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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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petepappp
37 posts
 
O.K., we have a top notch amp manufacturer giving his expert opionion on how the amplification process can contribute to listener fatigue, is that the whole story? The presence or absence of odd ordered harmonics perceived by the brain as noise explains it all. Do lack of detail or dynamics contribute? Can too much detail cause fatigue? How much does the preconceived notion in our head of good sound contribute? Can complying too much or varying too much from this image cause fatigue? Is complete aversion, like fingernails on a chalkboard, instant fatigue or something else?
csontos
1,311 posts
 
Ralph, I'm wondering if you've come across Susan Parker's 'Zeus' zero feedback impedance amplifier? I'd love to hear your thoughts on her design. She's had a following on DIY since she posted it in 2004. "Straight wire with gain", either tube or ss.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,590 posts
 
Petepappp, people often associate brightness with more detail. They are not the same. Detail is that which tells you more about the music. Brightness can allow you to do that, but at a price of listener fatigue. What works better is when you get more detail coupled with a relaxed presentation.

BTW, you might be interested to know that in most audiophile conversations, the word 'dynamics' can be safely replaced by 'distortion' without changing the meaning of the sentence. IOW, many audiophiles don't pick up on the fact that distortion can masquerade as 'dynamics'.

Csontos, I've seen the amp before. Its nice and simple, and I don't mind being called a purist when I say that I don't like transformers. But with the right transformers this amp might perform quite well, although it might not double power as you cut impedance of the load in half. However IMO that particular trait in an amplifier is way overrated.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,233 posts
 
Ralph,Dynamic swings are heard continously in live music, this natural ebb and flow gives music the emotion I love. This dynamic character occurs at low, moderate and louder levels. This is so apparent when listening to musicians live.I can easily control dynamics when I play my trumpet. Are the dynamics that exist in nature a form of distortion? How is an audio component to reproduce dynamics without this distortion as you call it? How would a component convey dynamics without this identified distortion?
Regards
csontos
1,311 posts
 
I believe the ceiling is around 150 watts into any load.

Charles, playback distortion in a component has nothing to do with the original unrecorded source. The job of the play back system is to reproduce as faithfully as possible what was actually recorded, distortion and all. But you knew that:)
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