Yes, The audio Gods are shining on me. The great thing is it happens EVERY time I listen. Because of "anal" approach to tt set-up! |
01-03-13: Abucktwoeighty, I just started a new thread on the topic, so check it out and add or ask anything you'd like!
In your research you may find some very famous musicians have/had this condition. I have been trying to master it like I did with my A.D.H.D. But it is much more complex and it comes and goes. I have no say as to when I experience it, making it difficult to study and use constructively.
It has however allowed me to win several SPL Car Audio Trophy's. For some reason it is easier to see what's going on in the vehicle - audio wise. So I was able to build Sub Woofer systems into the car that made this rouge wave of sorts, compounding the bass waves so that they piled up at the same time, point, and frequency. Resulting in what most Audiophiles run away from, massively exaggerated low end overpressure. (Not very musical as you can imagine) Although it cost me a few windshields, I still believe it was worth the experience.
For my car I used a pair of 15" Cerwin Vega Strokers in 12 cubic feet (6 per) of ported trunk space eating madness. I added 10 farads worth of capacitance, two 1,000 CCA batteries and a D class amp rated down to .5 ohms. At 4 ohms the amp was rated at 800 watts RMS, take down the impedance and the power output goes up. 2 ohms is 1,600 RMS 1 is 3,200 RMS and .5 is 6,400 RMS, Peak power output (Spikes) could get as high as 12,000 watts or so. All that adds up to my best SPL number........158.6 db!
Andrew Synesthesia Studios
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This is yet another mind boggling form of which I had never heard of. Fascinating. I have to do a search to learn more about synesthesia ..
Thank you for revealing a very private part of yourself. I believe many would not. |
From What I have learned, there are many types of Synesthesia. Mine in particular can only be equated to ripples in/on the water, but in a 360 degree dispersion. No colors, but it is as if I can see the physical properties of sound propagate thru open space. The "ripples" are in tune with the frequency, - low Frequencies have bigger ripples, and higher tones are tight ripples almost like vibrations in the air.
I just wrote a thread asking for people's information on the matter, but it hasn't been posted for discussion yet. I can tell you that many people that have Synesthesia are musicians. But like I said.....It depends on the type of Synesthesia he or she has.
And even though I don't condone the use of some drugs...... I've seen it happen, and seems to work with Peyote the best. This however is NOT how I experience the effects of Synesthesia.
As far as a soothing effect - it can be incredible. I find myself dozing of in my sound room playing intense rock music, at 120 db plus. Strange? Sure. Do I give a F***? NO!
I hope I shed some light on the subject and look out for future in depth discussion on this topic.
Andrew Synesthesia Studios |
Dynami28, do you experience colors with sounds? I have seen a program on television where a few people who have this condition tried to explain it. Some sounds have very soothing, pleasant colors, where other sounds produce very uncomfortable ones. It's hard to try to comprehend the ability to feel good and bad colors. I don't remember if different patterns were also involved. The closest I can come to understanding the phenomenon is to think back to the days when my friends and I were experimenting with hallucinogenics. Simply amazing for some hours, but I wouldn't want to experience life like that forever. On the other hand, if I were born that way, it would be the norm, and I wouldn't want it any other way...I believe... |
Have you ever experienced Synesthesia, specifically auditory Synesthesia. (You should look it up if you're not already familiar). I have said condition and I can't tell if it is a gift from god or a curse from all that is evil. Maybe I'll look into being Agnostic........
Andrew Synesthesia Studios |
. Somehow the Audio Gods seem to shine on my system more often if the lights are off in the room and about 15 after a sip of cognac.
The Audio Gods don't like bright light. . |
This happens every summer when it gets hot and humid. Sound gets sort of dead and mushy. I thought it may be thermal compression of the driver but no way with my new speakers so it's either:
1) paper cones, even when treated, get soggy from humidity.
or
2) Humid air propagates sounds differently than dry air. I'm sure there is a difference in density.
