a resonance in my left ear
(This is a general question but I'm posting here because DACs affect the problem. That might be some clue. I also posted in "Tech Talk" but not sure if I'll get any response.)
I have a "resonance" in my left ear. At certain frequencies the sound will get a lot louder, very similar to a high-Q resonance. It's especially obvious on piano notes.
I can demonstrate to myself it's my left ear and not my equipment in two ways.
One clue is that I have tinnitus in my left ear. It varies in intensity and the resonance is definitely worse when the tinnitus is worse. However I can't tell if the resonance is at the same frequency as the tinnitus, which is very high pitched, while piano notes around 500 Hz typically stimulate the resonance the worst. I've even put a parametric filter on the music to demonstrate a notch at roughly 500 Hz silences the resonance.
I've been evaluated by an ear doctor. My hearing is within the normal range. He didn't really even seem to understand my description of the resonance and said there was no test that could be performed. I asked for a brain MRI and they did that, but it was normal.
The resonance is pretty much intolerable as a listening experience for the music and equipment that triggers it strongly. I can tolerate it if the equipment and music doesn't stimulate it too much.
Here's the weird thing. Different DACs will stimulate the resonance to different degrees. For instance the Terminator 1 barely stimulates the resonance, while it goes completely nuts on the Gustard A26 and even more so on the Gustard X20 Pro. The iFi iDSD doesn't stimulate it at all and the Gustard R26 only slightly.
Also the digital front end affects the resonance. When I used a NUC computer as a PC-based system, the resonance was bad on the x20Pro but tolerable. When I switched to an Aurender N100 the overall sound quality improved hugely on the kind of music that doesn't hit the resonance, but the resonance got twice as bad on certain music like piano.
Wondering if anyone might have any theories.
@magon - have you tested your hearing using an real piano? Wondering if it’s the notes indicating a physical hearing problem or something stringent in your audio chain . Did you use a different amplifier for your headphones, or the same as your speakers? if your speakers have metallic tweeters, maybe switching to soft dome. if all else fails, agree that left eq headphones maybe the only good option |
I haven't tried it with a real piano. I do know that the resonance depends on the audio equipment, such as the PC source (or my current Aurender) and the choice of DAC. There are some DACs that have far less resonance. The headphones and speakers use different amps. I have three pretty decent headphones and the resonance varies with them as well. Have only tried one headphone amp recently (my other one died). I don't notice it much with live orchestra, but then again I don't notice it much with recorded orchestra either. It's primarily flute and piano that trigger the resonance. |
