OK here goes. I have tinitus in both ears. It is worse in the left ear. I also have about 70% hearing loss in my left ear. It is in the higher frequencies. Not sure off hand but I'll try to find the hearing test and get back to you. I generally get around the hearing inequities by a slight move in the balance knob on the reciever. 70% sounds significant. So why just a slight move on the balance knob? I'm not sure but I guess it has to do with the freguencies at which the loss occurs. I very occasionally have a little pain. It can be either ear. One thing I can say for sure is that the amount of caffein definitely effects how bad the tinitus is.
I know this because a few years ago due to an illness I had to give up caffein for about 18 months. The tinitus situation definitely improved. It did not disappear completely but it was greatly diminished. Unfortunately, right after successful treatment of my illness and cessation of the drug treatment I went right back to using caffein. I could kick my self for starting in again. I mean I proved I could do without it but I guess I never stopped missing it.
Decaf doesn't do it for me. Anyway enough of this. I just thought if you are using caffein you might want to cut it for a while and see if you have the same results.
I have heard many many brands of speakers. I have to say I don't think many of them actually set anything off as far as my hearing goes. Some of the cheaper ones had very shrill sounding tweeters. They did not cause any pain in my case. At least not physically.
They were just awful to listen to and in that sense they were painful.
I tested many before making my purchase. I first bought a pair of 60's. I posted a detailed review of them in the hearing things thread after my audition at another owners house. I then purchased m3's to put in my office. They a hooked up to my computer and a vintage tube amp. I bought these based purely on the reviews and of course my satisfaction with the 60's. I just recently lucked into a pair of m22's. I have them currently in the bedroom. In case it matters to anyone the 3's and 22's are v2 and the 60's are not. This does not matter to me in the least. I know from when I purchased the 60 that they are v2 they just don't say it.
I listen to music all the time. All of the speakers are in 2 channel set ups in different rooms. I am currently saving my change for a pair of qs8's. Once I do that I will switch out the Bose 901's with the 22's, as fronts in my HT and the 901's will be moved to the bedroom. The center channel will be next and then I'll worry about upgrading the sub (Polk Audio 10in.) But that is down the road a piece unless I have a windfall of some kind.
Lastly and most importantly I am very pleased with all my speakers. I didn't go out and buy a whole HT set up a great expense and now feel compelled to justify my investment. I had the 60's just about a year before buying the 3's. So I had a lot of time and many hours of listening to decide. Are there better speakers out there? Of course there are. But at what cost? I like the speakers because they sound good at both high and low volumes. They are extremely detailed. I never suffer from listener fatigue even at high DB's. This was something I had experienced with other brands.
I would be remiss if I didn't include one other thing that greatly influenced my decision on making subsequent purchases from Axiom. A company is only as good as the people it's comprised of. In my dealings with Axiom I have had personal contact with Alan, Amie, Brent and Noreen. I think that's everybody. Each and every one of them has provided outstanding customer service making sure that I was satisfied or that my questions were answered. This is a company that cares about their image, their products quality and value, their employees and perhaps most of all their customers. I don't think they need to resort to gimmicks to goose the numbers of sales by a few units.
Sorry I can't speak directly to your hearing problems. I can't address The "B" word because my deficit is in the high frequencies. This is common in old geezers. I absolutely don't find them "B" as a matter of fact that is one of the things that I love about the speakers most. I will say this. I have an "audiophile" (whatever that is) friend who says he is "extremely" sensitive to high frequencies. He came on the audition with me to hear the 60's. It was a Friday night. On Monday at work he said to me did you order your speakers yet. I said no. He said "What are you waiting for?" I said you mean you liked them. He said he thought they were awesome. Nuff said!
Sorry this was so long everyone. Especially those of you that have heard some of this before.
oz
