Does listening fatigue go away???

Hi Daimbert, yes, listening fatigue is an all-too-real phenomenon that you CAN get rid of – just not quickly. I don’t believe there’s any real and reliable way for us to ‘pinpoint’ what the source of listening fatigue is in a given system. It won’t be as straightforward as diagnosing a faulty component (unless you can beg, borrow or steal other gear to try – ANY other gear could possibly help give you a clue of sorts). But, you can only start by making substitutions in order to see firsthand. The fact is, to start with, it could literally be all or any of your components: source, preamp, amp or even speakers (or even wiring, as rare as that is). But, I second what Elizabeth says: it isn’t always necessarily what you’d think it would be. It isn’t necessarily going to be easy, so you’ll likely just have to pick your starting point. I suppose in general a practical place to begin may be your with least expensive components. In the course of all this, you may find yourself in the position (as many who have gone before you) of having to buy something that has a 30-day trial period just to find something out for yourself. Don’t knock it, this can work quite well, if you can afford to be out the shipping costs. But, remember: what it gives you is direct experience – something no amount of ‘fact-finding’ or ‘theory’ or supposition can supplant. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. If you can’t quite make up your mind, at least you’ll have an idea WHY you can’t. But, keep in mind that what you’re after here is certainty, not information – there’s a difference, of course. But, all that’s the first thing to consider. There’s another to think about and that is power conditioning. I don’t know how you feel about it (many audiophiles are polarized by the topic). I mention it because in my case it COMPLETELY cured the problem – albeit to the tune of at least a $1000. But, after I got to the point that I felt I’d addressed each component individually to the point of assuring myself of at least a decent quality level on its own, within my means anyway, I then switched focus to power conditioning as a possible answer. That’s because at the time I was beginning to see the writing on the wall about how frustrating and expensive it might eventually prove to be to finish out my own quest for conquering listening fatigue on the basis of equipment swapping alone. I’d been spending a lot of time on the facebook site of Alan Maher Designs and eventually found my curiosity peaked. Finally the time came when there was nothing more to do than take the plunge ($40, plus shipping in my case). It was a big improvement, I was blown away and all that. Fast forward to late last year and about a thousand bucks later and I’m very glad I’d taken that first step – listening fatigue nixed altogether (to a level I hadn’t thought was possible really, but all that’s another story). Who knows, if you do your own research you might even find something else out there I didn’t know about that works for you better or cheaper or whatever… But, for me it turns out that was the thing that saved me from the equipment treadmill that I otherwise would likely have had to hitch myself to, like too many other people, I suppose. My system is a CD-only based, minimalist one that cost about $5000. For many audiophiles that would amount to nice second system. Me? I’m now VERY happy with it as a first system and I hain’t givinit up fer NObody. But, seriously if you keep on asking the right questions like that, I believe you’ll come out on top. It will take some patience and experimentation, but that can really be key in this hobby to winding up with something of value.

I have been at this audio thing for 35 years and don't think it is the digital thing. It is system synergy and your unique set of ears. No, it won't just go away if you change nothing. Sorry.....

I use a digital front end and no trace of fatigue with my current set up.

I'm curious, could someone give an exact definition of 'listener fatigue'? There's been times where I'm not as 'into' listening to the system as usual. I've found simply not turning it on for a few days cures that symptom. The stuff you guys are describing sounds like it's at a different level!

IMPORTANT FOLLOW-UP to my previous comment about the Minimax DAC:

It appears that the original version of the Minimax DAC had extremely high output impedances of 22K and 10K for its tube and solid state outputs, respectively. Those output impedances would be unsuitable for use with a resistive-based passive attenuator, optically controlled or not. Even more so in this particular situation, where the attenuator is driving the low 10K input impedance of your active speakers. And although the original Minimax DAC included a volume control function, chances are that the high output impedance would also create problems if you were to use it directly into the speaker inputs, without the Warpspeed.

On the other hand, several references indicate that the Minimax DAC Plus, introduced last year, has tube and solid state output impedances of 3K and 200 ohms, respectively. The 200 ohm output would certainly be fine; the 3K output may not be, depending on how much it and the input impedance of the speakers vary as a function of frequency, and on the characteristics of the Warpspeed.

According to John Atkinson's measurements in Stereophile, the Squeezebox Touch has an output impedance of 599 ohms at mid and high frequencies, and 878 ohms at 20 Hz. I suspect that both the magnitude and the frequency variation of those numbers are not affecting sonics in your setup significantly, although it's hard to say for sure without knowing how the input impedance of the speaker varies with frequency. Although of course the Squeezebox's DAC function itself could very conceivably be contributing to the issues, as I previously suggested.

Regards,
-- Al

Yes take two Tylenol or upgrade the problem.