New Speakers = Tired Ears?

[voltage]

I made a bit of an impulse buy on a pair of Klipsch SB-2 bookshelf speakers ($250 CDN/pr!) and am now re-thinking my purchase (you can read about the application in this thread)

While the SB-2s sound good to my ear, I notice that after 8 hours of listening to them, my ears feel "fatigued". I can't really describe the feeling much better than that, just that at the end of the day, I want to sit in a soundproof chamber and listen to noting but my heartbeat.

I'm hoping that the speakers may "mellow" a bit over the coming days/weeks? I'd rather not have to sell/return them as my allowance to buy sound stuff from the Significant Other may shrink if I show any signs of weakness or doubt

Thanks for any advice!

 

[ruadmaa]

Klipsch Speakers

I made a bit of an impulse buy on a pair of Klipsch SB-2 bookshelf speakers ($250 CDN/pr!) and am now re-thinking my purchase (you can read about the application in this thread)

While the SB-2s sound good to my ear, I notice that after 8 hours of listening to them, my ears feel "fatigued". I can't really describe the feeling much better than that, just that at the end of the day, I want to sit in a soundproof chamber and listen to noting but my heartbeat.

I'm hoping that the speakers may "mellow" a bit over the coming days/weeks? I'd rather not have to sell/return them as my allowance to buy sound stuff from the Significant Other may shrink if I show any signs of weakness or doubt

Thanks for any advice!

It seems highly likely that you should return the Klipsch speakers. What you are experiencing is probably speaker fatigue coming from that "horn loaded" tweeter. I personally find most Klipsch speakers to be "Strident" and do not care for them. This is simply my own personal opinion. You will have to make up your own mind.

 

[MACCA350]

I've never listened to Klipsch speakers so I don't have a personal opinion about them, but I've heard many people say they can't listen to them for long without feeling this 'fatigue'.

Have you played with the tone and/or EQ adjustments? You may be able to tone down the higher frequencies enough to get rid of the 'fatigue' your feeling before you resort to selling the speakers.

Below is a table showing safe listening limits, so if your up near these levels then you could be feeling fatigue from the noise itself. Taken from here

According to OSHA, the exposure time limits are [3]: (these are A-weighted, most home theater measurements are made with C weighting, which typically gives higer readings for broad spectrum measurements).

Exposure Time Exposure Level (measured in dB SPL)
8 Hours------------------90 dB SPL
6 Hours------------------92 dB SPL
4 Hours------------------95 dB SPL
3 Hours------------------97 dB SPL
2 Hours------------------100 dB SPL
1.5 Hours----------------102 dB SPL
1 Hours------------------105 dB SPL
.5 Hours-----------------110 dB SPL
<.25 Hours---------------115 dB SPL

[3] United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Occupational noise exposure, Standard Number 1926.52. Link to standard.

cheers

 

[Rip Van Woofer]

After eight hours I think <b>any</b> speaker would be fatiguing. See MACCA350s OSHA chart. You need to get out more!

Other possibilities:

You're playing them louder, either on purpose (New speakers! Let's crank 'em!!) or inadvertently (they're more efficient and maybe you're not adjusting the volume down enough). Note too that really clean, low distortion speakers will make you want to play them louder (since it's often distortion that makes our ears go "ouch" rather than SPLs) and lead you down the path of fatigue or even hearing loss. I do not know if the Klipsch speakers are that clean but if they are...

Or: They are indeed "strident" i.e., exhibiting some form of distortion which makes them fatiguing.

If you have them toed-in, try pointing them straight into the room. Those horn tweeters might be really beaming at your noggin if they're toed in.

Try a more distant listening position if your room allows.

MACCA350 pretty much made the same points though more techy-oriented so consider this my "what he said" response.

And of course, remember this: It's highly doubtful that speakers "break in" but very likely that your ears (and brain) do.

EDIT: I've said before that the speakers and room are a single system. It follows that different kinds of speakers are best suited to particular kinds of rooms. For example, your Klipsch speakers might be best suited to (say) a highly absorbent room, maybe even a LEDE (Live End/Dead End) setup. Or not -- I'm not expert enough to say for certain. Anyway, one possibility is that the horns are aiming a tight beam of high frequency sound and you could be getting a wicked early reflection of that "beam" from a wall that is playing heck with the sound -- maybe your other speakers were just more forgiving of the same room. Just a guess.

