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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
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
The first thing I would try to determine is whether or not the quality of the source material is the problem. Perhaps the deficiencies of the particular recordings you have listened to since the upgrade are being more accurately reproduced.

Beyond that, although I have no experience with any of your components, fwiw the next item on my suspicion list would be the built-in DAC in the Touch. So it seems quite conceivable to me that the Minimax will help.

Regards,
-- Al
reubent
6,939 posts
 
Don't your Quad 12L Actives each have an analog volume control on them?
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.
teajay
1,655 posts
 
Hi Dambert,

The short answer is NO! However, are you sure that your new passive preamp and cables are totally broken in? If they are, you will find what your calling fatigue will stop you from relaxing and enjoying your music. If that's the case one of your pieces of gear or system synergy is not in place for the fatigue to go away and you will have to experiement to figure what's causing it. Good luck.
phaelon
1,038 posts
 
If it does seem to go away, in time, by itself, it will probably be because you will have learned to avoid source material that exacerbates your fatigue. The problem could be as small as a tube or as large as total system incompatibility... sorry...really. Don’t settle, and don’t dive up; you’ll get it right with perseverance. Good luck.
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