One person flat out said he'd wasted years listening to music in other ways.

An update on my experiments with BeoLab 3 as headphones.
Some of you will remember my "inspiration" with using BL3s as headphones.
Placed on floor stands, to either side of my listening position, about 1.2m from the ear, and pointing straight towards my head.
I'm seated in a low backed and comfortable chair.

I have begun introducing friends and acquaintances to the experience, and the above quotes are just a few of the reactions I'm getting.
"I'm going straight down to B&O to buy a pair tomorrow!" from one friend - who did exactly that.

If you have a pair of BL3s at home I recommend you try it out. Instead of placing the speakers out in front, pointing towards you, with you at the apex of a triangle; place the speakers right out to the side, the acoustic lens at the level of your ears - pointing towards you.
Make sure the path to your ears is free of obstacles, and get ready for aural bliss.

The soundstage will overwhelm you. The intimacy of voices and instruments is simply shocking. The detail and placement of sources an ear opener of the first order.
And it's a really fun demo to run on friends. They can't believe their own ears. I'm going to start video taping their reactions.

Soundproof, it is always very interesting to read your posts, and I have learned a lot from most of them.

I am sure what you describe in this post is a great experience, but I am also quite sure, that this is no good at all for your ears. I suffer from a tinitus for 7 years now, and I can only tell everybody in here to take care of their ears! Once your hearing is damaged, it is very hard to heal it...

tom:

As far as I know, there are not therapies to heal tinitus. All the docs I have been to told me to try to get used to live with it. I tried accupuncture, which helped for about 2 weeks, and after that, the ringing came back even louder...

Do you have a healthy lifestyle? ie sleep at least 8 hours and sleep and wake up the same time everyday, exercise 3 times per week for at least 1 hour, eat healthily - vegetables, less red meat, balanced meals,  no bad habits - smoking, drinking etc. It is always worth trying all of the above when something goes wrong with your health. You don't have anything to lose, but you may be able to gain from it. I don't think anyone knows what causes tinitus, but living healthily is worth a try. I'm not medically qualified in any way, but just think there's nothing wrong with trying common sense.

ive had tinitus ever since i can remember , the older i got the more i got used to it, its only since buying a Beocom 2 that it seems to have changed, occassionally it stops altogether and then i start hearing voices

jay

beodude:

tom:

As far as I know, there are not therapies to heal tinitus. All the docs I have been to told me to try to get used to live with it. I tried accupuncture, which helped for about 2 weeks, and after that, the ringing came back even louder...

Do you have a healthy lifestyle? ie sleep at least 8 hours and sleep and wake up the same time everyday, exercise 3 times per week for at least 1 hour, eat healthily - vegetables, less red meat, balanced meals,  no bad habits - smoking, drinking etc. It is always worth trying all of the above when something goes wrong with your health. You don't have anything to lose, but you may be able to gain from it. I don't think anyone knows what causes tinitus, but living healthily is worth a try. I'm not medically qualified in any way, but just think there's nothing wrong with trying common sense.

tom:

Soundproof, it is always very interesting to read your posts, and I have learned a lot from most of them.

I am sure what you describe in this post is a great experience, but I am also quite sure, that this is no good at all for your ears. I suffer from a tinitus for 7 years now, and I can only tell everybody in here to take care of their ears! Once your hearing is damaged, it is very hard to heal it...

Hello Tom,

My sympathies with your tinitus. I was, of course, concerned about damage to hearing when I began these "experiments." Turns out that you do not need much volume on the BL3s, and though I have cranked them up occasionally, the sensation of potential damage to the ears is nowhere near what you get with earbuds or headphones that are too loud.
The latter used to drown out city and gym noises are causing massive hearing damage. The future will be filled with people going: "Speak up!"

The distance of 1.2m is both to ensure that your whole body will get the vibrations of the music, and to keep the speakers a sensible distance from  your head. If tinitus is a worry, then using BL3s as computer speakers should be a no-no -- one assumes that people are sensible. (and sensitive).

There's an Australian company which has developed a therapeutic tinitus suppressing bit of electronics. They swear by the A8 headphones for people who use their equipment. Here's a link:

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/web2/press/stories.asp?showAll=True&ID=106

@Lee

I have tried a variety of speakers in this fashion, B&O and non-B&O. The BL3s are the best - probably because of their compact size, and the short distance from bass to mid/top. Plus the unique acoustic lens.

 

@ beodude: I try to live as healthily as I am able to, but I know that I could do better. It is very easy to notice, that after a hard night (with to much alcohol and not enough sleep), the ringing is much louder then normally. But I don't want to loose what I consider as quality of life.

My tinitus began after a Dave Wreckl (jazz-rock drummer) concert that was too loud. In addition to that, I was in a very bad heath-condition at that time.

I suffer from tinitus too, however my "noise" is a low throbbing like a large engine or a deep foghorn. The way I have learnt to live with it is, as I'm lying in my bed trying to get to sleep, I imagine boats in a harbour in dense fog passing each other It beats counting sheep

Andy T.