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Fatigue Subjective???

I went to my local high end store and compared to Thiel CS 1.6 played on a Naim system to the CS 1.6 on a Levinson/arcam system. The naim system blew the Levinson away in sounstage width and depth, continuity of image, musical involvment. Only bad thing about the Naim was the fatigue, which was immediate.

So I called up the dealer,today, thinking maybe there was one weak link in the Naim system, that if eliminated, would still preserve the good things but get rid of the fatiguing
quality. And maybe I'd get the Naim. The dealer (who was on the surly side and has therefore probably lost my business) tells me that since "fatigue is subjective" there's nothing that makes the Naim more fatiguing than the levinson, other than my ears.

My question: is fatigue subjective, or do some sytems/components produce it.
robertd
unsound
7,328 posts
 
I'll second the Rowlands.
cdc
1,750 posts
 
I guess, because Meadowlark Shearwaters were incredibly fatiguing to me. But no one else has ever mentioned Meadowlark as being fatiguing.
I don't get your comments on Naim having good soundstage depth. I always found it worse than pretty much anything else of comparable price.
Naim stuff is colored in the midrange and is overpriced compared to other brands IMO.
Try Thiel with Musical Fidelity, or tube gear. I found it to be clear but not fatiguing.
robertd OP
76 posts
 
I'm currently using a tube amp with the Thiels, and it has a low fatigue factor. And for only about 35 watts a side, I'm not complaining about missing power. As far as the soundstage depth, it was there in spades with the NAIM relative to the Levinson integrated. This is of course just what I heard one day with about 25 minutes of listening in total. I know the Thiels are not rolled off like others, and Thiel does not stipulate tubes like some other makers, so I believe they get a bum rap on the fatigue side. And there was a good point that live music is fatiguing. for rock, I usually wear earplugs if it's a small space, so I don't notice. And there are alot of sounds we encounter everyday - saws, sirens, some voices, which would be fatiguing if recorded and reproduced perfectly, god knows they're bad enough in real life. I think I have different expectations for recorded music than live music. Like the soundstage at the symphony vs what I want from a cd through my system. Definitely expect it to be more pronounced on the system. I had not considered rowlands. I'll check 'em out!

Thanks,

Robert
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