samwell7
Senior Member
First up a bit of background.
I have only starting near field listening again, for the last 7 or so years I've just been using headphones (Sony MDR-7520, Audiotechnica ATH M50 or Etymotic MC5s) without issue while working (office environment).
Because I've been working from home I've got back into loudspeakers and it's enjoyable listening without something on my head.
I'm 29 and my hearing is fairly sensitive, loud sounds (especially treble) hurt, I'm usually asking my wife to turn stuff down, to her annoyance. The last time I checked (was testing a speaker, so it may be higher) I could hear to around 17kHz.
When I was listening years ago I enjoyed accurate and detailed mids and treble, my old speakers were Yamaha MSP5's and they were excellent, I don't recall ever having listening fatigue with them, even when listening loud (mixing/mastering).
Fast forward to 2020, I'm listening fairly quietly at my desk - my microphones aren't calibrated but sound meter apps on my Pixel 4 and work iPhone both gave the same reading of a max of around 60dB during regular listening (usually around 55dB or less).
I purchased a set of Edifier R1700BT speakers after seeing how well the R1280s respond to EQ in their review, after around 30 or so minutes of listening my ears would feel irritated, almost like I'd just got out of a hot shower. I reduced the treble on the back of the unit but it didn't really help so I returned them.
I then purchased a set of Edifier S1000Mk2s, while the ear irritation is much better it still pops up a bit, with my ears almost feeling 'constricted' or stuffy after a little while. The S1000mk2's aren't overly bright however they do sound fairly detailed.
I'm listening either via Bluetooth or through an Apple USB C to 3.5mm adaptor with Spotify premium with volume normalisation turned off.
Could the 'fatigue' be because of the fact that I'm listening critically (trying to assess the speakers) while I'm listening fairly quietly (while working) so my brain is working too hard? I'm thinking this may be the case because I haven't had any 'ouch' moments (harsh or sibilant treble will usually hurt me pretty well straight away).
My other thoughts were there being potentially too much treble or distortion due to driver material; before I got the Edifiers I was using a Sony microsystem (cmt-sbt40d) without issue, the system had a 37mm soft-dome tweeter and was generally less detailed, the Edifiers have titanium tweeters and aluminium midwoofers which I've heard can ring or have harsher distortion outside of the audible range which can still have impacts on listeners.
Any thoughts? Or advice on how I can stop listening to the equipment and start listening to the music to see if this is actually an issue?
I'm not sure if it's a shelf filter but I've turned the treble to -6dB on the S1000mk2's today and it wasn't really any different.
I have only starting near field listening again, for the last 7 or so years I've just been using headphones (Sony MDR-7520, Audiotechnica ATH M50 or Etymotic MC5s) without issue while working (office environment).
Because I've been working from home I've got back into loudspeakers and it's enjoyable listening without something on my head.
I'm 29 and my hearing is fairly sensitive, loud sounds (especially treble) hurt, I'm usually asking my wife to turn stuff down, to her annoyance. The last time I checked (was testing a speaker, so it may be higher) I could hear to around 17kHz.
When I was listening years ago I enjoyed accurate and detailed mids and treble, my old speakers were Yamaha MSP5's and they were excellent, I don't recall ever having listening fatigue with them, even when listening loud (mixing/mastering).
Fast forward to 2020, I'm listening fairly quietly at my desk - my microphones aren't calibrated but sound meter apps on my Pixel 4 and work iPhone both gave the same reading of a max of around 60dB during regular listening (usually around 55dB or less).
I purchased a set of Edifier R1700BT speakers after seeing how well the R1280s respond to EQ in their review, after around 30 or so minutes of listening my ears would feel irritated, almost like I'd just got out of a hot shower. I reduced the treble on the back of the unit but it didn't really help so I returned them.
I then purchased a set of Edifier S1000Mk2s, while the ear irritation is much better it still pops up a bit, with my ears almost feeling 'constricted' or stuffy after a little while. The S1000mk2's aren't overly bright however they do sound fairly detailed.
I'm listening either via Bluetooth or through an Apple USB C to 3.5mm adaptor with Spotify premium with volume normalisation turned off.
Could the 'fatigue' be because of the fact that I'm listening critically (trying to assess the speakers) while I'm listening fairly quietly (while working) so my brain is working too hard? I'm thinking this may be the case because I haven't had any 'ouch' moments (harsh or sibilant treble will usually hurt me pretty well straight away).
My other thoughts were there being potentially too much treble or distortion due to driver material; before I got the Edifiers I was using a Sony microsystem (cmt-sbt40d) without issue, the system had a 37mm soft-dome tweeter and was generally less detailed, the Edifiers have titanium tweeters and aluminium midwoofers which I've heard can ring or have harsher distortion outside of the audible range which can still have impacts on listeners.
Any thoughts? Or advice on how I can stop listening to the equipment and start listening to the music to see if this is actually an issue?
I'm not sure if it's a shelf filter but I've turned the treble to -6dB on the S1000mk2's today and it wasn't really any different.