Does listening fatigue go away???

Hi Daimbert, yes, listening fatigue is an all-too-real phenomenon that you CAN get rid of – just not quickly. I don’t believe there’s any real and reliable way for us to ‘pinpoint’ what the source of listening fatigue is in a given system. It won’t be as straightforward as diagnosing a faulty component (unless you can beg, borrow or steal other gear to try – ANY other gear could possibly help give you a clue of sorts). But, you can only start by making substitutions in order to see firsthand. The fact is, to start with, it could literally be all or any of your components: source, preamp, amp or even speakers (or even wiring, as rare as that is). But, I second what Elizabeth says: it isn’t always necessarily what you’d think it would be. It isn’t necessarily going to be easy, so you’ll likely just have to pick your starting point. I suppose in general a practical place to begin may be your with least expensive components. In the course of all this, you may find yourself in the position (as many who have gone before you) of having to buy something that has a 30-day trial period just to find something out for yourself. Don’t knock it, this can work quite well, if you can afford to be out the shipping costs. But, remember: what it gives you is direct experience – something no amount of ‘fact-finding’ or ‘theory’ or supposition can supplant. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. If you can’t quite make up your mind, at least you’ll have an idea WHY you can’t. But, keep in mind that what you’re after here is certainty, not information – there’s a difference, of course. But, all that’s the first thing to consider. There’s another to think about and that is power conditioning. I don’t know how you feel about it (many audiophiles are polarized by the topic). I mention it because in my case it COMPLETELY cured the problem – albeit to the tune of at least a $1000. But, after I got to the point that I felt I’d addressed each component individually to the point of assuring myself of at least a decent quality level on its own, within my means anyway, I then switched focus to power conditioning as a possible answer. That’s because at the time I was beginning to see the writing on the wall about how frustrating and expensive it might eventually prove to be to finish out my own quest for conquering listening fatigue on the basis of equipment swapping alone. I’d been spending a lot of time on the facebook site of Alan Maher Designs and eventually found my curiosity peaked. Finally the time came when there was nothing more to do than take the plunge ($40, plus shipping in my case). It was a big improvement, I was blown away and all that. Fast forward to late last year and about a thousand bucks later and I’m very glad I’d taken that first step – listening fatigue nixed altogether (to a level I hadn’t thought was possible really, but all that’s another story). Who knows, if you do your own research you might even find something else out there I didn’t know about that works for you better or cheaper or whatever… But, for me it turns out that was the thing that saved me from the equipment treadmill that I otherwise would likely have had to hitch myself to, like too many other people, I suppose. My system is a CD-only based, minimalist one that cost about $5000. For many audiophiles that would amount to nice second system. Me? I’m now VERY happy with it as a first system and I hain’t givinit up fer NObody. But, seriously if you keep on asking the right questions like that, I believe you’ll come out on top. It will take some patience and experimentation, but that can really be key in this hobby to winding up with something of value.

Hi Chazro, my definition is: anything that prematurely causes your mind to wander during a listening stint, or otherwise causes you to begin to wonder what's on TV. As such, probably a pretty common issue, I'm guessing.

Oh, now I see Daimbert. No, burn-in and listening fatigue are actually 2 separate issues. Both are real, but burn-in does indeed go away while listening fatigue does not ever do so unless and until you make whatever the necessary pre-emptive changes turn out to be in your system. Burn-in doesn't usually take too very long to go away. Most of the change in sound for components tends to happen within the first few hours to the first few days, but formally speaking it may not actually complete itself until anywhere from 2 weeks to a month or so out. Copper wiring can take about a week or 2 and silver wiring can typically take around 400 hrs, or even more, really.