Concentration

Hi Richard , Greetings from California. I’m hoping you have a great 4th of July and your health is holding up. For me I listen on different levels depending on the circumstances. Two weeks ago my wife and I attended Collective Soul live and we had front row seats. I sat in my chair and would intermittently close my eyes to focus with my ears on the music. My wife left her seat and was dancing up against the 4’ high stage.  At home I find my material is now more dictated by sound quality than context. In other words better sounding material is rotated in more based on sound quality. This is unfortunate at times because I’ve stopped listening to bands I like , for example “ The Moody Blues “. When I’m in the mood to be fully immersed in my music I sit dead center , upright , lights dim and play in the 79-90 db range. My current rig WAS low power tube and had that magical sweet spot and not much else. I am in the process of putting together a large system with 180 wpc tubes and big tower speakers. I’m now listening to music at higher volume and more often off axis. I now play music in the 95-100 db range while doing dishes or cleaning the house. I also have a headphone rig in my bedroom with Audeze planer headphones. Anyway that’s my two cents and wishing you the best, Mike B. 

My Experiencing an Audio System being used and the forming of Vocal and Instrumental Sound from the recording, which is what I refer to as the End Sound.

Is always the most enjoyable when I am experiencing the systems End Sound in the same way I would expect to be hearing Vocal and Instrumental Sound being created at a Live Event, which is to be in the Company of others and it is a Part of a Social get together.

My interest in recorded music is an extension of my interest in Live Music. It is my interest in Live Music that set me on the path to express an interest in recorded music and audio systems.

I rarely listen to the dedicated audio system alone, and when done it is more typically in the Months with Longer Nights. This is usually a listening activity to assess an audio device for how it has a synergy within the Audio System. My Spouse is quite content to be with me for a proportion of these periods, the Valves do add a few degrees to the Ambient, so are quite homely in that respect.

New Albums Purchased are usually debuted with my Spouse if she expresses an interest, or when guests are at my home or I am a guest at another's home.     

 I listen to 3 to 5 hours of music every day. At times, I may browse the internet or read online forums. It's hard to stare at the walls for a long time. Sometimes I close my eyes, but that will bring on sleep after a while.

Not really. Music listening isn’t a chore

I've never doubted my setup because I was in the Kitchen making some grub and lelistening passively. I've actually noticed nuances in songs when I don't try. Trying isn't fun and if you have to try with your setup, something is wrong

For me, the question is, am I actually trying to "get the best experience with your stereo".  That is not always the case as often, it is on as background music to take my mind off other mundane tasks I'm performing at the time.  But I agree with you that attempting to get the best musical experience, it requires my full attention.  Or maybe more to the point, it requires me NOT to be focusing on other things at the same time.  We can't serve two masters at once.  🤣

For me to enjoy the experience of listening to my system the most, the music has to sound good.  And I agree that when the system is playing while I am doing other things, I don't pay close attention to either the music or the sound.  But that doesn't necessarily make me doubt my system.