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Listener fatigue: what does it really mean?

Okay, so I used to think that listener fatigue meant that your ears just kind of got tired from listening to speakers that were overly bright. I don't have a good understanding of the make up of an ear, but I believe there are muscles in an ear that, I guess, expand and contract while we listen to music and I figured that's what it meant to have listener fatigue. Now, I'm thinking that listener fatigue is maybe more than your ears just getting tired but actually, your whole body getting tired and feeling drained. I experienced this time and time again listening to my paradigm studio's. They are somewhat bright and provide quite a bit of detail in my oppinion, so I'm wondering if, since there was such a great amount of detail coming through, that it was physically draining because I'm sitting there analyzing everything that's coming through the speakers. I would wake up and first thing in the morning, grab a cup of coffee and start listening to music (my daily routine) and 20-30 minutes later start nodding off and I couldn't figure out what was going on. I've been sitting here this morning listening to my new vandersteen's for two hours and can't get enough. I feel like I could listen all day and that I'm almost energized from listening vs. drained.

Soooo, what are your oppinions about what listener fatigue is and why it's caused?
b_limo
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
Where one usually can listen for hours, instead, one gets tired of listening at all.
So it is being turned off the listening whatever the reason.
Usually the term listening fatigue is kept for when the problem can be traced to something in the equipment.
Listener fatigue is not due to your Motherinlaw visiting..
Listening fatigue can be caused by all sorts of issues withing the equipment. Even suptle stuff you cannot even pinpoint.
For example i stopped listening to music all the time after buying a new preamp. After about six months i realized I was ust not listening to music. i tracked it back to the preamp which i promptly tossed. Problem solved. Eve nthough it took a long time to figure out I even HAD a problem. (this was back in the mid 1980's)
zd542
5,339 posts
 
" Now, I'm thinking that listener fatigue is maybe more than your ears just getting tired but actually, your whole body getting tired and feeling drained."

You're not on a treadmill by any chance when you listen, are you? I find it better to go to the gym first, before listening. This allows me to prepare for the difficult trials that await me in my listening room. You may also want to have some energy drinks before listening, just to be on the safe side.
tom6897's avatar
tom6897
1,029 posts
 
You have the right idea and are on the correct path.

The most common denominator for me is that the system does not sound natural, involving and lacks emotion/feeling.
There are many adjectives used to describe a system that can lead to fatigue, Among them: bright, harsh, lean, clinical, analytical, forward, cool/cold, sterile, un-emotional, tipped up, Hi-Fi.

When you find yourself listening for a system to do all the "Audiophile Gymnastics" it is already too late. Emotion and musicality to me should be first and foremost. Either you are listening to MUSIC or your EQUIPMENT. The equipment needs to be a window that is transparent and allows the musics to flow through it without being artificial.
brauser
421 posts
 
Listener fatigue can be brought on in a number of ways. Here's a couple of common ones. 1) Overdrive your system by turning the volume up just a little bit too high. Most systems have a threshold volume level that is comfortable from which even a modest increase will introduce an annoying effect that reduces the pleasure of the experience to some degree. 2) Incorporating system elements that move the system to the bright side of neutral. I recall some years ago trying out a new pure silver interconnect. Nothing against silver, but this particular one was great in capturing detail but also added a hardness to the sound that I just couldn't handle.

Being involved in this hobby for over 40 years now I've seen a lot of system elements come and go. The one thing that I will not tolerate is Listener Fatigue.
learsfool
1,206 posts
 
I would second Brauser's suggestion that you may simply have the volume up too high. A great many audiophiles love to listen at a very high volume level, which will definitely lead to listening fatigue much quicker than listening at reasonable levels. I posted a thread several months back about volume levels and hearing loss, you might want to search for that under my moniker and check it out.
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