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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?
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Showing 10 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 
"It means its time to upgrade."

Good one!

But upgrade implies better or more expensive accordingly. Maybe practically its simply just time to fix things. It may cost more or less in the end than what you started with. Practically, spending more is probably part of what makes us feel better in the end, but I would not assume that.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 
"When you get to 3-4 hrs of listening still feeling good, stop spending money."

That's pretty good advice!
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 
Listen to Nikki Minaj. You'll get fatigued very quickly!
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 
"Possible sources could start with the quality of input materials (e.g. CDs or LPs)"

I used to think this was more of a factor in the past than I do these days. I really think system related issues are a much bigger factor, though I know a lot of people find modern "louder" recordings to be a source of fatigue. That is a likely category of recordings to cause listening fatigue, but I find many modern "louder" recordings to actually be quite good, only a small % blatantly fatiguing. I wonder if some are actually designed to grate on your nerves rather than happen to come out that way.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 
EMI/RFI fields from external devices can often be a silent killer.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 
Mihorn,

That's a unique way of breaking things down that I had not heard or thought of before applied to home audio. I have some background in geology (though it s been awhile) and the concept of P and S waves as they relate to seismic waves rings a bell.

Are you a seismologist?

It's an interesting perspective on sound that at first take rings true to me.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 
If you're drinking Boones Farm only, you are probably more likely to try almost anything that might make things better.

Disclaimer: never had Boones Farm. It might be pretty good for all I know.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 

"Mapman, my gut is you would probably like Boones Farm."

Probably not. I like wine but am not crazy about most wines out of the bottle. I prefer to add my own "tweaks" as needed in most cases.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 
"I don't wanna buy a tube amp:)"

I like to look at and listen to other peoples tube amps and have always thought tubes are the coolest thing since sliced bread... but neither do I.

After all if a SS amp starts to glow all pretty, you probably have a problem. :^)
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 
Distortion + associated fatigue tends to be higher at higher volumes in general, right?

Good listening pattern is music draws you in and desire to keep wanting to up the volume to draw you in even more. Down side is that listening at levels >80-85 db for extended periods is commonly cited as having destructive effects on our ears, no matter how good it may sound.

Bad listening pattern is music is not engaging and turning things up makes things worse.
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