Special needs for a music player

[ipaulr]

I'm 78 and have severe hearing loss in the higher registers, but the lower registers are still pretty good. I have great headphones (Focus, Sennheiser) that work great with my Oticon hearing aids, but I really want a high end IEM or ear bud.

I had given up the idea based on theory, but recently I tried the Sony WF-1000M4X with my iPhone 11 Pro Max, and was truly amazed. It provided me with a very satisfying audiophile experience for most of my music. Especially my drum and percussion music, which fits well with my frequency impairments. I use the earbuds' app's EQ to crank by +10db everthing above 2.5K, with 1K at +5db. The soundstage and base are incredibly enjoyable! Yes, I'm missing some high end sounds, but it's still mostly very satisfying. I listen at 75 - 100% of full volume on the iPhone.

However, this setup is less good with folk music, which I love, and some of my music (like Santana's "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts", and Pink Floyd's "Time"). Their rich high ends are lost almost entirely.

I keep all my music in iTunes and in its playlists.

Eventually I'd like to up my game. I'd like to somehow add more EQ and perhaps amplification. I'd like to boost the higher registers as much as I can, to compensate for my hearing loss (which is -90db at the high end). I'd like to do this with my current Sony earbuds, and am also thinking of getting more upscale buds like the Shure SHA900's or even a high-end UE. Would you recommend other IEMs?

If I go with a player, I'll need to be able to move and update from my iTunes music and playlists to it.

I'm open to any and all options. I prefer portable.

 

[ipaulr]

After a little more listening and experimenting, I’m now thinking that the theory is all wet, my theory that is. My theory that EQ could correct hearing loss, my hearing loss. I find the differences between various EQ settings with my current Sony earbuds to be subtle at best. And yet they are a sonic joy for me.

I’m now thinking that all I need to do is find IEMs that sound substantially better than my Sony‘s, especially better imaging for well produced, well layered songs like the ones I’ve been listening to. (Gabriella Roth & the Mirrors; Brent Lewis; Hoyt Axton, for example.)

Some setup that would use my iPhone as source and be portable and as wireless as possible. (Perhaps just one set of wires, to my IEMs. )

 

[ipaulr]

For example, would the Shure SE846 Sound Isolating™ Earphones paired with their SHA900 AMP be substantially better?

 

[ipaulr]

Or perhaps just the FiiO Q5s with my Sony’s? Or theEarStudio ES100 MK2-24bit Portable High-Resolution Bluetooth Receiver/USB DAC/Headphone Amp with LDAC, aptX HD, aptX, AAC (3.5mm Unbalanced & 2.5mm Balanced Output)? Others?

 

[Tangband]

I'm 78 and have severe hearing loss in the higher registers, but the lower registers are still pretty good. I have great headphones (Focus, Sennheiser) that work great with my Oticon hearing aids, but I really want a high end IEM or ear bud.

I had given up the idea based on theory, but recently I tried the Sony WF-1000M4X with my iPhone 11 Pro Max, and was truly amazed. It provided me with a very satisfying audiophile experience for most of my music. Especially my drum and percussion music, which fits well with my frequency impairments. I use the earbuds' app's EQ to crank by +10db everthing above 2.5K, with 1K at +5db. The soundstage and base are incredibly enjoyable! Yes, I'm missing some high end sounds, but it's still mostly very satisfying. I listen at 75 - 100% of full volume on the iPhone.

However, this setup is less good with folk music, which I love, and some of my music (like Santana's "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts", and Pink Floyd's "Time"). Their rich high ends are lost almost entirely.

I keep all my music in iTunes and in its playlists.

Eventually I'd like to up my game. I'd like to somehow add more EQ and perhaps amplification. I'd like to boost the higher registers as much as I can, to compensate for my hearing loss (which is -90db at the high end). I'd like to do this with my current Sony earbuds, and am also thinking of getting more upscale buds like the Shure SHA900's or even a high-end UE. Would you recommend other IEMs?

If I go with a player, I'll need to be able to move and update from my iTunes music and playlists to it.

I'm open to any and all options. I prefer portable.

You can get Apple Music lossless to your iPhone and soundwise , with earphones you dont need another streaming device regardless of price.
The sony wh1000xm3 or xm4 are really good in active mode and with the inbuilt eq.
https://www.google.se/amp/s/www.engadget.com/amp/sony-wh-1000xm4-headphones-review-150050779.html