Anyone else in my shoes? Ears going.........

There is far more to music than just frequency response - think distortion, pitch, timbre, timing, etc. In fact each of us has such a unique combination of frequency response and varying sensitivity to the other factors that it's a wonder that other peoples opinions on the sound of gear are any use at all. As has been said many other times - if you hear a difference and it's good then that's all that matters.

Dick

Say it ain't so Joe

Plenty of hearing left in my Olddddd ears. You need to get out and listen some more.

You have discovered the cure for "audiophila nervosa" and can now spend time enjoying the music rather than searching for the unattainable.

At 53 I just recently got into high end audio because of my damaged hearing and raging tinitus. I find that the finer equipment allows me to enjoy the spectrum that is left to me better. And I believe that there is evidence out there somewhere that ones hearing acuity does improve within the spectrum you have to work with, much like the nose of a perfumer gets better with training.
For me my ears are ringing when I get home Friday night, but if I wear ear protection mowing the lawn ect, Sunday mornings I can really enjoy my system.
PS, beware of silica based antacids can cause tinitus, its in the fine print if you check.

I’m kind of surprised that no one contributing to this thread has mentioned what Jim Smith says about “old ears” (“Get Better Sound” Tip 57). He didn’t dwell at length on the subject, but he did say enough to make me feel better about my 66 year ears… which I never felt were any darn good to begin with. He gave the example of an orchestra conductor that after standing in front of “really loud” orchestras for decades could still tell a string musician to retune his/her instrument, even though he’d lost a lot over the years.

After reading that, I immediately ordered the new pair of interconnects I had been dreaming about… and yes I did hear the difference. I love music! It has purpose… it makes my life better... it drives my wife nuts… it has influenced my children to appreciate one of God’s gifts… my son-in-laws think I’m cool because I’m got an over the top system … it makes my heart leap watching my 5 year old grandchild dance at Barnes & Noble with the headphones slipping off her head. I have to cut this short now because I just now convinced myself to buy a better power cord. ENJOY THE MUSIC!