Speakers for Those with Digital Audio Sensitivity

I am really struggling to find the perfect speaker to manage work calls due to damn digital audio sensitivity, like I know many have.

I have so far purchased and returned around six different Bluetooth speakers because in one way or another they were not what I needed.

What I do need is:

• High quality to reduce the impact on my ears as much as possible
• Bluetooth functionality ideally - primarily they will be used to connect to a work laptop for MS Teams calls, but I would like them to connect to my Amazon Firestick to see if it is possible to listen to the TV, and also my phone for WhatsApp calls
• The speaker needs to be a speakerphone - so that it has a built in microphone that can be used for calls, as I need to keep the laptops in a different room due to the whirring aggravating my tinnitus

That's really about it.

So far all of my speakers have gone back ( Amazon Echo Studio, Sony SRS-XB13, DOSS SoundBox, Bose SoundLink, Poly Sync 20). I am currently using a Bose SoundLink Revolve II - but haven't tested it fully.

I have returned them all either because connecting to devices was incredibly difficult, the sound quality was too harsh, they would not allow connection to MS Teams and WhatsApp for calls or the inbuilt microphone could not be used for the online MS Teams and WhatsApp calls.

Money is less of a concern at the moment but ideally within $1,000 if possible.

Does anyone have any good suggestions for ideally Bluetooth, but if not, wired speakers, that have helped reduce the tinnitus reactivity when using them compared to cheaper speakers?

I can't avoid work calls, so I need to make the very best I can out of a bad situation - reducing the impact on my ears is the primary goal so I can run wires and add additional microphones to my workstation if an all-in-one solution isn't possible.

I have spent weeks researching but I am not finding anything right now and need some help

 

As an update, for anyone who finds this thread in the future, I am now returning my Bose SoundLink Revolve II because I cannot get the built-in microphone to work for MS Teams calls (WhatsApp video calls is fine) but, to be honest, the sound quality is not very good.

I have ordered a Marshall Stanmore II because I like the fact it has analogue dials for bass and treble - and nice to get away from stupid, ridiculous app control.

Please though, if anyone has any suggestions, they will be appreciated, as this is still very much trial and error for me.

 

I wonder if the audio compression isn't the issue here.

Perhaps you need something with an adjustable EQ.

I have a Sonos Roam that I have been using with my computer without much issue. It is Bluetooth and AirPlay compatible, and EQ can be set on the device itself. It's only a 3-band EQ though. You can also set the max volume threshold so you'll never get your ears blown out if the volume is accidentally left too high. I've used it with Teams and Zoom so far.

I normally use Kali Audio LP-6 powered studio monitors with my computer. I love these monitors. They can be a little bright, so EQing is a must. They don't have any wireless functionality built-in though as they are meant for studio recording.

 

Just to let you know that you are not alone.

I bought a TV that I just can't use. I have my eye out for one of the old-fashioned ones in the hope that it is easier on my hearing.

I get by with the radio -- my lifeline. I have a really old Roberts Radio and play it night and day.

Yeah, a TV with a gentle sound would be nice.

How the younger generation can listen to the piercing, tinny sound of clips and recordings on their smartphones (and enjoy it) is beyond me.

Techno beginner here.

"An adjustable EQ" -- is EQ an equalizer? What does it adjust?

 

Yes, EQ is an equalizer.

I can't watch TV with the built-in speakers. I was already an audiophile before my tinnitus worsened, so I have two home theater systems with Energy brand speakers. One is the full Veritas line with tower speakers and the other was their lesser expensive Connoisseur line with bookshelf speakers. I use these with a Denon receiver that has dynamic range compression which basically keeps loud and soft parts of movies the same volume level.

 

Thanks @kingsfan - apparently the Marshall speaker I have ordered has an adjustable EQ from within the app, plus it has analogue bass and treble dials on the front hopefully allowing me to fine tune better.

I'm very techie but know little about speakers and sound quality, so very much struggling to know what I am even looking for here. I don't really have loudness hyperacusis, but my tinnitus reacts incredibly quickly and strongly to almost all forms of digital audio - haven't been able to listen to the TV since December. I listened to two songs last week on a high quality speaker at around 50 dB, with earplugs, and I'm still paying for it

 

I don't like the built-in TV speakers, either. I have several options for entertainment audio and my system can do 5.1 for movies, mono-only through the center channel, or stereo-audio for two channel music.

