I'm in a similar age range (HAs since 1991 I guess). I also have fond recollections of the pre-digital HAs' sound.

I'm using a pair of 8 yr old phonak BTEs, which have various levels of directionality focusing. (Actually, I'm down one HA; 8yr old on left; 13 yr old left one one on right ear... getting new ones in January) I too prefer a lower level of directionality as my default.

I assume your HAs are doing bluetooth for the music setup you describe? Or are you describing a setup with speakers at home?

I use Bluetooth with my phone and sometimes my laptop. My current hearing aids can stream directly from devices with Bluetooth LE audio; no relay dongle necessary.

But at home I often use telecoil. It's one of the killer features for hearing aids that no one seems to know about. Short-range (inches to a few feet) baseband analog radio.

I have a transmitter set up in the living room. If I come within a few feet of the couch I'll hear the television. Got another at my desktop computer in the office. I also have a loop I put around my neck when I play my electric guitar. Telecoil transmitters will plug into any standard line audio source.