The Home Owner’s Manual
7
And Now A Word About Your Hearing
People have a natural tendency to listen to music on headphones at much louder levels than
they would on speakers. If you hope to avoid permanent hearing damage, it’s important to
be careful not to listen at extremely loud levels or to listen for too long at moderately loud
levels. Because HeadRoom amps must be capable of driving even the most inefficient dy-
namic headphones to satisfactory listening levels, the amps are able to drive headphones of
average and high efficiencies to
very high levels. As a result, you may not be listening at a
safe level even though the volume control on the amp is less than half way up. Generally
speaking, when listening to headphones, you should only turn up the volume to the point at
which the sound isn’t too quiet.
The most common hearing damage caused by prolonged or excessively loud sound is called
tinnitus. It manifests itself as a sustained ringing in the ears and can become a permanent
condition. If you find that your ears are ringing or that there is a sensation of pressure or
fatigue, give them a rest for a couple of days (or until they feel fresh). These symptoms are
your body telling you that your ears need a break. Should you choose to ignore these
symptoms, you are risking permanent hearing damage. As a general rule, sound pressure
levels under 80 decibels will not damage hearing, even if listened to continually. On the other
hand, anything over 100 decibels may cause permanent damage fast. Sound pressure levels
anywhere in between can also be damaging. The louder the sound, the shorter the exposure
time required to cause permanent damage.
Now, don’t fool yourself into thinking that you either have full-blown tinnitus or you don’t
have it at all—you can get a slight case. For example, you might only notice your ears ringing
in bed at night. Once you have a slight case of tinnitus, your ears are much more susceptible
to further damage. So, if you get tinnitus, it’s important to be much more careful about
exposure to loud sounds. Now that we’ve told you to be careful, don’t blame us if you blow
it. If you have any more questions about hearing damage, call a doctor. Sorry to sound so
sobering, but a lifetime of musical enjoyment requires ears in tiptop shape.
The Supreme amplifier carries a two-year parts and labor product warranty. If you have any
problems with your headphone listening system, please first call us at 1-800-828-8184. We
will try to diagnose the problem over the phone, which can save both of us considerable time,
effort and money. If the equipment must be returned for repair, we will authorize a return
for you. HeadRoom is the only authorized service center for HeadRoom products, either in or
out of warranty. If a unit is under warranty, there is no cost for the repair labor, parts, or
shipping from HeadRoom back to you (i.e., You’re responsible for paying the shipping
charges to get the product to us). For units out of warranty, repairs are billed on a time and
parts basis, plus shipping costs. When we receive the equipment, we will initiate repairs
quickly (usually within three working days) and return the unit to you, or call you with an
assessment of the problem.
Two-Year Product Warranty
