IEMs for the over 60 year old crowd

Yes we are different. We attended rock concerts with loud music. After 60, your hearing starts to fade out anyway. At some point we become Mr. Midrange. I am 72 and it seems worse than last year. At some time we will need hearing aids. That is the time I might want to cease IEMs.
My first IEMs were CA Vegas. I liked them very much, but gave them to my son when I got my Atlas set. Single DD IEMs would seem to be a better solution for us older gents. What do you think?

 

Here's an example of an earphone that happens to have been tuned with the help of a 70 year old. Future Sonics' Atrios were prototyped with several musicians, including the late, great, Les Paul (who was friends with Marty Garcia, founder of FS). So much so when Les was gifted the first production set of Atrios, he thought they were made just for him!

The Atrios are stage monitors with deep bass, clear midrange, and a non-fatiguing high end from a 10mm dynamic driver. Mr. Garcia mentioned to me that even though Les Paul had some expected hearing damage, his hearing compensated and he still enjoyed music in his later years. I hope that's the case for all of us.

Edit: The Future Sonics G10 is the current version of the Atrios.

 

I guess that Kunlun is the only member that is interested in replying to a thread for old audio fools.
I will start off by saying that Future sonics has no listing on their website for the "Atrios" that I could find. Their universal IEMs are somewhat reasonably priced.
Speaking of reasonably priced IEMs, I have ordered two less than $100 DD IEMs, the Fiio FD-1 and the Moondrop Starfield, to find out what less than $100 gets you when you are a retired old audiophile.
Anyone tell me where I can get Future Sonic Atrios???

Kunlun says that Atrios = G 10. I have an Email into them with important questions.

 

That how Vegas sound to me, so here is your another option: get your Vegas back.

And if you can tolerate deep insert I would also check Etymotic Research ER2XR.

 

I gave the Vegas to my son for Christmas. I have the CA Atlas and others so I don't miss the Vegas.

 

And guilting people to post on your thread is bad form.

 

Sorry. I see what you mean. Are you an old duffer?

 

For some odd reason, I just figured that DD IEMs were better for old dudes since they usually have a good midrange. WTF do I know?
Just so you know. As we get older (over 55) our hearing begins to fade. Two years ago, I could not hear ant thing over 10K HZ. I think it is worse now, Like Marve, I have to get my son to tell me about an IEM's treble. So, the good news is that you can still enjoy the midrange. For a while longer. .......

 

Honestly, I know of some older people with better high frequency hearing than me, and I'm 27. I can just about hear the 17.4kHz mosquito tones in audiocheck.net in one ear still but the other just about makes the most of standard Redbook. Other people I've known were able to hear past that in their 40s so.... shrug.

Oh and the Ultrasound thread by @Serious exists

I've ranted about carrying hearing protection because you never know when you'll need it to mitigate the damage done by exposure to high SPLs (f**k YOU, MCCORMICK) and this just further reinforces the notion that there isn't just a subcategory of IEMs that cater specifically to people over X years old, at least excepting all the OTHER factors that are likely to influence selection such as personal HRTF, preferred music, or even environmental noise, among a whole host of other possible considerations*; if you have presbycusis/HF hearing loss then get stuff that compensates for that, and I'd offer the same advice to people younger than I am now who I know have quite handily fucked their ears up irreversibly.

And this. I've launched some silly topics in my time, may be best to let them rest if there's little interest


*I've been meaning to ask: on the topic of nervosa has anyone come across super audiophiles who worry about ambient humidity influencing the transient response of their 2ch systems? The air would weigh differently, it may be worth investing in a ridiculously expensive de/humidifier!

EDIT: Of course humidity nervosa already exists. Kristo. https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/effects-of-temperature-humidity-live-sound/

 

Me too, Lyander. My left ear does not work as good as my right one. Too many rock concerts and high powered rifle fire in my youth. I still enjoy audio, just not the sparkling treble.

 

I admit that a lot of the music I currently listen to leans heavily into sparkle and dread the day I might stop hearing them, but it could be worse— you might somehow lose the ability to appreciate 50s crooners or high-impact bass!

https://www.livescience.com/64478-reverse-slope-hearing-loss.html

 

My right ear is going faster than left. IEMs will not help with this, an amp or DAP with balance control will help some, or, for desktop, something like RME-2 ADI with independent left/right channel equalizers.

 

What would IEMs do? Help shut out the rest of the world and concentrate on just the music. Maybe a pair of closed 'phones might do that just as well.

@Claud, Have you had a hearing test? They don't test much over vocal frequencies anyway, but still... once you know your hearing is going, it's a good idea to keep track of it.

My big fright came when I thought my favourite kitchen timer had stopped working: my wife said it was working, but I couldn't hear it. A test app on my phone told me it was beeping at 4k. That was several years ago, and I now can't hear any of those stupid designed-for-youngsters equipment control beeps. You may become conversationally challenged, but you'll still get heaps of musical enjoyment without being able to hear 4k and above.

Next thing I knew, my hearing was falling off from 1k, and the stuff I tried at the hearing aid shop made the entire world sound horrible.

Eventually, I found a better hearing-aid shop, although they are still far from perfect, and actually not good for music. I don't enjoy music at home like I used to, although I still love the live stuff. In so far as I can enjoy music at home, my prescription is HD800. And sometimes some software EQ, eg if I really need to listen to the words.

I think there are places where one can get something like a hifi hearing aid more like an IEM. Expect $$$$. Because even mine cost about $750 for a pair.

Go see an ear doc. Get a hearing test. Discuss the options. They might improve the world for you, even if they don't improve music. A touch of EQ might be your answer for the music.

 

Thanks, Thad, that is sage advice. I have not tested my ears in a couple of years. Looks like that time again. I have several IEMs and can easily tell better ones vs. average OK ones from spectacular like CA Solaris , Andros and Ara. This last ordering frenzy is almost over. I will take the cheap ones to my beach home for walks with the HiBy R3 and Pro. Great portable form factor.

 

The odd thing is that the less I can hear, the more I hate bad sound!

 

I’ve found that better isolation does indeed help with discerning frequencies. I recently purchased Etymotic er2xr’s and the combination of cutting down outside noise and the smooth and natural sound of the dynamic drivers, as well as the slight bass boost, makes them extremely easy and fun to listen to. The fit is the only thing that may not work out for you but I find them very comfortable.

Even better, they are on sale at Amazon for $102 right now where returns are fairly easy. Good luck with your search!

 

I will check back after 20 years. Hopefully I will be still alive

 

More like 15 years. You ain't no youngster.

 

OK.... How about a DD IEM recommendation on the cheap side. As previously stated in this thread, I have moved my dynamic driver IEM s to my beach home. This is a combo. Fiio recently came out with the FD1 IEM. Its a single DD IEM. For those of you that use a DAP with a balanced output, You will want the ISN SC4 cable in the connection of your choice and 2 pin .78 IEM connectors.
The FD1s are $59.99 on Amazon.
The ISN SC4 is at https://penonaudio.com/isn-audio-sc4.html for $109.00.
Do not judge these IEMs before putting at least 100 hours on them. The DD IEMs need this break in just like your full sized speakers.