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New member Username: SherrellPost Number: 1 Registered: Dec-05 | I need some recommendations for a new system. Here are my considerations. 1. Total cost below $2000 ($1500 would be better) 2. Listen room details: * Second floor of our home * 12-ft x 11 ft x 8 ft high * sheetrock walls * 5-ft x 3 ft window centered on one side of 12-ft wall * 5-ft-wide floor-to-cealing closet with fan-fold doors on other side of 12-ft wall (I could loose the doors if needed). * standard door in one corner of 11-ft wall * carpeted floor 3. Music taste is Bluegrass and Baroque classical 4. Output: 2-channel stereo 5. Input: CDs and iPod (very rarely - perhaps never- FM tuner) 6. Other considerations: I have significant hearing loss in the 3-6 khz range (40-70 db down based on recent audiometry test - peaking @ 70 db down at 4 hz. (These readings are with an RA500/2075 Air Conduction instrument). |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 6989 Registered: May-04 | I assume you mean your hearing is down at 4 "kilo"hertz and not at 4 Hz. Everyone's hearing is down at 4 Hz. Obviously there are no speakers which allow for that much boost in the midrange frequencies. I would suggest you head to an audio shop and listen to a few systems. Then I would probably encourage you to invest in a parametric eq to allow you to boost (somewhat) the frequencies you are loosing. Be aware that this much eq puts a strain on the amplifier and if you can accomplish the "boost" by actually cutting down all other frequencies, you will have better results. Avoid a graphic eq for this purpose as it will seldom have the frequencies centered where you need the help. |
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New member Username: SherrellPost Number: 2 Registered: Dec-05 | Jan: Yep. 4 "hz" was a typo. 4 Khz is the bottom. So... I'm looking at a CD player, an amplifier, a parametric eq., and a pair of speakers... Sherrell |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 6997 Registered: May-04 | Yes. Parametric eq's are difficult to find in audio shops and will be expensive when you do. They are more common among sound reinforcement folks and substantially cheaper. Put "parametric equalizer" into a search engine and see what comes up. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 6998 Registered: May-04 | You'd have to explain your situation to someone who sells this product, but something as simple as this might work for you. The low and high bands can be cut to lower their levels and the midband can be boosted to bring up the level. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/search/detail/base_id/103746/src=00633 |
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New member Username: SherrellPost Number: 3 Registered: Dec-05 | Thanks, Jan! |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 7000 Registered: May-04 | I don't know if that will accomodate the problem you have. Are you getting any devices to assist your hearing? |
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Bronze Member Username: MusicluvrPost Number: 30 Registered: Apr-05 | SR, Your situation is an interesting one that I have done some thinking on for some time. My father and uncle both have hearing loss to the point where they use hearing aids. My father cannot hear the alarm from most digital watches. I also know that I have some hearing imapirment in the high frequencies that will probably get worse over time. Furthermore, the impairment is not balanced between my left and right ears. Yet, I listen to my audio system with tone controls defeated. This is how music sounds closest to "real" or "live" music to me. We all have to listen to sound and music through the ears we have, and if those ears have an impairment, everything we hear is filtered through that impairment. This leads me to believe that the audio system that sounds the most natural to a person with impaired hearing is not going to be too different from what a person with "normal" hearing would choose. With your hearing impairment, a moderate amount of equalization may be in order, but I doubt that the goal would be to correct your hearing to a flat frequency response. Such a dramatic amount of equalization would almost certainly sound unnatural, and as Jan has pointed out, it probably isn't even possible. Get someone to demonstrate what an equalizer can do for the music you like to listen to, and don't be too concerned if you decide that you don't need one. Listen lots, and get what sounds good to you. Happy Holidays. |
