Speakers Hurt My Ears

[saylor]

Before buying CMT-170SE's, I tried Paradigm Studio 20's and could not listen for more than 12 minutes (to the 20's) before my ears literally hurt. The 170's were great, no fatigue. I moved the 170's to the HT and have been using Celestron 1's for my 2 channel bedroom. I moved the speakers on wall mounts, now they are radiating directly towards my main listening area. Same painful experience. I've tried 2 different apms (Rotel & Trends Audio) I'm experiencing the exact same fatigue. Not sure If I am overly sensitive, but my question is, are the Sierra's likely to not cause fatigue as the 170's? Thanks

[Galwin]

Are you listening at extemely high volume levels? You may want to see a doctor about getting your hearing checked. The Studio 20's may not be your preferred sound but they shouldn't hurt you.

[davef]

Hi Saylor,

Were you able to resolve the problem with CBM-170s?

Are you experiencing the fatigue at all volume levels or only at loud levels?

Before buying CMT-170SE's, I tried Paradigm Studio 20's and could not listen for more than 12 minutes (to the 20's) before my ears literally hurt. The 170s were great, no fatigue. I moved the 170's to the HT and have been using Celestron 1's for my 2 channel bedroom. I moved the speakers on wall mounts, now they are radiating directly towards my main listening area. Same painful experience.

You mention that the 170s are now in a different room in a different system, and in this new room they sound fatiguing just as the Studio-20's did. Would it be possible to post a picture of the room? Is the room carpeted or tile / hardwood etc.

For me or any of us here to make recommendations, we need more info from you.

Not sure If I am overly sensitive, but my question is, are the Sierra's likely to not cause fatigue as the 170's? Thanks

Without question, the Sierra-1 offers smoother and more refined highs -- however, without knowing more about your environment I can't say for sure that these would solve the problem for you. To me, it sounds very much like a room issue...

Take care!

[saylor]

Dave,

Thank you for replying. I replaced the Studio 20's with the 170's and the fatigue went away. The 170's are now used with my HT system along with a 340SE center. Everything sounds great with the Ascends. I moved my Celestion bedroom speakers from a bookshelf/desk location to wall mounts pointing directly down to my listening area. I was hoping I would enjoy the sweet spot of 2 channel stereo. Instead, I'm experiencing the same fatigue as before with the Studio 20's in a different room. Funny thing, I've had the Celestion speakers in my bedroom for years and never experienced this before. I'm guessing it's the acoustical reflections off the ceiling and back wall that's made the difference. I now believe in the effect the room environment and speaker location has on sound! I'm wondering if the 170's would perform well on the bedroom wall mounts about 1 foot from the ceiling, angled down? Since they made the difference before in another room, I'm hoping for the same results. I could either order a pair of Sierra's to replace the HT's 170's and move those upstairs or buy another pair of 170's. I tested the 170's in my bedroom today and they sounded great. But they were mounted on 27" stands and not the wall mounts. I guess the next thing to do is to unmount them from the stands and try them on the high wall mounts. So, I want to upgrade the 2 channel sound upstairs and would love Sierra's or 170's, but wonder how either will sound closely mounted to the walls. Best always.

[curtis]

Definitely seems like a reflection issue.

I am not familiar with the Celestions, but have you tried adjusting the positioning? Maybe mount them upside down getting the tweeters farther away from the ceiling or wall?

[davef]

Hi Saylor,

Happy to help!

I'm guessing it's the acoustical reflections off the ceiling and back wall that's made the difference. I now believe in the effect the room environment and speaker location has on sound!

Definitely sounds like room issues...

I'm wondering if the 170's would perform well on the bedroom wall mounts about 1 foot from the ceiling, angled down? Since they made the difference before in another room, I'm hoping for the same results.

Curtis is correct -- mounting the 170's upside-down should result in better performance in your environment.

So, I want to upgrade the 2 channel sound upstairs and would love Sierra's or 170's, but wonder how either will sound closely mounted to the walls.

Sierra-1's work well mounted to the wall. We have many customers wall-mounting Sierra-1's. Send me an email or PM and I can forward you a link to the wall mounts I recommend for these.

Due to the tightly controlled dispersion of the Sierra-1, controlled symmetrical dispersion both horizontally and vertically due to OPPIX, the Sierra-1 is probably your best option as they can really perform well in rooms that are highly reflective.

Hope this helps!