 

I've heard good things about the Marshall speaker. It's also a really nice display item =)

If your ears are anything like mine, just cut the treble and see how you do.

 

What is "digital audio sensitivity"? I've never heard of that. All sound is analog when it reaches your ears.

 

It simply means your tinnitus reacts (grows louder and increases in pitch - at least in my case) the moment you hear any type of sound from a speaker whether that's from a TV, radio, laptop speaker, phone speaker or plug in speaker - which are often grouped, for descriptive purposes, under the term 'digital audio'.

 

Artificial sound (from any loudspeaker) is usually digital sound too.

For some reason some people have a sensitivity to artificial sound, though can tolerate natural (non-speaker) sounds fine.

 

I wonder whether this sensitivity depends on the quality of the digital-to-analog converter. Some DACs are better than others, and true high-fidelity DACs are rare these days.

 

The usage of the term "digital" is confusing then... it has a very specific meaning for audio, which is different from what you are trying to convey. Perhaps "playback audio" vs. "naturally occurring audio" is the difference you are after.

 

Perhaps @GregCA, although if someone said to me 'playback audio,' I wouldn't have a clue what they meant.

I get the point though, I do mean audio from an electronic device - rather than the nature of the audio conversion itself (whether compressed or uncompressed).

Yes this is exactly @Jupiterman like mine. I can tolerate natural non-speaker sounds at louder decibels, like someone talking - or at a beach for example - but the moment even 30 dB-40 dB artificial sound from a loudspeaker happens, it's an instant spike!

Although I have noticed a dog barking at a distance can have a similar effect, but not as bad as artificial sound.

It's frustrating as two months after the onset of my tinnitus I was starting to tolerate artificial audio quite well - but then I had a second noise trauma from a motorbike in an underground car park last December, and it hasn't been the same since.

Perhaps it's a high fidelity speaker I need @RocketJSquirrel - but I have no understanding of audio quality, hence the research and finding something to cause the least reaction is proving so hard for me.

 

It could be. I think it also has to do with the build of the speaker itself, tweeters especially, and its enclosure, how is the sound directed at the user, is there a waveguide, etc. There are many different types of speakers and materials used to construct them. A simple dome tweeter could be a soft dome material or a hard material such as aluminum. These all greatly affect the frequency response.

Here is an article explaining different tweeter types:

The Definite Guide to Tweeter: Choosing the Best Tweeter

 

I think the terms we're looking for are "recorded" & "live" audio.

 

I would think that DACs have gotten better, not worse. The use of a separate DAC in my preamp made my CD player sound better, and after I replaced the CD player with a CD transport, this brought a further improvement to the sound quality.

 

This may have changed, but I think pre-built non-Apple PCs tend to ship with subpar DACs.

 

I have no knowledge of DACs in computers, or how to use them in a home stereo system if that is even advisable.

 

It's surprisingly difficult to find the right terminology. Many of the live events today are not only transmitted digitally, but they're also emitted via speakers...

 

In my personal view and auditory circumstances, you are onto a big thing here. How the young people today can listen to audio clips on their phones is one big mystery. The tinny sound drives my tinnitus way up. Maybe this thread should be under the Research News instead of off on the back-burner under Chit-Chat and all that?

 

I really think it's just the frequency response of the speakers affecting recruitment and not that it's not from a natural source.

I can pick high notes on my electric guitar, unplugged, without any amplification and my ears will feel full and tinnitus with spike. That's a natural acoustic sound, yet it has the same effect as a recording would.

 

I've had mild to moderate tinnitus since birth and could listen to tinny phone audio all day long without any issues or any type of spike.

Now though I have a lot of issues with audio; pressure and sensitivity from a digital source.

In terms of research, I do feel there are tricks being missed. Are we sure that nothing can be measured in those with highly sound reactive tinnitus? I wonder if anyone has even attempted to measure this in any way?

Something dynamically changes within the auditory system somewhere and I do wonder if this has ever attempted to be measured to see if anything that could be measured (EEG, brain waves, vibrations, muscle spasms, MRI scan, etc.) before and after a spike activation.

