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Tinnitus and digital sound...

Posted by tketcham (A) on January 9, 2015 at 07:24:34

In Reply to: Want to get back into audio, and looking to upgrade posted by NuWave on January 8, 2015 at 18:23:55:

Hi, NuWave,
I've had tinnitus (constant high pitched tone) for over 20 years and found that listening to poorly recorded/mastered CDs caused the tinnitus to get worse. (And I don't listen at loud levels anymore.) I've been searching for a solution for years and think I've come up with a reasonable solution...

To start with, I bought a CD player that was regularly described as having an "analog" sound. Not the best in resolving details but portrayed good timber and tone. The player is a Rega Apollo. There are many players out there, including the new Apollo-R, that have a similar sound so you have some choices at a range of prices.

Secondly, I bought a tube buffer stage that I use between the CDP and my integrated amp. It provides an additional level of "warmth" (I don't like the term but it has become a common description) and helps to further tame those irritatingly harsh recordings. It's an Eastern Electric BBA that I purchased used. Some people condemn tube buffers as adding distortion to the signal but I disagree; that distortion is euphonic and adds a very musical touch to the sound, especially when it's used to tame an otherwise harsh digital recording. An additional benefit to the BBA is that it provides line-level signal attentuation so my amp volume control is consistent between the CDP and the phono preamps I use.

And lastly, I just purchased an external DAC that provides a range of filter options. I found that certain filters seem to smooth out the digital signal such that some of the more irritating CDs are now fairly listenable, even enjoyable. I can now play CDs that used to cause problems with my tinnitus at fairly loud volume levels (up to 80dB at my chair) and I don't hear an increase in the tinnitus levels. It's a Rega DAC that I purchased used. I use the minimum phase apodising and minimum phase soft-knee filters and although subtle, there's a noticeable improvement over the stock Apollo filter. I believe that my tinnitus makes me more sensitive to the pre-ringing/pre-echo effect of digital processing and those two filters seem to offer some relief. (I'm pretty sure it's not a psychoacoustics effect. :-) The Rega DAC is one of many that offer filter selections and the new DAC-R provides remote switching between filters.

I'm sure there are critics of my approach, able to point out all sorts of flaws in the gear and signal chain, but it works for me. I've been listening to vinyl for decades and now have a fairly decent analog setup which brings me great listening pleasure; being able to enjoy CDs is an important bonus since I now have access to a whole bunch of music that was previously not worth bothering with.

I don't know if a similar approach will work for you but I thought I'd give you some things to consider. Good luck in your search.

Best regards,
Tom

Edits: 01/09/15

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