[dts4]

Ok. I have basically no hearing in one ear (5% maybee). I have the HD497 currently.
I was thinking of getting the 595's over the 555. I will use them for music mostly followed by movies then some computer gaming. Is the difference of the 595 going to be lost with my hearing. Money's not in issue with this decision.
With movies I notice the difference in sound between stereo, 5.1, and dts (which I prefer).
I listen to mostly classic rock, pop, 80's rock, and classical.

The 595 seems worth it. But is it going to be noticed with my hearing? Thanks in advance.

 

[Leopold]

I have no experience or knowledge how sound is perceived when input is coming mainly from one ear, and this is what you are used to. My guess is that the brain fills in the blanks as usual when raw data is lacking, but impressions of soundstage and positioning will be more difficult to achieve for you than for normal hearers.

Without knowing, I would then expect sound quality to be *even more* important to your experience than for people with normal hearing, something like "twice the resolution" for a comparable experience. Maybe some kind of crossfeeding could be helpful as well.

How are you using your current phones, do you find it meaningful to compensate the hearing loss by shifting the balance? If so, then a headphone with good power handling capability would be an advantage of course.

I may be dead wrong, fully or partially, but hope my guesses awaken some nice people here that have personal knowledge and can correct me.

A safe piece of advice is to audition all sorts of phones in stores to find what you seek.

 

[davidhw]

I have a similar problem due to Meniere's: left ear cannot hear over 8000 Hz, whereas right ear is fine. Although I recently sold some headphones thinking speakers would be my best bet for unbalanced hearing, I'm pretty much now moving back to the headphone arena. I used my wife's iPod earbuds (don't laugh) attached to my Mac to see if their sound would accentuate my loss. It didn't. In fact, as stated above, the additional resolution caused by the nearness of the buds to my ears made for a much clearer soundstage than listening to speakers allows.

So I'm starting to think that while I may not be able to hear certain sounds, I'll be better off with the higher detail and resolution of headphones.

YMMV.

 

[fjf]

I think you need a balanced amplifier with two volume controls, one for each driver, to compensate the different volumes you need in both ears.

 

[dts4]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll get the 595's a headphone amp and work with the balance settings.

I currently use the 497 in the headphone jack of my onkyo sr502 reciever or plugged in the audigy2(soon to be replaced).

I can hear sound but not speech in one ear. I want the best equipment, but not waste it on what I would not appreciate.

I had a $18,000 ear operation which restored hearing to %100, until the doctor said I could swim without ear protection LOL. I'll have to try that again some day.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dts4 Thanks for the advice. I think I'll get the 595's a headphone amp and work with the balance settings. I currently use the 497 in the headphone jack of my onkyo sr502 reciever or plugged in the audigy2(soon to be replaced). I can hear sound but not speech in one ear. I want the best equipment, but not waste it on what I would not appreciate. I had a $18,000 ear operation which restored hearing to %100, until the doctor said I could swim without ear protection LOL. I'll have to try that again some day.

!!!! $18K for an ear operation?? So are your ears fixed yet? or did you swim without ear protection and effectively reversed the operation?

 

[dts4]

It was a skin graff on my eardrum. 60% of the ear drum needed covering. Two operations putting tubes in ear were unsuccessfull. The skin graff gave my poor ear %100 hearing. Better than my good ear actually.

I was told I could put my head under the water for swimming, and it went that day. He was a good doctor actually. He did the first operation enabling a woman born deaf have hearing by using electronic chips or somewhat in her ears. I always see ear specialsts for my ears. It cost 14K not 18K, My mistake.

 

[Leopold]

That's too bad! Doesn't jobs that expensive come with a good warranty policy? One of my female friends had a breast enhancement done, came with a lifetime warranty. Restoring hearing is a far more serious issue and should be covered accordingly IMO.