Ear fatigue/sensitivity to digital music

Justine_X · Post by **Justine_X** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 1:16 pm

Lately I've been buying used cassettes up the wazoo and it's pure pleasure to play them one after another, endlessly, on the car stereo. Lots of great 80's metal like Dio-era Sabbath, Cirith Ungol, Megadeth, Voivod, etc.

With CD's however I know after playing a 1 1/2 to 2 albums I'd want to turn off the stereo and rest my ears. In fact, that is usually what happens. Is this perhaps psycho-sematic (nostalgia factor), or does anyone else experience this? The cassettes are hazy-sounding while the CD's are very crisp, so I don't know why I would favor the lower fidelity format.

I'm one of the few people I know that doesn't have an iPod yet, maybe because instinctively I know I wouldn't listen to it -- When I first got DSL I was excited to finally be able to download MP3's and listen to internet radio stations, but I rarely do. Do I have some weird ear sensitivity compared to everyone else??

Knights Who Say Neve · Post by **Knights Who Say Neve** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 2:17 pm

I feel the same way. Digital fatigues my ear more quickly. Doesn't seem to matter what the music is- classical, metal, electronic, whatever. Analog doesn't wear my ears out the way digital does.

Opinions vary on this subject. Everyone's got one. Go with your ears.

MT · Post by MT » Fri Jun 09, 2006 2:20 pm

It's probably the mastering (compression)? Everything's so damn loud these days. The last Keane album's a good example. You can only listen to about four songs before your ears hurt.

;ivlunsdystf · Post by **;ivlunsdystf** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 2:55 pm

Digital promises far more than the ears can endure. I agree.

Justine_X · Post by **Justine_X** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 3:35 pm

MT wrote:It's probably the mastering (compression)? Everything's so damn loud these days. The last Keane album's a good example. You can only listen to about four songs before your ears hurt.

Nah, it's not even that -- I have a REALLY sharp sensitivity to that stuff. I have an instant perception of it and I can only take a couple songs before my ears are gasping for breath.

(Though it's always fun to sing along with cheesy Linkin Park songs whenever they come on the radio: "I've felt this way before... so INSECURRRRE!!!")

globalsize · Post by **globalsize** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 3:55 pm

I've taken the proverbial Pepsi challenge administered by a friend, and the analog always sounded better. He used CD's from the early 90's, pre "compression hell", and even then, they were harder to listen to.

Yeah, it sounds ridiculous.

HOWEVER

My cassette copy of "Dark Side of the Moon" on repeat doesn't bother my ears at all. At the same volume, I can't listen to the CD version more than once before turning it off.

konabuzz · Post by **konabuzz** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 9:20 pm

Justine_X wrote: (Though it's always fun to sing along with cheesy Linkin Park songs whenever they come on the radio: "I've felt this way before... so INSECURRRRE!!!")

Ummmm.......no.....it's not.

But I agree with you re. digital earbleed syndrome......that's why I'm tracking to my Tascam 234 4 track more than anything else right now. It's just.....real. We're not supposed to be able to distinguish something as being "different" sampled 44,100x per second, but who knows what our capabilites really are? I think I can....not in a specifically scientific method way, but just in a listening pleasure way. Sorry to get all wavy gravy on ya.

YOUR KONG · Post by **YOUR KONG** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 9:23 pm

Just repeating what someone else said here, but the thing with analog is that as you listen to it over and over and over and over, the highs get lost. With digital, the highs are always there. Highs make your ears tired.

This factoid also implodes pretty much every other digital vs. analog debate I've come across.

jamoo · Post by **jamoo** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 9:38 pm

I'm definitely in this club. I still listen to cassettes and get ear fatigue mostly from CDs. An ipod probably won't be tempting until they get rid of compression. IMO, the original ATRAC sounds better.

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 11:02 pm

YOUR KONG wrote:Just repeating what someone else said here, but the thing with analog is that as you listen to it over and over and over and over, the highs get lost. With digital, the highs are always there. Highs make your ears tired.

This factoid also implodes pretty much every other digital vs. analog debate I've come across.

So, analog sounds better because over time it sounds worse?

Knights Who Say Neve · Post by **Knights Who Say Neve** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 11:13 pm

YOUR KONG wrote:Just repeating what someone else said here, but the thing with analog is that as you listen to it over and over and over and over, the highs get lost. With digital, the highs are always there. Highs make your ears tired.

This factoid also implodes pretty much every other digital vs. analog debate I've come across.

So if I listen to a vinyl record for an hour, and I feel fine, and I listen to the CD for an hour and I have ear fatigue, that's because the treble is disappearing from the vinyl as I listen to it? Really?

;ivlunsdystf · Post by **;ivlunsdystf** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 7:21 am

Yet it sounds pretty good to me when cassettes are dubbed onto CD, which I have done on several occasions. Which means that digital/CD is fine as long as the source material has some life to it.

Or maybe it's just that cassettes sound like music used to sound when I was 10 and I only had cassettes and I was at my most impressionable. Maybe today's 10-year-olds will grow up thinking CDs (or ATRAC/MP3/etc) are the way music is supposed to sound.

How come we never get picky about the air quality? The air is the last thing the music passes through before it reaches our ears. Maybe the only place to really HEAR the Minutemen is in southern California with an ocean breeze. Maybe Britney Spears sounds really good in Florida or wherever she's from.

llamaj · Post by **llamaj** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 8:54 am

I recently bought an Ipod so I can put mixes on it and take it anywhere without wasting cd's
I also loaded almost all of my music on it. my favorite songs and albums went in at cd quality other stuff at 320kbps. btw this took a week to do. someone needs to open a company that puts your music on your ipod.
anyways
this is what ive noticed

anything that doenst have tons of highs (old Al Green, Norah Jones, etc) doesnt seem to have the harshness that the more compressed tracks do.
(wilco summer teeth)
also the less complicated and processing in the music the better it sounded mp3

I dont know how anyone can enjoy mp3's through headphones.

I had to go back and change some albums to cd quality because of this harsh high end distortion. the cymbals on AC/DC back in black sounded like bright pieces of tin in mp3. just horrible

I also can hear this on Cd's. the more highs the more harshness.

if you listen to lp's for 15 minutes and then put on cds its really sad how awful cds sound

does anyone offer their albums on reel to reel?

Justine_X · Post by **Justine_X** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 11:15 am

Lack of highs or no, I think that it's interesting that people with synesthesia (when the senses are mixed, so that words and sounds impart images, colors, and tastes to the brain) agree that vinyl/analog is the better medium, as well. I think I read in an interview that one synesthete preferred painting while listening to LP's instead of CD's because the "colors" from the music are brighter and more vibrant.

I'm going to go put on my Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow LP now.

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 12:32 pm

llamaj wrote: does anyone offer their albums on reel to reel?

They used to, and in fact the last few days I've seen a bunch of old r/r album collections for sale on Craigslist. But since almost no one has r/r machines as part of their stereo anymore, it's probably not economically feasible.

addendum: the guy who drummed in my band in 7th grade had a r/r machine as part of his (his dad's) stereo system. Among other things, he had "Jesus Christ Superstar" on r/r. It was a 7.5 ips tape and we used to listen to the 39 lashes segment at 3.75 ips 'cause it was scarier that way.

Odd that this would come up as I was just watching JCS late last night.

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Ear fatigue/sensitivity to digital music

Ear fatigue/sensitivity to digital music

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