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Listening Fatigue & Speakers in Small Room

The main components of my system are B&W N804s, a MF A300cr power amp (225 wpc), a BAT VK-3i, and a MF Nu Vista CD. All cabling is Cardas Golden Reference. I had this set up in my old, 20x24 condo dining room/living room with no problems. Now, I have a house with a dedicated listening room of approximately 10x10x8, and am experiencing listening fatigue. After a little while, the outside of my ears start to hurt. Recently, I have treated the room with GIK bass traps and spot panels which have made the quality of the sound much, much better, but my ears continue to hurt. I'm thinking that maybe the B&Ws are just too big for the room, and that I may need to go to monitors with a sub. Am I on the right track, or could another component may be the culprit? Thanks for your help.
rlb61

Showing 6 responses by rlb61

rlb61 OP
742 posts
 
Actually, I thought to retube my preamp since the tubes had
been in use for several, and I mean SEVERAL years. I figured
that maybe they were weakening and causing more amplified
distortion from having to work harder than necessary. Well, it
appears to have worked. I listened for a couple of hours with
no fatigue at all. I will continue to monitor the situation,
but it seems like I will need to change out the tubes more
frequently, regardless. The quality of the sound is great with
new tubes, I just hope this has solved the fatigue problem.
rlb61 OP
742 posts
 
I have experimented with toe in, and currently have them
firing straight ahead. However, I never tried extreme toe
in, so perhaps that's next. Also, there's no more room
behind me to sit, so I am maxed out in that regard.
rlb61 OP
742 posts
 
Bombaywalla ... I tried your suggestion about toeing in the
speakers so they are pointing directly at me. WHAT a
difference! I have a Monster Bass Trap on the rear wall
directly behind my listening chair, so it appears that certain
sounds are being absorbed by it. Also, I notice a decided
reduction in room energy, which is likely the elimination of
certain reflections; although the room is treated, not every
portion of it can be. So that huge change, coupled with the
new tubes, seems to have made the situation a whole lot
better. Thanks so much to you and everyone else for the
suggestions. BTW, if it turns out that I do need new speakers,
do you folks have recommendations for really good monitors?
Thanks, again.
rlb61 OP
742 posts
 
Tboooe ... As a trained musician, I have eclectic musical
tastes. Everything from classical, metal, reggae, punk, jazz,
folk, r&b, southern rock, and all things in between. Not easy,
I know. If I were to get new speakers, I would sell the N804s
and put that dough toward the purchase price. My budget is
somewhere between $3,500 and $5,000; so, with the offset in
the purchase price from the N804s, the net layout becomes
less. I think I would be best off with a speaker having a
ribbon or soft dome tweeter.
rlb61 OP
742 posts
 
Currently using Platinum Grade Russian 6H23s (the BAT LOVES these) and Visseaux 6v6GT. Ordered some Pope 6v6GTs from Upscale.
rlb61 OP
742 posts
 
Newbee ... crossing the axis of the speakers just slightly
in front of me, coupled with reducing the volume to the 60-
68 db range has made a world of difference. The more I play
around with this, the more it appears that room reflection
is the culprit. When the speakers were firing forward, they
were hitting untreated surfaces. When I toed them in just
in front of me, imaging snapped into place and room
excitement was reduced substantially, so the outside of my
ears are not throbbing anymore. Also, I have ordered a
couple of 244s from GIK Acoustics for the front wall behind
the speakers, which should take care of certain reflections
as well. Hopefully, those will be the icing on the cake.
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