Does anyone notice this with metal cones? That would be my next option to rule out drivers. |
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Yes, and seemingly more often early in the day than late at night when they might disturb others who are sleeping. |
When you have one of those nights when the Audio Gods shine about you, it is best just to sit back and enjoy the music. You neve know when your system will sound so good again. |
I do not knows it's the audio God or not but my system sounds much better in PM time. I live in a surburban area and the neighbourhood is pretty quite and secluded from heavy traffic but during the AM time, my votage fluctuates constantly from 119/120/119/121 and I have to listen at a higher volume as oppose to after PM time, I do not have to crank it up that high and the sound of music is much better. I notice the voltage after 9:00 PM is pretty much stable at 120/122 therefore, I develope a habit to listen to my system after 9:00 pm for an hour or so every night. It could be just me or it could be the voltage fluctuation and the noise of the 2 A/C units of my neigbour running constantly during the hot season. I love to listen to my system after dark since it sounds better. Is it real or is it an illusion? |
I love the fact that this thread was started on 01-05-01. Who dug it up?
Regards, |
It's actually the best tweak you can ever do, so I have read and learned. When you hear or imagine a flaw, walk away and take a few days perhaps even a week off from your system and when you return your critical faculty shall have switched back to neutral. |
More than likely, your HI-Fi did not changed- you did.
Some days my system sounds great - Some days it sounds like crap- it just me - same system. |
They did today. I was given a couple-o-grand worth of stuff for free today(older technology, but still viable). |
i think temperature and humiditity may contribute, and also how "sequenced" the ears are before a session. Similar to when a singer or a insturment player goes through all of the notes high to low before going on with the arrangement. Better to go through all of the listening frequencies before playing on. |
OOPS, the above was meant for Marios "08-29-01: Tfta" delightful posting, which I took for the end of this thread. Supid of me, obviously too much popping of corks lately........ |
I loved that about the ear plugs..be also careful with opening your bottle of Champagne, the ensuing POP "will negate the usefulness of having" drunk a glass or two. LOL |
I am willing to bet that people with hard drive based storage systems or music servers do not have any trouble at all in this area because they can "taste test" their music and find something that fits their mood and any other external factors that may be at work. |
2chnlben, you have hit the nail on the head threefold in fact: 1. It is selfmedication if and when the audiogods shine. 2.The auxiliar spirits you mention tend to deepen the beneficial effects. 3. No moderation tends to drive the elves away, alas...... |
For me, the art of self-medicating, which I've efficiently honed over the years, has a lot of bearing on how and when the Audio Gods shed their light. My experiences attest to the fact that these Gods have a preference for lifeÂ’s finer indulgences - The finer the single-malt, the smokier the blues; the finer the vintage, the smoother and deeper the soul; the purer the indulgence, the more refined the imaging. HoweverÂ…like dear old Dad always saidÂ….moderation, moderation, moderation! |
How nice to see this old thread revived! Thanks Chashmal! We had so much fun here in years back..... Whenever I get drawn into the music and forget the gear, music prevails. Whenever music prevails, the Audiogods shine. They do not shine, when the audiogear prevails in your mind. The paradox in an Audiophile's life. |
I think that if you cry out to the audio gods in suplication, wailing your lament at the beckoning dawn of vibratory frequencies, then with heartfelt prayer and the incantory words of sacrifice, your sublime wish shall be granted...plus you need some killer gear. |
You have described end result...I'm in that zone too...gear lets me listen to music and I'm having a good time, not analyzing equipment, a trap too many fall into in this wonderful hobby. |
Yes I would have to say that the audiophile Gods do shine on me regularly. My system does tend to not sound as good some days as other days and I have often wondered about this. I don't doubt that my hearing my vary from day to day. Also I do notice that often the most magic seems to happen late Sunday evenings and on into the night. I attribute this to better quality AC power at that time because it stands to reason that there is likely the least amount of power used by other sources at that time. I tend to notice more reverb and almost a surround sound effect as I often hear sounds comming from far beyond the outer boundarys of my speakers. I also agree with everyone else who said the biggest variable in how much I enjoy the music is my personal mood and mental state at the time. If I am depressed or upset about something my system just sounds ok and I wonder what kind of an upgrade might improve it but when I am in a really good mood the sound is often very euphoric, emotional and involving. This also applies to all my other hobbies as well. |
It might be because of shift in your ear wax. We should all get ear wax cleaner from a drug store, and clean ours - most cost effective tweak.
