2. tech-talk
  3. 1362330306

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?
128x128b_limo

Showing 5 responses by geoffkait

geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
List of Possible Distortion Sources?

1. Comb filter effects

2. Tube microphonics

3. Cosmic microwave background radiation

4. Sunspot activity

5. Window vibration

6. Wall vibration

7. Floor vibration

8. Past Time coordinates embedded in recording

9. Directionality of wires, cables, fuses, etc.

10. Low pressure weather system
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Agree with Csontos, it's the distortion. The problem is, even when you get rid of as much distortion as you can, there's still a great deal of distortion in the sound. We tend to assume that's what it's supposed to sound like, that any remaining distortion must be the fault of the recording. Pop Quiz: Where on Earth does all that remaining distortion come from?

"An ordinary man has no means of deliverance." - Old audiophile axiom
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
If one follows some of the principles of Feng Shui, the ancient art of organization and energy control, you know, things like getting rid of old newspapers and old magazines and books, he should notice an audible decrease of distortion, especially when the volume is turned up. The distortion I'm referring to when the volume is turned up has nothing whatsoever to do with amplifier clipping, nothing so mundane, but everything to do with information fields, Audio's dirty little secret.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
As we have seen recently with the WA Qwantum Chips and some other things, too, like SteinMusic Harmonizer, Schumann Frequency Generators, demagnetizers, ionizers, and - all of this in utter disregard for the textbook view of distortion and noise in audio systems - such things as Silver Rainbow Foil, cream electret, the Red X Pen, things of that nature. If the only wine you've ever drunk is Boones Farm, you probably think it goes down pretty smooth. LOL
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Mapman, my gut is you would probably like Boones Farm.

;-)
More to discover