Listening Fatigue

To me, listening at moderately high volumes for extended periods is no problem as long as the music is smooth and not harsh. Even at low levels, equipment that is bright or harsh can't be taken for long.

I do not know positively. My own experience is that I like to listen to each recording at a different setting. Classical music I like to play loudly. Rock too. However, Jazz is often played at a lower volume. It depends on the recording really.With the system I have now the only limiting factor is my nieghbors, and it is only out of consideration for them that I will turn down my music. It is only that I have to go to sleep at some point that I consider turning off my system at all. However, when I had an all pioneer system I really had to struggle to listen as long as I wanted to at any volume. This particular combination of components would give me the most unbelievable headache if I did not seriously limit my time with it.The sound was very bright and forward- grainy. In retrospect, I can see that there was a lot I could have done to tame some of this. As well, I think pioneer is a great company that makes some excellent components, so this is in no way a criticism of their products. What I made of this combination was unfriendly in the extreme. I think it was that grainy quality that lent most to my fatigue,even more so than perceived brightness. And yet, I remember still wanting to turn my music up louder. wierd.

I would say:

1) lack of proper room treatment causing brightness

2) bright sounding systems or components

3) CDs, many are recorded badly and are bright

Listening fatigue starts at the source and works its way towards your ears. A great source, good cableing, high quality amp and speakers that compliment your listening preferences and your pretty much guaranteed to have fatigueless listening. From my experience the source is where the battle is won or lost.

Every situation is different. I agree with all the posts but the culprit in anyone's system (including environment) can vary. Generally, for me, brightness is what causes fatigue and from my experience is normally due to a "hard" environment with few absorbtive materials (e.g., rugs, couches) or from a mismatch of speakers and amplifiers. Cabling can help alleviate that, but using cables as an equalizer may not provide the optimal solution (though it is cheaper than replacing speakers or amplifiers).

A bad source system is a nightmare. A bad cd is a nightmare. If either of those situations is there, forget about it. But, most source systems today that an audiophile would buy are pretty good.