Also it might be your body condition. Some audio lovers would actually get up and exercise to be in top condition for their listening session.
I find audio a great help in exercising - with a sub going on a pop music with heavy drum beats, you don't feel the pain.
Anyway, I found that if you assemble a liquid sounding system, then those special moments happen more often. You can enjoy music right from the beginning without having to warm them up.
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They freekin love me. The music hasn't been so good for a long time, but, I'm sure they love me.
Hopefully, they'll love my new room and system.
Bill |
Another 'plausible' explanation...would be changes in humidity and temperature and barometric pressure.
All these conditions affect the density of the air. Ask any pilot. Air is less dense when hot, humid, or high up (like Denver). Aircraft performance deteriorates with less dense air. Why wouldn't it also affect the sound waves reaching our ears? Remember those train whistles on certain days sounding different?
My guess would be the more dense air would provide sonic benefits as the air molecules would be most closely associated with each other, and our speaker drivers are essentially 'bumping' the molecules....which then 'bump' each other...until reaching our tympanic membranes (eardrums) and bumping them to create small sympathetic vibrations which are then converted to chemically mediated 'electrical' signals carried by nerves to our brains. Wow!
On second thought, it probably is just the Audio Gods!
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I guess I am from the camp of 'the glass is half empty'. I sometimes sit down and nothing seems to excite me. I know which CD's are 'lifeless' and do not even play them on my main rig. After surfing on a few songs, I turn it off. Not sure why. Maybe I was just not in the mood to listen after all. Other times, I really get into it. I envy those that literally get goosebumps while listening. I do not. I jealously hope that they are not enjoying their music more than me. |
There is something special about being alone with all you have worked so hard to assemble and put togther. Play anything, at any volume...
BTW, Sunday afternoons are just as good as any late evening. |
I, too have had the audio gods visit...however, they seem to come when I am feeling particularly good. I can't tell you how often a great bottle of wine appears to precede their entrance. It never seems to happen when I come home from work, frazzled and just wanting to collapse. And then...the voices screaming in my head put a pox on any chance of them showing up! (lol)
Truly, I believe there are so many subjective possibilities, such as background noise at a minimum, my own zen state and the ability to focus and hear clearly. I have a friend who swears the electrical background during the day affects his system (I hope he's talking about his stereo!) |
I used to live across the street from an urban High school. My system always sound better the longer school was out. This became more obvious after a new high tech computer annex was constructed. |
This is very interesting. I also read reviews, and then one component seems like it is the one to get, then vise versa. It's even worse when I drink a lot of coffee, actually I never don't. I like my system, and have my eye on other stuff, but I can live with what I now have. On certain days though, I start feeling that same feeling, and can't figure out why. On most songs the bass hits just right, and other songs ( a couple ), it misses, and ruins the whole song, so I just change it. |
This happens to me quite often. I don't know if it's caused by the frame of mind I'm in, my physical condition, or something to do with lower then usual AC voltage. |
Sometimes the Audio Gods to shine on me.Some days the system just sounds awesome and brings a smile to my face. BUT other times I turn the system on and I think it doesn't sound as good. I think I hear a distortion on someone's voice or it's not as good as last night. So the Audio Gods play with my stereo way too much! ;) |
Do the Audio Gods shine on me? I have been very skeptical of this phenom for two reasons. One reason is just that's the way I am (skeptic)and second, almost everything seems better to me in the middle of the night. Anyone here like to read poetry or willing to admit it? Just last night with some Merrill or Cavafy in my lap it's absolutely magic. It's like the opposite of the rat race. My mind focuses on one thing better.