 

[BassHead]

I've never listened to Klipsch speakers so I don't have a personal opinion about them, but I've heard many people say they can't listen to them for long without feeling this 'fatigue'.

Have you played with the tone and/or EQ adjustments? You may be able to tone down the higher frequencies enough to get rid of the 'fatigue' your feeling before you resort to selling the speakers.

Below is a table showing safe listening limits, so if your up near these levels then you could be feeling fatigue from the noise itself. Taken from here



cheers

Exposure Time Exposure Level (measured in dB SPL)
Klipsch lascalas (Unlimited)

 

[voltage]

Thank you so much for all the helpful replies!

Sadly, I think these have to go They're in my shop and I'll be spending 50+ hrs/week them, so they have to be spot-on. I tried tweaking the EQ of the source material a bit, but still feeling lousy after listening for "only" 3 hrs today. While I don't have an SPL meter, we're not playing these super-loud (-16 db on the receiver?) and I'm 25+ ft away from the speakers, so I think it is simply the design of these particular speakers. There is a large window over my shoulder that would be reflecting sound back, but the last year with a pair of Celestions didn't give me a headache, so must be the horn.

I guess it's off to the local hi-fi shop for some extended listening

 

[tbewick]

Tannoy speakers have a reputation for having a warm, 'untiring' sound. I'd recommend these if you're after warmer sounding speakers. I've got a pair of these set up (some old 1970's HPD-315's). Strangely enough they also have horn-loaded tweeters, as part of the dual-concentric design. I always thought horn-loaded tweeter designs would, if anything, have less treble energy. It must be a question of how the speakers are tuned to sound by the manufacturer.

 

[Hipnotic4]

you should of left everything FLAT on the Receiver and Just mess with the I tunes EQ. Even just lower the entire preamp level on the eq and then tweek it a lil. You should do this before you have listened to the speakers all day, because by then your ears are already all stressed and worn out, So you really not getting an accurate setting.

Either way returning them might be a smart choice.

Look into the NHT like i said before, Also check out the Polk Audio Satellites. They have a pretty good soundstage. I never really herd them on music, but i know for HT they have a nice wideee dynamic sound stage.

The speakers i wanted to try out originaly is the Mirage Omni 50/60. Definitly look into these. They have a very wide sound stage. That should give a nice spread in your store. You got a lot of options. Jus get out thier and give everything a listen..

 

[Tdekany]

I'll second the NHTs. A less well known brand is dana audio. Inexpensive but very neutral sound. I used to listen all day to them as well at work. Check it out.

 

[jaxvon]

I think you should also check out the offerings from Phase Technology. Their Teatro series should be right in your budget.

http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?sHist=19-1$teatro&showAdvanced=true&id=16834

That's a great price, only $225/pr.

 

[The13thGryphon]

Thank you so much for all the helpful replies!

Sadly, I think these have to go They're in my shop and I'll be spending 50+ hrs/week them, so they have to be spot-on. I tried tweaking the EQ of the source material a bit, but still feeling lousy after listening for "only" 3 hrs today. While I don't have an SPL meter, we're not playing these super-loud (-16 db on the receiver?) and I'm 25+ ft away from the speakers, so I think it is simply the design of these particular speakers. There is a large window over my shoulder that would be reflecting sound back, but the last year with a pair of Celestions didn't give me a headache, so must be the horn.

I guess it's off to the local hi-fi shop for some extended listening

Look for speaker brands with soft dome tweeters. Metal dome tweeters, by and large, sound more harsh and grating (at least to my ears).

I have owned Klipsch speakers in the past, but they were Heritage Series Forte's. The newer Klipsch speakers send me screaming for a quiet room in no time flat.

Many of today’s speakers will also cause me to develop listening fatigue after a few hours. Most of these have metal dome tweeters. Of the metal dome type the aluminum dome seems less harsh than titanium and other metals.

However, you couldn't convince me to spend my money an anything that didn't have a fabric or textile soft dome... well, except a planar magnetic like Magnepan... but that's a whole other story.

 

[Blundaar]

I guess it's off to the local hi-fi shop for some extended listening

Have fun! I brought at least 6 CD's and 4 DVD's with me when I went shopping. I was like a kid in a candy store.