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As I've grown older I've sustained considerable hearing loss in my right ear. The good news is that the imbalance is not caused by any shady situations inside my cranium (like a tumor or something). The bad news is that this affects my ability to enjoy my system. Late last year I posted a message on General asking for feedback from other inmates about hearing aids. There were a lot of very helpful responses, and I plan to acquire one when I finally stop procrastinating.
But I'm also considering an additional strategy, one that involves replacing my preamp. My current preamp is a VAC Renaissance MkII. I love it. It's a pleasure to the ear and the eye. But like most high-end preamps, it lacks a balance knob, and it wouldn't even think of including tone controls. I think you can guess where I'm heading with this.
Much as I would hate to say good-bye to the VAC, I'm considering replacing it with a preamp that has a balance control. But the heresy doesn't end there: while I'm at it, I'm considering a preamp with well-designed tone controls in the hope that recordings can be tailored to my compromised hearing. Plus I have a lot of reissued Columbia recordings (Walter, Szell, Ormandy)and I've often thought that many of them would benefit from a bit of nip-and-tuck (taming the treble a little, boosting the bass a little).
So there you have it. A logical candidate is McIntosh, which does not shrink from features that other high-end companies eschew. I therefore would ask you two questions. (1) Am I about to make a HUGE mistake? (2) If not, do you have other candidates that are worthy to be considered? Note: I have Vandersteen 5 speakers with balanced crossover boxes, so XLR outputs are a must. I welcome your responses and thank you for them.
Disclaimer: my post should in no way be read as a criticism of VAC's design. I have no issue with them; the gear sounds great. I'm just at the point where I might need the system to accommodate itself more to my limitations.
"Golden years" my foot. Getting older is a pain in the neck (along with several other regions).
Thanks, folks.
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Topic - I have an idea for dealing with my hearing loss (long and probably boring) - Doktor Brahms 10:35:27 07/11/15 (24)
- Good responses. Some musings... - Doktor Brahms 08:12:13 07/17/15 (2)
- A different perspective - M3 lover 12:02:06 07/17/15 (1)
- With all the technology available today... - tketcham 10:04:40 07/21/15 (0)
- RE: I have an idea for dealing with my hearing loss (long and probably boring) - lokie 06:28:50 07/14/15 (0)
- One idea that did help me - TungSol 12AX7 tubes - airtime 06:05:34 07/14/15 (0)
- RE: I have an idea for dealing with my hearing loss (long and probably boring) - Inmate51 16:32:29 07/13/15 (0)
- RE: hearing loss (long and probably boring) - M3 lover 09:58:38 07/13/15 (4)
- RE: hearing loss (long and probably boring) - Inmate51 08:25:16 07/14/15 (3)
- RE: hearing loss (long and probably boring) - SgreenP@MSN.com 11:06:06 07/21/15 (1)
- Out of the box, I agree - M3 lover 11:39:59 07/21/15 (0)
- Good post (nt) - Dave Pogue 05:32:39 07/15/15 (0)
- RE: I have an idea for dealing with my hearing loss (long and probably boring) - airtime 06:16:30 07/13/15 (0)
- Try this ... - three_sox 06:15:40 07/13/15 (1)
- Agreed - airtime 06:18:18 07/13/15 (0)
- What about headphones? - Dave_K 15:14:20 07/12/15 (0)
- RE: I have an idea for dealing with my hearing loss (long and probably boring) - digepix 09:53:27 07/12/15 (0)
- Software EQ - Jon L 09:52:32 07/12/15 (0)
- RE: I have an idea for dealing with my hearing loss (long and probably boring) - kenzo 08:25:19 07/12/15 (0)
- Mac C 2500 Tube Preamp has what you're looking for. nt - oldmkvi 07:44:13 07/12/15 (0)
- My take - Awe-d-o-file 15:42:10 07/11/15 (0)
- RE: I have an idea for dealing with my hearing loss (long and probably boring) - Palustris 14:52:19 07/11/15 (1)
- RE: I have an idea for dealing with my hearing loss (long and probably boring) - Kal Rubinson 15:14:59 07/11/15 (0)
- RE: I have an idea for dealing with my hearing loss (long and probably boring) - Dave Pogue 14:22:10 07/11/15 (0)
- RE: I have an idea for dealing with my hearing loss (long and probably boring) - SgreenP@MSN.com 10:53:37 07/11/15 (0)