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Tinnitus sufferer: is it the speakers or the 24bits/192kHz

I have tinitus and have had it for 30+ years.  There is no cure and I know the best way to handle it is to ignore it.  But lately my tinnitus has been going off the scale.  The "lately" seems to have coincided with streaming Qobuz Hi-Res and listening on a PS Audio DirectStream DAC and pulling my Magnepan 1.6 out of storage.  Now I have been known to play too loud on "A" song- but by and large the volume is down to where I could easily speak to somone in the room.

I have thought about maybe changing to to Harbeth, Dyn, Sonus Faber or other speakers more focused on midrange.  But have also wondered if it is the high quality of sound that I am listening to that is perhaps stimulating my very high pitch ringing?

So, any fellow tinnitus folks out there with an opinion on this? 
mocktender
Post removed 
jbmac75
191 posts
 
Very informative. Appreciate the several early posts from seasoned Audiogoners. I have that too. Drove me crazy at first, like 10 yrs ago, now I accept it but as I can still discern what works for me. Even if that is more limited that 20 yrs ago.
bellemusique's avatar
bellemusique
67 posts
 
I have tinitus on almost any kind of speakers except electrostatic speakers. Tube amplifiers and tube DACs seems to eliminate this problem in my situation. For exemple I can listen Quad 2912 with Atma Sphere amplifier and Ear Yoshino DAC on high speaker levels (90-100 db and more) for hours without tinitus. But when I listen small fostex speakers in my home cinema setup for 30 min on moderate level, the tinitus is back immediately. So this is definitevly something induced or exagerated by the sound distortion and/or room acoustics.
infection's avatar
infection
807 posts
 
Covid Toes

I've got their first two albums. 
bezmania
11 posts
 
I’ve found that my tinnitus gets worse when I play loud music in my car, more so than the same level with a better set at home. So harmonics and distortion probably make a difference. I’ve tried wearing Calmer earplugs. These seem to help. The producer (Flare) has more customers with the same experience, but can’t explain the effect. In general, tinnitus is a neurological problem, so not something that can be fixed “mechanically” or on the “outside”. Improving your situation is therefore largely trial and error, see what works for you. For me, Harbeth works quite nicely. And vinyl.

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