Please define


I read this term a lot here on the Gon, as well as in equipment reviews. When I think about this term, one of two possiblities comes to mind: The sound is so bad that it eventually causes ears to hurt or be fatigued?. Or, the sound lulls the listener to sleep in stead of keeping him awake by drawing him into the beautiful, dynamic music....

So, which one is it, or am I completely off base?? Help
sammie
If you're referring to listener fatigue, it's a term I personally associate with a very forward, in-your-face type of sound. When the soundstage is pushed aggressively and artificially toward me, I lose all sense of background, sublety, microdynamics, and so on. Over time I find that such sonics become "fatiguing" to listen to.

Your mileage may vary, reasonable minds may differ, your gear and your ear, etc.
I find it really depends to a great extent on the music you are playing and the mood you are in. Sometimes I want it face forward sometimes I just want it sweet. I also find that having a couple of different systems help!! Volume by the way is critical. Your hearing, so I am told, changes with respect to which frequencies you hear best at different volumes. Most fatigue is heard in the treble or upper mids at loud volume.