Help. My ears hurt. How do I limit peaks in my audio to save my ears?

A store called Hi-Fi Records recently opened on the corner by my house. They two listening rooms with all kinds of nice new equipment. I need to spend some time over there for a start.

I suspect it is not the peaks but some frequencies that are dominant, probably in the upper range. Or, you are listening to classical music that has super dynamic range and can be quite annoying, so I’ve found. I have two recordings of Orff’s Camina Burana and I can’t listen to either without riding the volume control.

Try this, do an experiment. Hang some blankets on the walls or over things. If you have bare floors, cover with big blankets. Stuff your room. It probably won’t sound good but give this a try. If the fatigue goes away, you have a dominant frequency problem.

Or, use a sound pressure meter… I have an old Realistic meter… place at your listening position (must be there)… and run some frequency sweeps and you will see the peaks.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

2 Likes

Infinity speakers have always made me leave a room. I feel justified doing so.

1 Like

Have to agree with that. But, in the early days, I had Infinity 2000A speakers with an electrostatic array and cone mid and bass. The highs were sweet to my ear, but could have been the pot.

2 Likes

Unfortunately, this is unavoidable now and then.

I read somewhere there is a “perfect volume” for every (great) recording in a given room/system — a sweet spot, if you will, for a given listener.

I find I tend to keep the volume control handy when settling in for some extended listening.

Some recordings are so “hot” or have “passages” that are so hot, they just have to be turned down.

Ironically, the more revealing my system gets, the more sensitive I am to the need to “ride the volume.”

@john2213 hit the nail on the head. All of Infinity’s better speakers were voiced with tubes. So you NEED tubes in the system. If you give them tubes, all fatigue will disappear. Years ago I demoed a well-respected solid state pre/power amp combo with my Infinity Modulus speakers, and although they sounded very, very clean and very stable with great imaging, the sound was also very fatiguing. For me, a Conrad Johnson tube preamp and Conrad Johnson tube power amp were the perfect fit. I currently have the Infinity speakers connected again and am driving them with the BHK preamp and M1200 monoblocks, both tube hybrids, and they sound fantastic. A tube hybrid works well with my Infinity speakers, so am assuming that a hybrid tube would also work well in your system (they also work well with Paul McGowan’s Infinity IRS V), that is, if you don’t want to go 100% tube.

Congrats on the RSIIb speakers!!
Congrats on getting that entire system for $50 at a yard sale!!

1 Like

That was one of the characteristics of the MBL Extremes that I really enjoyed, there was little to no need to gain ride. It was especially notable with Classical music that I find I have to gain ride. Everything stayed in focus no matter the peaks and the valleys.

But it could have been the pot.

9 Likes

My brother has those little fluorescent dot stickers you get at office supply stores on his CD cases, and he’s written on them what he’s determined to be the proper volume setting from his BHK preamp for each one. I used to think that was kind of anal, but I’m starting to see value in it, especially as I’ve found with my current system that some recordings I thought previously to be 2-dimensional duds can “bloom” at a particular volume level, allowing me to kind of “hear into the mix” (a good, if pedestrian example is “Take the Devil” from the first Eagles album). If that point is achieved without having to get to ear-bleeding levels, I consider the recording to be pretty good. If not, it tends not to get played much.

One can argue that a system of labeling isn’t really necessary for most pop or rock recordings, since you can pretty easily tell with one or two minor adjustments of the volume control just where you need to be, but with wide-dynamic range stuff like a lot of classical, it can be a bit of a pain to have to experiment that way, every time you play a particular recording.

2 Likes

I find this to be the most interesting part of having to search for the “right” volume. Some recording details are just lost in the mix if the volume is not high enough; and a great record can be under appreciated in one’s system if the sweet spot is never found.

Conversely, some recordings are so discordant “at volume”, that the performers/performance on the record can’t be appreciated because the music becomes nearly unlistenable after a bit.

For example, I am not a huge fan of Adele, but I enjoy her music. Unfortunately, I can’t listen to her CDs or stream her music at a decent volume - something about how her producers/engineers like to record and mix her studio work, leaves me cringing all too often.

2 Likes

I like the idea of having tubes power the mids and tweeters. Any recomendation on where to start? My budget is under $1000.

Schiit Audio Freya + preamp is a hybrid tube/solid state preamp.
Also, you could check out tmraudio for deals on a used tube preamp or integrated tube amp.
They currently have a used Jolida integrated tube amp for just over $1500, but they are open to some negotiating.
They also have a used PrimaLuna tube preamp for $1700, but can negotiate.

Is it really beneficial to bi-amp the Infinity RSIIb speakers if I’m a low-volume listener?

My Infinity Modulus speakers have an 85db sensitivity, and I have driven them with a 45 watt tube amp for over 23 years, though the subwoofer is self-powered and there is an outboard crossover that prevents the tube amp from seeing the power hungry low frequencies. I also listen at generally lower volumes, loud enough to hear vocals bloom, but not louder than that.
The RSiib is power hungry, with 75 watts being the recommended minimum, even when bi-amped. So maybe the tube integrated is not powerful enough.
I have a hunch that keeping your solid state amps because of their power capabilities, but having a full ($1300 used PrimaLuna) tube preamp, might work perfectly for you. The only way to know for sure is to try.

2 Likes

Maybe a used Rouge Eighty-Eight magnum if one can be found?

1 Like

I finally had some outside ears on my bi-amped Infinity RSIIb system.

My girlfriend came over and after dinner, layed down on the bed in the guest room where I’ve been restoring this system. I put on an Elton John CD compilation. When it started playing, I reached over to adjust something and she said, “Don’t change anything.” She laid her head on my chest and quietly listened. After each song she would applaude like someone would do at a live concert. As someone who only knows computer speakers and a stock car stereo, she was astounded that this level of sound reproduction even existed.

Eventually after like 40 minutes she did seem to tire and look at her phone. But when I went to turn it down she said that she was still listening. My ears were tired because I play guitar and had 3 hours of band practice earlier in the day.

She is 10 years younger than I am, so I was really enjoying the nostalgia of simply having a recording and each other’s quiet company as evening entertainment. Just like it used to be in the 1980’s.

I still think there is room for improvement but a lot of what i was hearing when I first posted this was just 40 year old speakers waking up from a decade of inactivity.

Things have mellowed out a lot on their own. The speakers have kind of disappeared and the music seems to come from the whole side of the room and the space between them. Every intrument and vocal part exists in its own sonic space and can be easily focused on at any time. My girlfriend and I both agree that even though we have heard a song like “Tiny Dancer” 1000 times, it sounds new on this stereo.

4 Likes

I bought b & w 706 s2 speakers a week back which hurt my ears but my family members don’t have a problem. Please help .

First, try repositioning the speakers. Are the tweeters at ear level? Are they pointing directly at you?

Yes speakers are kept pointing at me.ie. Straight . When I lounge on the low sofa it’s at ear level .

I am also very sensitive to harshness like this. It’s like fingernails on the chalkboard.

Several things to try:
If they dont have a wide vertical dispersion angle you can tip them back by adding some spacers under the front of the speaker.

Also try making the parallel to each other not pointed at you. Or even toed out some (pointed more to the side wall than parallel with each other).

Moving them closer to the wall behind the speakers will also bring up the bass which might help.

You might need to add some absorbers at the first reflection point on the sidewalls.

One more thing is to try to fasten a felt ring around the tweeter.

1 Like

Just experiment with toe-in. The differences can be substantial. Try pointing the speakers straight back.
Get up from your listening seat and move around, see what happens.