Stereo speakers, mono listener

[Dunlavyphile]

Would there be a preferred loudspeaker design for someone with normal hearing in one ear and none in the other? Let's assume a typical configuration of speakers and listening position. Perception of soundstage becomes irrelevant, but all other considerations should still apply.

 

[Marc v E]

I would say tonality, how real an instrument sounds is most important anyway, to me at least.

A smooth and downward sloping frequentie curve is also just as important hearing from one ear or both.

The only difference would be in stereo image. But imo and ime a multichannel amp and setup can give a spectacular result in room filling sound, eq and possibly better anyway in placing sound effects around you with multichannel music like dolby atmos

 

[Benedium]

How about... will a one eared person hear a difference between stereo pair of speakers vs a mono speaker? Assuming they're level matched at listening position. Maybe omnidirectional speakers would work better?

 

[Galliardist]

How about... will a one eared person hear a difference between stereo pair of speakers vs a mono speaker? Assuming they're level matched at listening position. Maybe omnidirectional speakers would work better?

One ear listening can cope fine with stereo as long as you don’t try for ultra near field listening, The one ear can still pick up directional information from the front. Surround doesn’t work so well, I’m told. I know a couple of people in this situation.

Damaged ears are somewhat different. Each person is different. There’s a condition where the ears hear sounds at different frequencies: and I know another person who found that their dead ear actually wasn’t, but heard some frequencies. My partner has Meniere’s and her hearing is a mess: one ear is not quite dead but distorts what it does hear.

So with one good ear, stereo is at least worth exploring.

 

[Inner Space]

So with one good ear, stereo is at least worth exploring.

Possibly, but all locational clues would be missing, apart from amplitude, which is likely to be misrepresented at the one good ear by being panned away or whatever. Honestly, I think the OP's solution is to listen in mono, through a big fullrange speaker. Find a pair of something fabulous, where one is broken or scratched, and make an offer. Single hifi speakers have virtually no value.

 

[Galliardist]

Possibly, but all locational clues would be missing, apart from amplitude, which is likely to be misrepresented at the one good ear by being panned away or whatever. Honestly, I think the OP's solution is to listen in mono, through a big fullrange speaker. Find a pair of something fabulous, where one is broken or scratched, and make an offer. Single hifi speakers have virtually no value.

I'm reporting results from people with one good ear. My answer is not guesswork. I don't claim that you would hear the same as someone with two good ears (trivially obvious), but there is something to be heard and it can add to the enjoyment of music as I've been told this.

Anyone in this situation should listen for themselves and decide the best option. Remembering that they may be in a family situation with other listeners who may also use the system, a stereo setup with a mono button is also a good option and one I've read as recommended. That would also be flexible.

Another comment I've seen is that results can be in some ways dependent on when the hearing damage occurred, because what you actually hear is governed by the brain's processing. The mono option could easily be right for some people.

 

[changer]

Whilst interesting, this does not belong in the speaker review section.

 

[Duke]

Would there be a preferred loudspeaker design for someone with normal hearing in one ear and none in the other? Let's assume a typical configuration of speakers and listening position. Perception of soundstage becomes irrelevant, but all other considerations should still apply.

I have a friend who has hearing in only one ear. He is a former musician (among other things) and loves music. His loudspeaker of choice is a full-range electrostatic.

He is apparently much more sensitive to phase response than people with hearing in both ears, an area where his single-fullrange-panel SoundLabs presumably perform well (I haven't seen actual phase measurements of them). I don't have data to support this, only an anecdote:

I took a pair of new amplifiers to his house once, and the amplifier designer had bragged to me about how good the phase response was on his amps. I don't remember his exact claim, but it was something like plus or minus 2 degrees across whatever frequency range. I did not mention any of this to my friend, nor would he have had any way of knowing it.

Anyway just a few seconds into the first song he said, "These amps have really good phase response!" This was the first and only time I've heard anyone claim to perceive the phase response of an amplifier, and his stated observation matched the amplifier manufacturer's claims. Needless to say I was amazed.

My sample size is too small for me to say with confidence that people with hearing in only one ear are particularly sensitive to phase response (presumably in loudspeakers as well as amplifiers), but perhaps binaural hearing is more forgiving of phase anomalies.

 

[Dunlavyphile]

I think the OP's solution is to listen in mono

That doesn't appear to be so simple:

https://www.sonible.com/blog/stereo-to-mono/

Or are there convertors that can manage these issues?

Also, consider that the objective of a sound system is to reproduce the real world, as the listener experiences it. If a one-eared person sits in a concert hall he hears instruments arrayed across a stage, and the sounds they each create reach his ear both directly and reflected off the walls and ceiling. Whatever his brain makes of that is what he considers to be "real." Wouldn't that then be what he expected from a sound system? And would he get it with typical speakers in a typical arrangement, or would he need something different? Acoustical engineering is way over my head, so I'm just posing the question.

Finally, with complete deafness in one ear there is no perception of directional information, meaning no experience of sounds as originating from specific locations. Sound simply exists. Anyone who reports differently either has some remaining hearing in the bad ear or once did and still remembers (and so perhaps imagines) the experience. You can research this.