Equipment Warm up, but What About Listener Warm up?

I believe that the equipment warm up and the listeners warmup go hand in hand and both are creditable.

The XLO Test and Burn-in CD has burn-in and demagnetizing tracks. If you listen to those a few minutes with headphones before a listening session your ears will be thoroughly warmed up. And demagnetized.

If you're a vinyl listener, it takes an album side to get the cartridge going.

Our mood and state of mind have a lot to do with it, sometimes the music catches me right away other times it can be an hour or two in where I am captivated by something. One thing about me I am not a static listener I am always multitasking usually reading as I listen.

Yes...

I'm a slow listener as well (you are not alone).

The more hectic the day the longer it takes to relax/listen.

DeKay

I was kidding earlier about warming my ears up with test tracks. Obviously. Everyone knows I use ear muffs.

slaw ...

• If you're a vinyl listener, it takes an album side to get the cartridge going.

True, that Slaw. I've said for years that the cartridge has to warm up. And as you said, it takes a good side to really get things sounding as they should.

Frank

Glad we agree Frank.

Equipment warmup takes a matter of seconds.

Listener warmup on the other hand can take years and years and years of blowing hot and cold.

Some things I never warm up to.

@slaw, +1

Absolutely! Behind your ear drum are three little bones called ossicles.
Attached to one of them, the Stapes is a little muscle called the Stapedius. As sounds get louder this muscle tightens and decreases the ear's sensitivity protecting you from louder volumes. It also changes the ear's frequency response. It is always good to start at moderate levels before turning it up to a realistic volume to let your ears adjust.  

Cartridges do break in but I have never heard one warm up. Tube phono stages may need a short warm up period. I keep mine on permanently so there is no warm up period at all for the phonograph

@geoffkait , I thought you were warm and fuzzy anyway.

I've noticed that during long listening sessions, say at the three-hour mark, the system seems to reach out and the sound starts to envelop the room, including me. Do the electronics continue to warm up even further after several hours? Or, maybe it's the Vodka. 

Frank

I’ve noticed that the music sounds best if I’ve had a good day, everything in my life is going well, I’ve exercised pretty hard that day, I have nothing left to get done that day, and it’s night time.  If all of these things come together, it’s usually a recipe for a good listening session. 
I’ve also noticed that its best to take a 10-15 minute break every hour or so from the music...

I’ve also noticed that I can pick up more detail in the music at low to medium volume levels.  It’s not such an onslaught of sensory overload that I sometimes get at higher volumes, yet sometimes high volumes are whats needed to get me fully engaged in a musical experience.

I also like to listen first thing in the morning (or even if I’ve woken up in the middle of the night...low low ambient noise is a plus) when my ears and mind are totally fresh.  
I even tried wearing shooting ear muffs (I know, I’m strange) for 30 minutes before listening in order to “prep” my ears.  Akin to closing your eyes in the dark and picturing the darkest black you can, then reopening them and being able to see much better.  I didn’t notice much of an improvement doing this particular method.

Last way I warm up my ears is with routinely cleaning them thoroughly with hydrogen peroxide and a steady stream of warm water to help loosen / soften ear wax buildup.  

Interesting thought, that the listener and the equipment have a "warm up" time.

I remember reading the results of a study of blood pressure changes while watching TV, and if my memory serves me, it took the subjects about 10 minutes for their blood pressure & respiration to find their rhythm after sitting down to watch TV.

b_limo, +1

To put 2 and 2 together, I always start a listening
session in the morning at lower than normal volume, and gradually
increase it.

Morning listening can be problematic as the sound through
one ear canal is sometimes less clear than the other.
I have found exercises online to address this.
A doctor says it is the settling of fluid inside the inner ear.

I have a shungite cap that covers the ears.  I sometimes wear
it for 15 minutes before a session.  Looks and feels weird, but it works,
improving the sound.

I am a fan of Debrox as an ear canal cleaner, about once a month.

And I agree, mental and physical states are "key," and it's
great when everything "comes together."

I don’t know if it’s a question of “warming up,”  but I agree that it takes playing at least one side before a cartridge starts to sound right.

Mindset and mood greatly effect musical enjoyment.

Bad mood and you will have a poor musical experience.

Good music can change your mood and mindset.

don_c55,

Well said. I’d like to go further and add that the wish to change our mood/mindset is the main reason we all listen to music and pursue our audiophile habits in the first place. For the great majority of us musical entertainment is almost as necessary as breathing.

As consumers, rather than creators, it’s also an addiction that’s comparatively benign compared to many others, although some of us might become cross addicted, unable to enjoy music without the additional support of recreational drugs or alcohol.*

Outside of a club (where the trance like effect of the bass can be enhanced), it doesn’t work for me, but each to their own.



*Or in a few extreme tragic cases - compulsive tweaking. A situation where very little musical pleasure can be attained. The advocates of tweaking usually have little concern or consideration of the distracting, sometimes neurotic effect of their propaganda.

In fact some even seem to exploit it by an almost constant active encouragement. 

If you find yourself afflicted don't despair. A way back can be found by the development of other interests, by regaining some control over your life, by spending more time with family and friends etc.

Some audiophiles have shared their experiences where they found it necessary to take the drastic step of a dramatic downsizing/downgrading of their main systems before they could begin to enjoy music once more.