I have hearing loss. Without hearing aids, everyday conversations are somewhat difficult.
It wasn't like this from the beginning... From my late 30s, my hearing started to deteriorate, and gradually I've reached this point.
When I was younger (in my 20s), I loved listening to music so much that I once wanted to invest as much as a car's worth into car audio to hear good sound.
Then, going through busy times, my hobby of listening to music faded, and as I developed hearing loss, I cut ties with music.
Still, when I was traveling alone for long periods, nothing could relieve that boredom like music, so when I started a shrimp farm, I began listening to music again.
With hearing loss, I wondered how good the sound could be, but fortunately, listening through headphones sounds pretty much as good as it did before.
So I started affordably with a Sony WH-1000XM3. I chose Bluetooth headphones for convenience, and it seems like a good choice.
Using wired at home and wireless outside provided good value for the price.
At home, the sound seemed a bit bland, so I got a cheap PreAmp.
It's a Douk Audio tube amp from AliExpress, called 'China's mistake'... and it has an incredibly great price-to-performance ratio.
Applying various coupons and discounts, you can purchase it for around 100,000 won.
After so much time had passed that the Sony headphones needed the ear cups replaced, I recently changed headphones.
It's the Bowers & Wilkins PX8. Bowers & Wilkins is a company originally famous for speakers, and recently they're showing excellent performance in headphones as well.
Well... people show all the minor specs anyway, so I'll skip that... What was important was that it supports Bluetooth 5.2 with aptX, aptX HD, and aptX Adaptive.
If you haven't experienced this, you won't understand, but when you switch from listening with the standard AAC Bluetooth codec to aptX, a whole new world opens up.
It conveys an almost lossless sound quality.
It produces excellent sound even without a separate DAC. When you connect the tube amp I used before with a wired connection... it produces another level of sound.
My eldest son has sensitive hearing and great interest in music, so I had him do a blind listening test... He let out a laugh of pleasant surprise... and then gave his vote to the tube amp sound.
While headphones have a significant influence on listening to music... it was a moment I felt again how important the preAmp's influence is as well.
Despite having hearing loss that makes normal critical listening impossible, the difference is clear enough that I can hear it... so I think it's worth recommending.
In terms of investment priority, it seems like preAmp > headphones > cables.
I'm not a professional audio expert or someone with the refined hobby of enjoying expensive audio equipment, but being able to hear music that makes my ears happy and makes me smile again...
...I've simply shared this with you.
As a note... it's unfortunate that mobile phones that support aptX Codec wirelessly are not common.
Common phones like Galaxy or iPhone don't support aptX Codec. I heard it's because of licensing costs.
There's an alternative method of connecting via USB, so there's no need to be discouraged.
To use it with an iPhone, you need a Lightning OTG adapter, and it feels a bit cumbersome...
Since headphones themselves aren't the most convenient listening tool... I think this is something we can tolerate.
If you want to listen to good sound quality, why not start with an affordable tube preAmp?
If you decide to start with headphones... I recommend choosing headphones or earphones that support aptX Codec.
Right now in Jakarta it's raining heavily... sitting quietly and writing rambling thoughts while listening to music is also a nice break time for me.
I'll end my rambling here. Have a nice weekend.
