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Can a bad setup cause ear aches?

453 Views 8 Replies 7 Participants Last post by pillcrusher, Sep 17, 2003

pillcrusher

Discussion Starter · Sep 10, 2003

This may sound funny but I just moved my HT equipment to a dedicated theater I built. I have a rectangular room using bipolar speakers (definitive bp3000tl). I eagerly hooked up everything and not only find that it appears sound quality is lost, but I seem to get an ear ache everytime I listen to them as well.

I now know I have other sound problems to solve, like the unplanned slap echo I get off the bare walls. I plan on further sound proofing the inside of the room in the future. Has any one gotten head aches or ear aches from a new set up with out playing the audio very loud? Are there any magical spells I can perform that will improve my set up?

I should also mention I'm using Sunfire Theater Grand Pre-Amp and Cinema Grand Amp with Monster Line conditioner and Monster Cables.

Thanks for the help. Meanwhile I'll take some Motrin.

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Bill Lummus

· #2 · Sep 10, 2003

I don't know about earaches, but headaches are one of the hallmarks of a fatiguing system.

Acoustic analysis is the next step, then proper room treatments. There are no free lunches. You equipment is reasonably good so I doubt that is the problem.

If you want to do this yourself, consider ETF acoustic software and/or CARA room acoustic software. Both are available on the web.

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JuKu

· #3 · Sep 10, 2003

Wild shot: If you have an oscilloscope, check that you don't have ultrasonic oscillation in your system. You would not hear that, but that would cause physical aching. If you do, time the check out for broken grounding and cabling.

Other than that, I can only think about mental reasons... Seriously, strong dissatisfaction and disappointment might well cause physical uncomfort, not different from a stress related headache.

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yellowsubmarine

· #4 · Sep 10, 2003

I posted about this exact same thing last week! Here's the link: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=298454

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hometheaterguy

· #5 · Sep 10, 2003

Treble a.k.a. brightness in large amounts generated from tweeters, or in combination of reflections on hard surfaces can cause "listener fatigue". Try using some acoustic wall panels from www.acousticalsolutions.com

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Bill Lummus

· #6 · Sep 10, 2003

Before doing a helter skelter room treatment do some sort of spl analysis and see what the current frequency response of your room is. Look up Radio Shack SPL meter in the search feature for details... Then you will know a little about what you are trying to treat.

Nonetheless if you have sensitive ears a through setup and analysis software package, like ETF and CARA, combined with some fairly simple room treatment, will make a HUGE difference. You're already spend a lot of money, go the extra mile to make it all worthwhile!

If you'll post some room layout information we may be able to make some specific simple recommendations to point you in the right direction.

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fasteddielv

· #7 · Sep 14, 2003

Could locate a HAA tech and get a analysis of your room. It sounds expensive but it's not really, considering the money you already spent. Plus you would be able to pin point the rooms problems and treat accordingly. Just throwing up some panels will unlikely solve you problem. And simply re-arranging seating/speakers may solve most of it.

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Dennis Erskine

· #8 · Sep 16, 2003

See if you can get an analysis or Acoustics Design Review from an HAA certified tech.

For wall panels and treatments, check out www.questai.com (I believe better pricing than from most other sources.)

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pillcrusher

Discussion Starter · #9 · Sep 17, 2003

Thanks everybody for your input. So far this is what I have done.

Having some sound insulating ceiling tiles left over, I decorated them with a thin fabric and hung them on the wall. I used the rule of first order of reflections with a mirror and the prime sitting position as the reference. Immediately I noticed the echo was gone. My stereo sound stage had returned but feel that some of my mids are now missing. Having spent so long on making the acoustic tiles today, I got frustrated and decided I'll give them another listen tomorrow. Any suggestions? I'm I getting closer to a resolution or should I give up now?

Thanks again,

Jonathan

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