Critical listening and altered states


Ok, this is not a question about relaxing, but about listening to evaluate how the system (or a piece of gear is sounding).

What, in your experience, are the pluses and minuses of altering your state of mind for listening? This can include anything you've used to affect your everyday state of mind, from coffee, beer, scotch, tobacco, to much stronger — and psychoactive, dissociative — additives.

What do you gain by altering your consciousness in terms of what you notice, attend to, linger on, etc?
What causes more details to emerge?
What allows you to stick with a thread or, alternately, make new connections?

Or perhaps you like to keep all those things *out* of your listening; if that's you, please say a bit about why.

hilde45

Pink Floyd - Run Like Hell (PULSE Restored & Re-Edited)  

looping....

Talking perception, and the filters of the mind with that of the ears....

@ 3:27....I hear "and the m.....f..... closed the door!"

....kinda like that, I'll run with the mistake....*L*

 

No you are wrong here.

Sigh. Wrong again. Ok, I give up.

Instead, a koan:

The words all flow,
Yet meaning hides in the prose,
Mind in tangled knot.

And a limerick:

There once was a poster online,
Whose temper was awfully inclined
To flare at a tweet,
Then stomp tiny feet,
And call his profundity divine.
 

 

Sigh. Wrong again. Ok, I give up.

Instead, a koan:

The words all flow,
Yet meaning hides in the prose,
Mind in tangled knot.

And a limerick:

There once was a poster online,
Whose temper was awfully inclined
To flare at a tweet,
Then stomp tiny feet,
And call his profundity divine.
 

 

 

Yes, you were wrong again...

Because you insinuated  that i had claimed that my system was without defects nor limitations..

I explained why this is false...

 Acoustics do not replace  high end gear...

it only optimized  piece of gear this is why the concept of acoustic balance matter over price...You cannot replace acoustics basics with more costly gear upgrade... Design of gear and acoustics are 2 different matter... It is common place fact...Suggesting that i claimed the opposite is "bad faith"...You cannot replace better designed gear improvement by acoustics improvement...

 

 

To save your face now you throw me sarcasms and innuendos as usual..

I called that  "petty mind"...

 

 

A poem for you  :

It was  poetical bits 
from your " text corrector" turn of mind pit
Your cold head bits  had beaten
the best from my hot heart beats...
It was my fate...
 Enjoy bad faith....

 

 

Now if we forgot sarcasms and  ad hominem attacks in poetical form or not,

 We can say using science that "critical state" of listening in audio and music is determined by evaluation of "timbre" micro-dynamics and meanings...

 It is why my point about acoustics and "altered states"  is not just  about beers and pot...

 

 Here an interesting article about that...

 

https://www.mcgill.ca/mpcl/files/mpcl/wang_2021_frontpsychol.pdf

 

«Timbre is one of the psychophysical cues that has a great impact on affect perception, although, it has not been the subject of much cross-cultural research. Our aim is to investigate the influence of timbre on the perception of affect conveyed by Western and Chinese classical music using a cross-cultural approach...

 The
results show that the important acoustic features for valence and energy arousal are similar, which are related mostly to spectral variation, the shape of the temporal envelope,and the dynamic range. The important acoustic features for tension arousal describe the shape of the spectral envelope, noisiness, and the shape of the temporal envelope. The explanation for the similarity of perceived affect ratings between instruments is the similar acoustic features that were caused by the physical characteristics of specific instruments and performing techniques.»

 

 

 What is called in this article "tension arousal" perception is an "altered states" of perception of music  in which we can reach a level of ectasy.

This is why "timbre" perception parameters in a system /room matter so much in audio and music.

 But i can take a beer or a bit of pot time to time...

The goal with a good acoustics condition and a beer is to eliminate the unwanted "critical listenings" attitude when listening music to immerse ourselves in it...