Best Headphones for Audiophiles with Tinnitus | Moon Audio
Jan 25, 2023 at 3:20 PM Post #3 of 20
It meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…..
 
Jan 25, 2023 at 4:24 PM Post #4 of 20
Wow thanks, that was very instructive even though there is some "sales" publicity in there. I have Tinnitus and I never made a direct link with the fact that I am always drawn towards tube amps and DACs. My desktop equipment is a tube amp and NOS tube DAC feeding Meze Empyrean so I think you really nailed it with your video! :wink:
 
Jan 25, 2023 at 4:32 PM Post #5 of 20
For a minute, I thought this was the Moondrop company posting instead of Moon Audio. Ain’t no way any of Moondrops headphones are good for tinnitus with that peaky upper mid range đŸ˜‚
 
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Jan 25, 2023 at 8:34 PM Post #6 of 20
I found that every time a positive system upgrade improved the "quality" of the sound, my tinnitus was affected less and less. Earlier systems were a big issue for me.

Now I have extremely detailed dynamic sound and no affect to my tinnitus. Even with music of all genres at high volumes.

Gaming volume needs to stay moderate still. I think the quality of the source material is the suspect. And explosions and gun shots don't help either.
 
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Jan 26, 2023 at 8:15 PM Post #7 of 20
Interesting. I do suffer from tinnitus.

I've tried a lot of gear and landed very close to their recommendations.
My go to is Aeon 2 Open and Woo WA22. If I don't have time for tubes I use SPL Phonitor Xe.
Curious about Ether 2 now.
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Jan 28, 2023 at 5:37 AM Post #8 of 20
Hello,
Thank you for the video.
I also suffer from mild tinnitus on the right side due to a hearing loss.

I have personally found that planar headphones help a little better than dynamic headphones and have been able to get a better grip on my tinnitus.
Headphones like Audeze lcd 2 C and Aeon R/T have also helped very well to name a few inexpensive ones.

Personally, I am further along with the Dac and amplifier equipment and they go well together.
The suggestions are quite interesting.
The rest of the video can be helpful to train your ear, especially as a tinnitus sufferer.
In the meantime, I have good days and bad days, but relaxation with good music and good headphones helps on bad days.
 
Jan 28, 2023 at 8:09 AM Post #9 of 20
Hello,
Thank you for the video.
I also suffer from mild tinnitus on the right side due to a hearing loss.

I have personally found that planar headphones help a little better than dynamic headphones and have been able to get a better grip on my tinnitus.
Headphones like Audeze lcd 2 C and Aeon R/T have also helped very well to name a few inexpensive ones.

Personally, I am further along with the Dac and amplifier equipment and they go well together.
The suggestions are quite interesting.
The rest of the video can be helpful to train your ear, especially as a tinnitus sufferer.
In the meantime, I have good days and bad days, but relaxation with good music and good headphones helps on bad days.
I'm with you. Meze Empyrean do it for me but only with a desktop tube amp and NOS chip tube DAC. I would really like to find a "transportable battery" operated tube kit to sit in any room of the house. I just bought the Woo WA8, the amp section is great and will do the transportable battery operated amp job perfectly. However the internal DAC is an ESS chip that sounds very very good with the amp but still too bright and digital for my ears. When I use my MHDT Orchid tube NOS DAC with it instead of the internal ESS DAC it is much better as far as getting a sweet non fatiguing sound for my ears. Unfortunately MHDT don't have a battery DAC so I'm now on the hunt for that. There is lot's of options on the market with USB dongle DAC but most are digital chip bases, mostly ESS, most have an amp section and no lineout. I don't know much about electricity but to me a DAC should not be as power hungry as an amp so I don't know why a manufacturer doesn't come up with a NOS chip based or R2R sweet and delicate sounding battery DAC. Any suggestion?
 
Jan 28, 2023 at 10:02 AM Post #10 of 20
Hello,

There is the Cayin ru 6 dongel Dac as R2R but it is somewhat limited in that respect.and also seems to be the only R2R in the mobile range.
Read impressions in the threath here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cay...c-with-head-amp.960113/page-170#post-16970104

Otherwise, there is the Cayin N3 pro on tubes, unfortunately also somewhat limited technically.
But streaming via Bluetooth is supposed to work.

