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Getting into the music

I’ve found, to my dismay, that it’s very difficult for me to listen to music for the music itself these days. Since I got into this audiophile game many years ago, little by little my musical appreciation has eroded to the point that I find it very hard  to comprehend the music itself if it doesn’t sound good.  Too often I’m listening for sonic delights rather than the message the composer is trying to convey. I find myself going from composition to composition looking for audio niceties. When something sounds good I can then begin to get into what the composer is saying. 
As a former musician, this would have been unthinkable years ago.  Music was everything to me.

128x128rvpiano

Showing 2 responses by cdc

cdc
1,677 posts
 

Like the genie in the bottle, once you acquire the skill of critical listening, it’s hard to turn it off.

As ghdprentice described it, is called "technically perfect, musically dead".

So how to tackle your problem of loosing the music?

You have a great system but I would ditch the Benchmark DAC for sure and go NOS. IMHO, that DAC is made for mastering but not so good for listening to music.

I like Golden Ear but listen to some DeVore O/96. See what you think. They emphasize colors in the music, not detail.

If there are soundstaging issues, listen in mono, not stereo. This can be easily done with a "Y" connector.

I find myself going from composition to composition looking for audio niceties

Ask yourself "How many of these songs do I actually like?" Are you expecting the "sonic delights" to make you like a song that you basically do not like?

Do not throw out the baby with the bath water. As you realized, there are some songs that do sound really good on a hi-end stereo.

There is no shame in walking away from this hobby if it is doing more harm than good.

Hope this helps.

cdc
1,677 posts
 

My best stereo consists of Creative Labs SBS250 speakers, Sound Blaster 16PCI card, and music on YouTube.

Why is it my best stereo? First because it sounds pretty good. But more importantly because I NEVER think about anything but the music. Even my audiophile OCD does not get in the way. Amazing!

 

What is going on here? I have yet to fully figure it out. But some thoughts:

1) Near field listening.

2) Simplicity of TEAC2025 amplifier IC and full range single driver. While I can not remove the grills, the photo on the box shows a single 2 1/2" paper driver.

3) The combination of watching on YouTube while listening to music at the same time.

4) Small effort, both physically and sonically, invested into listening.

 

Listening to my main stereo demands a lot from me sonically. At first, the thought of turning it on is "Uugghhh I don’t want to bother with all the effort". Once it’s on and I make the adjustment it’s okay. But there is something distracting about it that always keeps me in "analysis mode".

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