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Listening Fatique- componet or speaker issue.

Hello everyone. I've been posting various questions in other topics trying to solve a problem that couldn't discribe until now. I jumped into the audiophile hobby these last few months full head-on. I got the best that I could for about 1200 and finally ended up with as my first set-up.

Totem Rainmakers (straightwire octava II)
Nad c320bee
Source (pc m-audio,foobar) will be (modded squeezebox2)

In the begining (sounds like the bible I know) after I hooked it all up I was estatic. I've never listen or owned any quality audio eq and this was a huge leap for me. The sound was or so detailed, huge, realistic and plain great. This only brief sessions. Now that all the newness factor is gone and I actually live with these I seem to be in a delima.
Normally I play my music at low levels simply because during the week days I come home late and I live in a tenant building (rules are rules). At lower levels I can listen to the music for a fair amount of time no problem. No real hint of fatigue.
Now my fatigue seems to occur at normal or slightly higher than normal listening level. I don't get seem to get headache as most other people. My ear mostly feel "tired" and occasionally I do get a ring. The sound coming out also sounds compressed and boxy.
I don't know if it's a speaker componet (source, amp, or room) but it's really getting me bumbed out. I brought my new setup so I can listen to more music and make it a more consistant part of my life as a musician (gotta study the greats) not so my ears ache and feel tired.
When I changed the source from my dvd to my computer (m-audio foobar) it became better but it's still there. I posted a thread about my amp changing but know now that I didn't ask the right question.
Now my Rainmakers are rated at min 50w at 4 ohms and maximum is 100w I think. I decided on the nad mainly on suggestion on this and other threads and read that a couple rainmaker owners match them. I like the amp quite a bit its warm and quite detailed but can this fatigue I am experiencing also be occuring because of the amp. Could this fatigue be just the normal distortion created by my speakers not being driven well at higher levels?
Or are the rainmakers just naturally fatiguing and harsh when pushed? I need advice from the higher ups.
daimbert

Showing 5 responses by gmood1

gmood1
1,251 posts
 
From what I can tell. Your problem could be the combination of several things going on at once. That speaker is peaky by nature of its design Totem Rainmaker measurements. There's a peak from around 5khz beyond 10khz. This could be one of the factors causing fatigue. Also the speaker is a tough load and may cause the amplifier to run out of steam at higher volumes. The source of any system is important...too much of a bad thing(badly compressed music)can cause major fatigue. I agree a good Dac will also help with the fatigue.

You can play with the room treaments but that's not going to change the design of the speaker. Hopefully your listening room isn't bare.If I were in this situation, I would most likely dump the speakers first for something less peaky. Next would be to add a decent Dac.

If you really like the speakers.You could try to bandaid the problem with a digital equalizer. One more thing ..you could add a sealed subwoofer to balance out the sound a bit as the speakers start to roll off at 100 Hz. Allow the sub to do all the work..say below 80Hz..relieving the speakers of the lower bass duty. You may find yourself listening at lower volumes with better tonal balance in the music.
gmood1
1,251 posts
 
Yes in way of speaking they do colour the sound. The speakers are designed to fool you into believing there's more bass output than actually exist. The treble is bumped up well over the lower midrange to give the impression. If your room is bare it may just aggravate the situation. It will not change what the speaker was designed to do from the start. I'm just trying to save you the the disappointment of buying cables ..etc to fix a problem with the speaker itself. If the room is bare... room treaments, carpet and furnishings will help with the next pair of speakers. I'm taking a wild guess, but I think Green Mountain Audio Europas could be more your speed in a monitor.
:-)
gmood1
1,251 posts
 
Phd makes a very good point.Something I was thinking but didn't type. Some speakers are designed to WoW you from the start. It isn't till later when you discover it was all a facade. I have discovered as he the ones that grow on you over time are the real keepers.

Good luck
gmood1
1,251 posts
 
LOL ..Line..yeah live unamplified music isn't purposely hyped in the treble by 6dB either.That's not counting the difference in dbs above the midrange. This would put the treble closer to 10 dB above it. This is why you can be wowed without having your ears bleed. ;-)
gmood1
1,251 posts
 
Tim with all due respect, Even though the speakers come from the same company. They don't necessarily use the same crossovers or design. From looking at the latest specs on the Forest, it shouldn't sound forward or bright.The Forest should sound fairly balanced. The Forest is also an easier load than the Rainmakers. These two speakers shouldn't sound a like.Check the latest Totem Forest measurements here. Why is it so hard for some to understand that the FR measurements correlate with what you hear and do have an impact? I call it denial.

Take both FR graphs I supplied and compare them to one another. It is as clear as day which speaker will be forward and which one will not regardless of what the tweeter is constructed of.
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