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New member Username: SherrellPost Number: 4 Registered: Dec-05 | Jan/Ctanaka: No, I do not use hearing aids - yet. My father has the same problem I have - only much more extreme. All the medical advice I've gotten indicates that hearing aids will only make things worse. I know that was the case for my father many years ago when he finally made the decision to go with them. Both he and I also have tinitus (ringing in the ears). The problem with this is that it casts doubt on the results of any audiometry test one can do becase the insitu ringing masks, to some extent, the beep tones that the audiometer employs for the testing. It's hard to distinuish whether the hearing is actually degraded, or just masked by the ringing... Right now, the best sound experince I have is with my Kenwood CD player and my Bose Acoustic Mass Noise Canceling Headphones Model II. I burned a demo CD of a variety of music I like and have gone around town to various A/V stores and listened to it. We don't really have a good selection in our town. I'm considering the Odyssey "1500 System" consisting of the Etesian pre-amp, Khartago stereo amp, Epiphony speakers, and Groneberg Series 3 interconnectes and cables. My concern is that the Epiphony's won't have sufficient base respone for the 'standup base" lines in the Bluegrass I listent to most. Have wondered whether the Polk RTi8 or RTi10, coupled with the same pre-amp/amp would do a better job for me... Ideas? |
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New member Username: StanPost Number: 4 Registered: Jul-04 | I also have a hearing loss in higher range of 8-10hz. However, instead of needing a hearing aid I find that high pitch sounds grating to my ears. Weird huh? I have listened to Klipsh with their horn tweeters and other speakers with aluminum tweeters (in the $1,000-1,200 range) and I can only tolerate them for about five minutes. However, soft dome tweeters are pleasant to me. I am looking for bookshelve speakers for under $1,000 for 50/50 music/ht. Before I found that I had a hearing problem I looked at the Phase Tech PC-9.1 towers that sounded smooth but they cost $2000. I emailed Tim at Alegria Audio with my problem to inquire about his speakers but never heard back. I guess he never heard that particular problem before. I am open to suggestions regarding speakers and a receiver($600 range for receiver) that would be on the warm side. Thanks for reading all of this. |
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New member Username: StanPost Number: 5 Registered: Jul-04 | I was thinking of the Denon 2106 receiver that I could get on the internet from Ibuydigital or digitalcraze for about $525. I am also thinking about a HSU subwoofer. My living room is not accoustically sound. It is 14x15 with a huge opening on one side that opens up to the dining and large entry way and in a opening in the rear to the entry way and hall way. The ceiling goes from 8' where the speakers to about 23' several feet in back of the listening area. This should forestall some questions. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 7012 Registered: May-04 | Depending on when you emailed Tim, he may have already left on his trip before your message arrived. Given your hearing situation, I would expect the Ling to do quite well in your system. |
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Silver Member Username: Timn8terSeattle, WA USA Post Number: 686 Registered: Dec-03 | Sorry Stan, I don't recall your email. It may well have been lost in the shuffle. I'm in Malasiqui right now. If you're open to a floorstander I recommend the Aria tower. It's has a very small footprint that uses the same or less space than a speaker stand. It's a very smooth, easy listening speaker that appears to fit your sound preference and price range. If you still need a stand-mount send me another email and we may be able to work something out. |
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Bronze Member Username: MusicluvrPost Number: 32 Registered: Apr-05 | SR, I think that your concern with the bass reproduction of the Epiphany speakers is well founded considering these are rather smallish stand mounted speakers. Since your music preferences include Bluegrass with "standup bass" and Baroque classical you should seriously think about getting full-range floorstanding speakers. In my opinion, classical music begs for full-range speakers. Have you had a chance to audition the Odyssey system or the Polk apeakers you mention? |
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New member Username: SherrellPost Number: 6 Registered: Dec-05 | I've heard the Polk's, but not the Odyssey's |
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Bronze Member Username: MusicluvrPost Number: 43 Registered: Apr-05 | SR, Here's a suggestion. To get a rough idea of the difference between floorstanding and standmounted speakers, go back to where you heard the Polk RTi8 and RTi10 and compare them with the RTi4 or RTi6. Bring favorite music CD and maybe include Bach's Tocatta and Fugue in D minor. That should really demonstrate the differences. (That's Baroque Classical, right?) That said, some actually prefer the sound of standmounted speakers over floorstanders, ususally claiming that they have better imaging. |