Late Night Listening

[Hankr]

Yeah, definitely I prefer listening with no light. Like SupperjazzyJa I hear sound imaging much better. Maybe because i'm somehow more relaxed in the dark - or maybe it's because I don't see where the speakers are located exactly. Obviously in the night there is more peacefull outside - no disturbing sounds.
Obviously there is not the case with cleaner power supply as I listen to the music in my car moslty .

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

Thought I would give this old thread a bump to see if anyone else would like to add their thoughts to the discussion.

 

[Wildcat]

Thought I would give this old thread a bump to see if anyone else would like to add their thoughts to the discussion.

Just skimmed over it, and pretty much agree with everyone else. For me?

• I am more relaxed at night, fewer things on my mind. Or I should say, fewer distractions. Even if it's dead quiet outside and I have all the devices silenced, I still feel as though there is something tugging at me during daylight hours (especially if it's a workday where I can take the day off).
• Next, my equipment has been powered on for an hour or two, tubes fully warmed up. Everything sort of locks in by that point. Even the turntable seems a little happier once it's been running (although I still think it's a piece of crap).
• Finally, the power grid. With fewer neighboring devices operating at later and later hours, the incoming power is cleaner. Although I notice this less, now that I have a few means to reduce that noise. (A regenerator is on my list for a future purchase.)

 

[tomlinmgt]

A counter point based on my own observations (and this may have been mentioned in the thread as I haven’t read through it entirely)...if I’ve been exposed to moderate and/or high SPL’s throughout the day, and/or am suffereing from general mental and physical fatigue, the effects of such can deteriorate my aural acuity. That’s generally not an issue early in the day, and recently I’ve found my listening experience to be better with fresh ears...provided gear has had a chance to warm up.

 

[Wildcat]

... if I’ve been exposed to moderate and/or high SPL’s throughout the day, and/or are suffereing from general mental and physical fatigue, the effects of such can deteriorate my aural acuity.

Agreed. When I used to commute across town through rush hour traffic, the road noise, the car audio system and the stress of traffic would wear on me. And it would take me until 9-10pm until I could fully relax and enjoy anything. Coming home and playing something right away just put me on edge (although over a small kitchen system it was fine--for the "good" listening though, I had to wait a while).

 

[sqlsavior]

The seeming unanimous consensus here is just a bunch of AUDIOPHOOL HOGWASH!

It's all EXPECTATION BIAS!!

And I can PROVE IT, as soon as I figure out a way to DOUBLE-BLIND test between night and day.

Until then, I'll need volunteers who can't tell the difference...

 

[sqlsavior]

Here is part of a Nova special about the brain and music. It is interesting to see just how many areas of the brain are used for active listening.

I really don't know anything about the experiments, controls, methodology, etc. But it seems to me that a Bach lover, who has listened to Bach over and over for some seventy years, would naturally recognize and interact with Bach's music MUCH more readily than music he doesn't care for and hasn't listened to much. All the Bach vs. Beethoven test proves is that he is more familiar with and appreciative of Bach. But we already knew that.