IEMs for the over 60 year old crowd

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by Claud, Jul 11, 2020.

  1. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2018
    Likes Received:
    3,451
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    SouthernCA
    Claud - I would imagine there isn't a IEM specifically designed for the older crowd.

    On top of everyone having such different preferences already in their youth, everyone's hearing fades out differently too. I can't find it now (it was on a non-paid website), but when I was in undergrad I took a class for fun where we spent a few weeks going over how the human ear works and how we hear things (from I guess more of an engineering and biomechanical standpoint, not as much the nuanced cell biology) - during this class, the professor showed us samples of "average" hearing for a 20 vs 40 vs 60 year old. Differences were quite drastic to me. Even more noticeable with tonal languages or certain African languages with nuances in clicks or other mouth sounds. Then they went over different scenarios where different types of people had different hearing loss by 60 - there was a lot more variation than with 20 year olds.

    Add in other factors like tinnitus or bigger ears (as these do not stop growing with age) but possibly smaller canals, etc.

    All of this combined means it'd be really hard to make a target product for the 60+ crowd.

    edit: if it makes you feel any better, I cannot use 90% of "generic" universal earbuds or IEMs due to odd ear canal shape. I have 3 CIEM which are all great, but they're also all BA only. If I choose to spend more on these later, it will be a combined BA + DD IEM.
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2020
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,778
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    I think you are screwed. IEM drivers, whether BAs or DDs, seem to have a hard time getting well into the last octave. This is the region where we start to lose sensitivity and need a boost. Really, what is comes down to is crank it up. That's what hearing aids do. Also a boost typically around 5kHz.

    EDIT: I would suggest Sony IER-Z1R. The piezo driver gives the highs a more evident character. The overall EQ seems to fit those who like a bit of a bass boost, but also have a bit of hearing damage with a broad 4-7kHz bump and another bump in the lower half of the last octave. Supposedly, this IEM is quite popular with kids in Asia who have been frying their ears with IEMs since the age of four.
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2020
  3. wormcycle

    wormcycle Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,506
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Toronto, ON, Canada
    Well it depends . What is driving your interest in listening to music is very important. If you are into tonality of instruments, the color of sound across the frequency spectrum then yes, after 60 you are fucked.
    But if you are mostly interested in the structure of the music, experiencing the architectural beauty of one of the Beethoven trios can continue, assuming the "normal " hearing loss, well into old age. I am glad I am in his category.

    I talk from time to time to a young musician, who is also a music teacher, and he told me that I may not be able to hear the the second and third harmonics of many instruments already, but it does not mean that my hearing of dynamic range, or hearing distinctions between chords and intervals has to be affected.
    The note A3 sounds very different played on the guitar and on the piano but on the score it is the same A3.
    I did not know about this limitation of the IEMs, not getting well into the last octave. But Etymotic Research, and they make hearing test equipment, do not even bother to get their IEMs above 16kHz.

    From my limited experience, I am 69, the best IEM for me now is ER4SR for critical listening, and newly acquired ER2XR for mobile and casual listening. But my heart goes to Campfire Vega, it delivers everything I need.
     

Share This Page