But I have read many other explanations about this and tend to respect them. One nice short one is by Steve Deckert, the brains at Decware Audio. (Go to Decware.com, then to the site map, then to the forum, then click on the "articles" button.) All of his short articles are worth the read.
One is called "The Magic Hour." I quote from it:
"I believe it is the reduced level of power line harmonics that make possible the middle of the night magic, triggered by the increase in Cycles of AC power, combined with the fact that this is the time when the sun is on the exact other side of the planet, radiation from the sun adds its own effect on the power line harmonics .. and the reduced ambient noise floor you typically have at those hours of the night let you hear more dynamic range."
Who am I to argue? - it seems real to me.
Sincerely, I remain
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My God Yes! The beauty of it is they fit in my ice cube try. I freeze all 14 of mine at once and am able to keep one set in the frig at all times ready for serious listening.
Sincerely, I remain |
Ask Clueless, he's the icebox expert, I'd say, you have to put them through a shredder first. |
Do Bose speakers sound better if you freeze them? |
Since you sincerely remain clueless, Clueless, my sagacity would be wasted, wouldn't it, besides I don't want to centigrate on your sensibilities. Yankee English I only know from the movies and you know how misleading this can be for a gnome, who lives in the land of the cuckoo clocks, has muesli for breakfast and likes to see Heidi strip. Does your freezer run on 220 or 120 VAC? 50 or 60 cycles? I'm ony asking, because it might rattle your icecubes, if the hearbeat is set to the wrong frequency. It will make you bash your head against THE WALL, you know. Just believe an old shrink. I know what I'm talking about. But then, following your various posts with interest: YOU don't need no educaition...... 3 Cheers (all for you), |
Detlof, when giving us your sage advise on vinyl (God knows I need it) please speak good yankee English...Centigrate??? Where are you from anyway. I almost put my Pink Floyd albums in the freezer. I get so confused.
Sincerely, I remain |
With long or short runs, Clueless? |
I agree with Garfish. Mood is everything and my mood is never more ready for improved sound than when I've spent my weekly allowance for new cables. My mood becomes much clearer and more transparent.
Sincerely, I remain |
i do have sound changes in my system. it always takes me away though.i have never lost great sound unless the power goes out. |
A couple of non spiritual (read:practicle or realistic) things to keep in mind. 1)Your electricity varies all day, every day. The more it varies, the more your system will change. I believe audiophiles in general still don't understand how important power delivery is to the performance of their systems. 2)Your hearing can vary day to day as well. Spend an entire day listening to a jack hammer outside your window? Better believe this won't be a championship listening session day. Try this on for size: listen as late at night as you can, the electricity is cleaner and the ambient noise is lower. Turn off as many electrical items in your home as you can and wear ear plugs for 20 or 30 minutes before sitting down to listen. Remember to remove them SLOWLY and carefully to avoid a light pop that will negate the usefulness of having worn them. By the way, buying a power generator usually isn't helpful, having a beer or a glass of wine usually is! Mario |
Artemus, it certainly is not Voodoo, nor is it in the mind, your digestive system or the mood of your significant other. Highly evolved and heavily tweaked systems are like highly tuned racing engines. Changes in temperature, humidity, fuel (in our case electricity), changes in tire pressure,( balancing out of the front end) will certainly influence performance. Lp performance I've found for example, will be best at about 25 degrees centigrate and at a humidity of not less than 60%. Just my 2 cents. Cheers, |
Slowhand> This phenomenon happened about 3 weeks ago. Skeptics can say what they want about my mood, my electricity, my hearing, the phase of the moon etc. All I can say is that my wife heard the same thing. We did not want to go to bed thet night but had to work the next day. I don't know what caused it but I look forward to it happening again. |
WWWWoWWWW!!!!!! It seems like human's ear establishment! Kinda "goldaen ear training"...
By listening to records and CDs we start to hear new and new things from it and want to upgrade and upgrade our electronics... |
Anotherone who says that it's all in the mind....Y A W N |