 50 years old. When I was 30, I sought out the most spicy food imaginable. Now that I am 50, that endorphin rush is no longer worth the pain that it invokes.  Same for vision. I used to be able to drive through the night taking my family on vacation. Now I find it difficult to drive from my house to the corner store 1 mile away at 10pm while raining. To much glare! 

For some of us, the sound is to dull or maybe there is to much glare.  The audio components that we own or test, therefore have multiple pathways of influence on our "hearing" system that can make our perception of sound from one person to the next different enough to be enjoyable or not.

For instance, I find the hum of our home furnace in the winter time very soothing. It brings back memories of sleeping over at my Grandfather's modest house while I was a young boy. My wife wishes we had electric base board that didn't make any noise.

After all of that, I believe the most important link in the chain is ingrained memory. Such that, I think sound which is pleasing based on past pleasure will likely be pleasing in the future and not so dependent on the price of the system that it is played through. Of course, I am not saying that listening to Ravel's Bolero is as good through my cell phone as it is through my main system. The "ear" obviously is the first link, but the end interpretation is much more complex.

However, the fine tweeks that are so often discussed here are really quite impossible to categorize as better or worse because we all interpret the data slightly differently.  

Thanks to Eric for getting me to think about this again.  I shall trust my own ears when it comes to hardware. After all, my "ears" are the ones hearing it.  All the while, recognizing there are a lot of great opinions amongst us that may eventually influence my perception.

Rich
Me (58) - I can't hear the frequencies, but I can hear the dBA changes/timing as well as ever and as well / better than my kids.

What that means in my brain, I do not know. If I leave my upstairs tube amp on in headphone mode to burn in - and go downstairs I hear it.  I hear 1-2 dBA changes.  Kinda humble bragging but it is almost a problem.  I can't tune stuff out so well.  I don't remember hearing any of this stuff till 40+ when there were other priorities. I understand my parts may be worn, but my perception is peaked.  Some of my stuff does not sound as good as my 30 year old Bose stuff - but in my stuff I can hear every word.  It is difficult to say which is better.  

At the time we lived in a place with raised hardwood floors.  I didn't think about it, but there was great sound for little cost.  Reproducing that Costco Bose system on those floors is easily 10X the price now.  

    
Eric, you have instigated some very thought provoking comments,
thank you.

I bring earplugs to Audio Shows because many companies feel 
their equipment needs to be heard at 85+ Db. Those rooms I exit quickly. Gryphon averaged at 92db. I have a phone app. 
 

I can't do loud anymore. 60-70 Dbs is perfect for me.

Tinnitus, hearing loss,  Hypercusis, etc aside, ones level of enjoyment of music is on a different plane than how well one hears. 


A well executed loudness switch is a godsend for those of us who don't have the luxury of hearing at live levels.