paranoid listener, bad recordings


I tend to listen apprehensively for some reason not understanding how durable speakers are at my listening level. So, I hear distortion from time to time coming out of my speakers and freak out thinking i have damaged them. But, I am beginning to think it is on the recordings.

Right now i have a pair of gallo 3.1's in my den that i am wrestling with room position (see other post) because of limited options. I put on some joni mitchell or typically pop recordings, sometimes older jazz, and will hear the distortion. I listen around 75-85db levels.

Am I paranoid, is the distortion in the recordings and should it sound like this on occasion? Is that too loud?
djwilbourn
The listening levels you mention are what I'd call "moderate" and no reason for distortions to be coming up. I would look closely at your amp-speaker interface first. The 3.1's like to see a lot of power/current, as I recall from listening to them a few times. If you are still using the Prologue 2 that is listed in your system, the 40w/ch they generate may not be enough for your Gallos. How large is the room you are listening in? What kinds of music to you listen to? Certainly distortions could be originating elsewhere, but that would be my first suspicion.
Using a YBA YA201 for this setup. Still have the Prologue 2 in the actual listening room on other speakers. This is in the living room and really seems to be coming from particular recordings. CD only coming from a modified Adcom gda 600 dac. I listen to all kinds of music but mainly jazz and folk rock. Room is rougly 15x25 with a large opening on one end that goes into kitchen/dining area.
I'm not familiar with that (100wpc) integrated amp. I went to hear the Gallo's you have with a a friend at a local dealer. They demo'd the speakers with a two different amps, and the latter pair definitely improved big time over the original integrated they had driving them. I think the latter pair were Parasound Halo JC-1's. They sounded a bit "cool" for my tastes, but the added power definitively drove those speakers much better than the integrated he started out with (which I think was right around the same power as yours). 15X25 is also a pretty large space, especially if ceilings are high. Anyway, that's what I'd suspect.
Are you playing CD or LP as source material?

If LP, the record may be damaged from either prior use, dirt or it may even be a defective pressing. Tone arm and cartridge setup can be an issue and so on. There are a lot of things to check.

CDs can also be poorly recorded or mastered.

Assuming there is not something wrong or broken in your system, your listening volume should not be a cause of concern for damage to the speakers.
There are some good suggestions above, however it is also possible, even likely, that the distortion is on your recordings, at least some of them. Recording engineers are by no means perfect, and many times the miking/mixing is less than desirable, even on normally very good labels, no matter what the format.
If you can, play the offending passages through decent headphones at low-moderate volume. If the distortion is in the recording you'll hear it.
Every time I play some CDs that I own I think; "Hey what happened to my stereo?".
I like the music but they sound pretty bad, some Bruce Springsteen comes to mind.
Then I put on something that sounds good and I get that "aah..." feeling.
It's funny though, I always forget for a moment and get panicky.
I'm not dismissing some of the other explanations but this could be part of it.
If you are listening to currently produced CD's, they as well as the MP3 files are victims of the loudness wars going on, and are often very distorted indeed.
Some CDs are just plain junk. Overloud, (clipped), poorly balanced/mixed and can be annoying. I have a Better Midler CD which while I like the music, is nearly unlistenable because of the low level distortion from start to finish.
I think you are putting my mind at ease. It does seem apparent that the older joni mitchell and jazz recordings have these fuzzies on the cd. I have also heard that if the midrange or tweeter was blown then it would be pretty easy to tell and not sporadic like what i am dealing with. Does the distortion on the recording pose any threat to the speaker?
Listening at the volume (75-80 dB) you originally indicated it would be almost impossible for a speaker to suffer damage.

The distortion would have to be so high (i.e, equivalent to square waves with a lot of high frequency content) that the recording would be completely unlistenable.

My recommendation is to stop worrying about it.
I sold my gallo 3.1's cause they had a harsh sound. I had 2 pair and THEY WERE BROKE IN.

I'm now in Magnepan heaven!