The Ifi hip dac 2 also does a great job with the Aeon R/T I have, warmly neutral without being sharp and pleasant.

Personally, I don't like the Ess chips that much.
They are too loud in my ears.
Let's see what the market brings this year,with Akm being rebuilt we will probably see a bit more than last year.
Since last year it was almost all food based, although there was some progress.

Their meze sounds interesting as well as their Wa8.

I recently got the R26 in the chain and am really happy with it.
 
Jan 28, 2023 at 2:36 PM Post #11 of 20


Best Headphones for Audiophiles with Tinnitus | Moon Audio​


Learned a little more about this malady I have. Without knowing the details set forth in this video, I had already (unknowingly) been drawn to the various strategies listed in the video. After a few years of iems and many trials and testing, with varies earphone/earbud/headphone types I experienced, I have been drawn to warmer a sound and specifically headphones, daps, and dacs. Now I understand why. I have the Cayin N3pro, the RU 6 dongle, and the Nitsch-Schiit amp (btw I'm selling as my wife bought one also). But, due to my listening environment, I needed to use the closed back headphones: Kennerton Gh-40, LSA HP-2 Ultra se, and a new pair of the HiFiMan R-9 (still in box). After watching the video, I believe I need to move to a semi-open back style but not sure if that will work in
My listening environment. So after believing I was completely done with the never ending process, I now realize my still present discomfort (albeit not as pronounced as before) that still exists can be minimized even further. Thank you Moon-Audio.
Will this madness never end? đŸ˜€đŸ˜‰
 

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Jan 28, 2023 at 4:42 PM Post #12 of 20
I'm not so sure that closed, semi-closed or wide open really change something. I have this problem with my car sound system, can't be more open than that. I'm far from having any kind of doctor competence but I have a feeling some frequencies and too loud DBs are more problematic than pressure itself from closed HP. My car sound system is an upgraded system but it has nothing to do with the quality, sweet and delicate sound I get with the Empyreans and tube amp & DAC kit.
 
Jan 28, 2023 at 5:14 PM Post #13 of 20
I had the Fostex headphones at the very beginning and due to their closed design I had a ringing in my ear quite often after I finished listening to music and recovered after 30 minutes.

It only got better with semi-open Lcd 2C,Zmf headphones.
Strangely enough, the closed planar headphones Aeon R/T did not cause any problems either.

As you can see, constructive headphone variants can also cause problems.

But in the end it is a trial and error game because everyone reacts differently to their tinnitus, also in a human way.
Today I still forget very often when I am rancid what the problem is, and I only remember why later.
As soon as it occurs to me, I relax and try to react differently.
And there are days when it works and sometimes not.
I think the wrong way to go about it is to wear headphones in the car.
There is more cavity, volume, air noise in the car than headphones.
In the old car hi-fi days, the whole thing was damped to get more out of the sound that was built into the car.
But save yourself the trouble, it's a lot of work.
 
Jan 29, 2023 at 12:11 PM Post #14 of 20
I have tinnitus. Of the over ears that I own, ether 2’s are the best but I think they lack a bit of energy so it’s a trade off. Lcd 2c’s are bad for my ears which is unfortunate bc I like their tonality. Im treble sensitive but for me personally it feels like it’s the lower treble/upper mids that leave my ears ringing the most. Best to worst for me with what I own is ether 2, r70x, hd800 (interestingly not the worst), open x, 6xx, he4se, he6se v2, elegia, lcd2c. I think there’s definitely something to closed vs open, dynamic range, and where the peaks are.
 
Jan 29, 2023 at 12:20 PM Post #15 of 20
Also speakers, even just monitors at my computer, or in the car where I’ve installed focals in the front doors, are easier than headphones while listening, but seem to impact my ears the most. So it’s not necessarily open vs closed to watch out for first as others have said here. I agree with that. Some have said all ba drivers in iem’s have helped them. Maybe resolve’s research into air gap frequency response or measured dynamics can contribute more to this topic in the future
 

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