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Does listening fatigue go away???

Hello everyone,

Just want to ask everyone here an honest question. Is listening fatigue sometimes associated with getting used to a "presentation" coming from your setup. In addition, is the burn period people talk about also associated with the above?

The reason I ask is that I currently own a pair of Quad 12L Active speakers that were being feed directly by a Squeezebox Touch. Unfortunately this setup only had a digital volume control which really affected low level listening. My solution was to add an external means of volume control with the Warpspeed optocoupler which uses LDR. I have received it this week and it has made a huge difference in almost every facet of the sound, soundstage, speed, bass, imagining, clarity and authority without adding any coloration. It also dead quiet and I have spooked out my wife a few times when the music suddenly comes on. In fact the only issue I have been having is listening fatigue after about an hour which I did not have before.

My question is it just me getting used to the new sound or something with the warpspeed or mogami wire? How can I pinpoint the problem? I also am planning to get an EE minimax plus soon, you think that will alleviate the problem?

Thanks for you advice.
daimbert

Showing 3 responses by daimbert

daimbert OP
56 posts
 
Yes they do but many agreed it was not optimal. Even the manual suggest that volume should be set to 50% and outside source (preamp) should be controlling the input level. I was using digital volume control on the SB touch but sound suffered tremendously at low level. Hence the LDR.

I think Almarg might have smacked it on the head. We'll see.
daimbert OP
56 posts
 
To be honest, the entire system is fairly new, probably no more than 30 hours? The odd thing has been that I did not have experienced any listening fatigue from the on it until now. Although, like I mentioned before there is a lot more grunt in my system since installing the warpspeed. Considering I live in the apartment in the city, I can't do proper burn in procedures. If anyone can suggest anything I'll do it. Here's my system so far maybe there something I am missing.

Source: Squeezebox Touch with Bolder PSU
Preamp: Warpspeed optocoupler (with .5 voodoo cable)
Speakers: Quad 12L active connected via unbalanced Mogami 3 feet cables.
daimbert OP
56 posts
 
Thanks for the information everyone. To be honest, I kind of assumed that my low hours of use was an issue. What I was more curious to know it the "break in" period and "listening fatigue" that people, myself included, complain about are one and the same. That is, that you mind and ears need an adjustment period to get used to the sonic presentation of certain new components or systems.
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