Are you too old to be an audiophile?

I got back into audio about three years ago. I'm 67 years young and wear hearing aids. I'm amazed and happy that I can hear more than I thought I could. Last year I had my audiologist program one of three channels without noise filtering or compression. He couldn't understand why I wanted to do this. So I used the analogy of the MP3 music file. He still didn't get it. Any way he reluctantly made the adjustment. Because of that adjustment I'm able to hear more music. Every audiologist I've encountered don't know a dam thing about adjusting hearing aids for listing to music. They always assume I'll being listening at to high a SPL.

Despite wearing aids I'm able to discern changes in my system when I apply a tweak, change cables, crystals etc. The main reason I'm able to discern these changes is as Elizabeth said I "listen". Unfortunately many people assume because I wear aids I don't hear well enough to really appreciate music. And when I tell them I'm a audiophile the response is, "a what". When I attempt to explain the joy I experience from this great hobby they look back and forth from my face to my hearing aids with a disbelieving look. So I no longer bother, I don't have time to waste; I have too much music to LISTEN to.

@Douglas you seem to be the only person here who sees the point I am trying to make. Totally agree with your analysis just don't have to patience to express it as eloquently as you have. As I said originally I am not trying to offend anyone or say my hearing is perfect or better or any of that. Was just curious if people realized the truth about aging and how they viewed that in regards to being an audiophile.

@jax There is no point. It was a disucssion for the sake of discussion. I don't see what part of "if you can't hear above 14hz then adjusting an eq all the way up or down above this makes no difference to you but droves others crazy" you don't understand. If you don't see any point in it then don't participate in this discussion. Simple as that. Your hearing is flawed, or not, and doesn't matter either way.

most music is in the mid range region. a loss of acuity above 14k, doesn't affect your ability to hear differences between 1k and 3k.

its the harmonics that occur above 14k , not the fundamental.

@jax There is no point. It was a disucssion for the sake of discussion. I don't see what part of "if you can't hear above 14hz then adjusting an eq all the way up or down above this makes no difference to you but droves others crazy" you don't understand. If you don't see any point in it then don't participate in this discussion. Simple as that. Your hearing is flawed, or not, and doesn't matter either way.

Ummm, sorry, but you lost me there. I don't use an equalizer at all. I was not referring to that part of your statement, which seemed to be only an example you were setting forth. I said that I see no point in having a neutral standard for the reasons I've already stated, it is not that I don't see a point in participating in this discussion (or else I would not be). I questioned why you find such a concept advantageous (beyond your illustration of using and equalizer, which I'd guess that most folks in these forums do not). It's like trying to establish a neutral standard for criticizing movies or food or wine...it's entirely subjective and you're better off learning something about the tastes of the individuals making the criticism, how they might relate to your own, and then, even still, use it as a point of departure...a guide perhaps. If reproduction of the music in the upper frequencies is very important to you, then it might be worthwhile to find others who share that priority to seek out their opinions (which I would still use only as a suggestion to investigate on your own). I noticed in another forum I participate in that a good many of the members of the forum have very different tastes in music than I do. I have, more often than not, found also that their priorities in what components make that music they love really work for them is not necessarily the best solution for the music I prefer to listen to, but there are a few in that forum who do share similar musical tastes and I have found their preferences are actually closer to my own in the gear that works for them. That's the closest I've been able to come to some sort of more 'reliable' kind of approach to filtering out various criticism. There are so many infinitely complex things about how each of us respond to music, and to virtually everything else in life, that to try to classify it, graph it, stuff it neatly into little cubicles and quantify it, seems a bit silly to me.

Farjamed, I don't doubt that you don't mean to offend anyone. However, just re-read your question and ask yourself if it could have been phrased in a better way.

Are you too old
Are you too deaf
Are you too stupid
Are you too poor

See what I mean? I'm not offended, but I do think this is a topic that is hard to take seriously. It sounds more like some of you guys who are just starting to realize that you are getting older are starting to worry. Most people are much more interested in what their health will be, or what sex will be like. ;-)

There are other reasons why one would set up a system differently as they get older. Like using the knowledge about what they prefer that has been acquired by the years of experience listening to hi-end equipment. It could be that their tastes have changed and so voice things a little differently.

I'm also left with the question what do to blame when you hear some twenty-something's system that is utter crap?