It really feels often as if I was listening to a muscle spasm and contract, perhaps nerve, and something inside my ear (or brain) is reacting to those frequencies - especially as there are cracking sounds during swallowing and yawning that I can initiate - and can be heard by the ENT (!), so surely something mechanical - but still I get told we don't know what it is so we can't fix!

 

@kingsfan, sorry to call on you again but you seem very knowledgeable with this.

I have bought a DAC (I think it's called Red Firefly). My laptop is its input, and it outputs to the speaker - although at £150 I don't know it's made a difference.

On the other hand, I did download 3rd party EQ software to my laptop, and switched off any frequency of 1 kHz or above - and I feel it's made a big difference, and that I can tolerate the audio better!

Now what I want to buy is a real EQ device, that has an input coming in from either my laptop (work laptop that won't allow me to download 3rd party EQ software) or my TV - and the output to the speaker. I simply want to turn down or off any frequency 1 kHz or above, and just leave lower than 1 kHz playing through the speaker.

I've researched YouTube, Google and Amazon but all devices seem to be compatible with guitars, studios - anything but a simple laptop to speaker!

I've purchased an audio mixer tonight. Apparently the input can come via a USB connection from the laptop and output via 3.5mm jack to the speaker - is this all I need to do the job?

I've gone round in circles looking as I guess no-one really uses these EQ or sound mixers in this way so I'm struggling to know what to buy to do what should be a relatively simple job!

 

What computer and what speaker do you have?

 

@DeanD, is it possible to listen to speech and music with a 1 kHz limit?

 

This is how I have Spotify EQed on my phone for my car's Infinity audio system.

I imagine it sounds like muffled garbage for anyone else in the car, but it sounds pretty flat to my ears. It's pretty crazy how that works. Old me would have boosted the highs a bit for it to sound flat.

 

I have only tried this whilst watching a YouTube interview - I found it fine, and not so harsh on my ears. After living in TV and audio silence for nearly 10 months now, anything is better than nothing right now.

The speaker is a Marshall Stanmore II - and the laptop is a HP Pavilion 17 Notebook PC running an i5-6200U processor.

I also hope to use this by utilizing the headphone jack on my TV to an audio mixer to reduce high and mid frequencies - and then pass the output to the Marshall Stanmore II speaker... if this is possible.

I pick up the audio mixer tomorrow, so we shall see.

 

Oh that's right. That speaker has a built-in 5 band EQ, but I'm assuming you want more. You could also just get a graphic EQ rather than a whole mixing panel. Here's a dual channel 15-band with balanced and unbalanced inputs.

More expensive route would be a home theater receiver, but you would have to buy one with pre-amp outputs which are usually only on the higher end models. Or just buy some nice passive speakers along with a lower end model. You could also just buy a home theater or stereo processor unit which is just a receiver with no amplifier. Some receivers and processors have the benefit of dynamic range compression, which is a killer feature to have with tinnitus/hyperacusis.

 

Thanks for the reply.

I completely forgot about the 5 band EQ on the app (looked this morning). Looks like I had 2 kHz+ turned down anyway.

This morning I took off everything above 600 Hz and listened to three of my fave songs I haven't heard in months. I didn't notice much of a difference ear wise, but sometimes it doesn't come out til morning.

OK, so now I have a DAC converter running between the laptop and speaker, and will add the audio mixer shortly and sample the audio from both laptop and TV and see if I can get a bearable balance.

I must admit I looked far and wide for a simple 7-15 EQ band equalizer. I didn't see many that had a simple 3.5 mm jack in and out - and all were advised as being suitable for a car or guitar - so I wasn't really sure what I could join together, and after about 3 hours of looking and researching I opted for the audio mixer as that I can see a 3.5 mm in and out.

EDIT:

OK I have had to scrap the audio mixer. Why on earth do these things need to be so complicated!

I can't find a way of 3.5 mm jack audio in from laptop or TV - adjust using a 7 or 15 channel EQ bands - and then 3.5mm out to speaker. → This is what I purchased.

I can build laptops, code apps for the iOS and Android store - but not figure out simple basic audio connections and frequency control!

Would the ART EQ341 do this job - without getting in to a home theatre system?