My ears of tin are over 50

Hey Dopogue God bless 80+. Im 50+ and my hearing is excellent. Fact I can hear the elevator door bell on opening from my apt about 45ft away from my door.

Hearing loss and boredom conspire against dynamic speakers.
Adding a sub will juice you for awhile.
Switching to horns (if your amps are low power) or stats/planars (if your amps are high powered) can reignite your passion.
Redheads and blonds work too.

I am not yet 50 but recently went to an audiologist to get my hearing tested, I recommend that to everyone. I confirmed what I had already suspected, I lost the ability to hear high frequencies, I top out at about 16khz. Now I pay little attention to equipment that does not hit 20khz of has "rolled off" highs, I can't hear them anyway. He did say my hearing was very sharp though, able to hear as quiet as 5db.

Either you are pulling our leg or Jim pulled yours! He has been asked this question and has a good answer in his book "Get Better Sound". He tells of a conductor in his 70's (musicians are exposed to very loud sound levels on stage) who could "hear" better than a bunch of audiophiles. His point being you become "experienced" and can "hear" things that others miss. More than likely this conductor would have failed his audiology test!

Actually, After taking just a couple of moments to peruse Jim Smith's site I found that the hearing loss at age 50 comment was one of the myths he claims are often accepted as "ACK" (Audiophile Common Knowledge). He is saying that it is not true that past 50 you can no longer hear well enough to really care about your sound quality. I am sure that virtually all of us experience some hearing loss throughout our lives, but there is no reason not to enjoy this hobby in spite of that fact.