I’m unhappy with my penchant for obsessing over SQ, I don’t obsess when listening to the car stereo. I can just sit back and enjoy the music.
Makes me want to consider giving up high end listening at home and go for something simple (even though I have over 20K invested at this point.)
I don’t think I’ll go through with it, but it’s an idea.
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Then there are some of us that have a hard time keeping our focus on the music.
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@frogman
I believe that formal analysis can detract from musical enjoyment. I believe one intuitively analyzes by extended listening.
I probably misled by using the term “casual listening”. A better term is relaxed listening. Certainly being actively involved in the music is paramount. That is achieved best when I’m relaxed.
‘Although I have a Masters in piano from Juilliard and a PhD in music theory and history from NYU, I got my musical inspiration and love of classical music as a child listening to radio stations in New York. I always endeavor to recover that feeling.
Expressing myself through this forum has been helpful to me in diagnosing the pitfalls of sound addiction. I also hope it relates to others who have the same experience.
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@frogman
I can see how involving myself in musical endeavors might get me more involved in the music.
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yogiboy and Hilde45,
Listening to a speaker that doesn’t do “magic tricks” with soundstaging might well be the way to go. Getting my mind off of the artifacts of sound can only be a good thing in listening to MUSIC.
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Audio Nervosa is truly like a chronic disease. There are periods of time when I’m totally discombobulated, not able to listen to music for music itself, and then there are periods when it all comes together. Those former periods are debilitating but the latter periods are magnificent.
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tonywinga,
It isn’t that I don’t like the sound of my system, the problem is I like it too much.
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Tylermunns,
You are so right. …the beauty, wonder, and splendor of music” is the thing. The love of Hifi pales in comparison.
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Frogman,
Good suggestion.
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Frogman,
You are so right. Our training as musicians ingrains in us a quest for perfection. Which leads to a pretty good stereo system but also the impossible quest for perfect sound.
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Decooney,
Thanks for your detailed response. I see the similarities between us.
I’m now not so sure however that the nature of my system is the problem. I’m thinking that perhaps, as frogman suggests, relocating myself in the listening space, so that imaging is not a factor, may help considerably.
Also, for the times I’m really into the music, the good qualities of the set may enhance my enjoyment.
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To be sure, there’s absolutely nothing better than when music and sound come together to produce a wondrous effect.
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Newbee,
Thanks for your suggestions. I will experiment.
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I’m talking about being a sound addict.
And yes it’s a terrible thing.
I get a lot of help in this forum.
What were you thinking?
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I am an addict. And I can’t help falling off the wagon from time to time.
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Well, I wouldn’t go that far…..
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I want to thank all of you who have offered compassion and suggestions.
They really have been very helpful.
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As a matter of fact, yes.
Despite my proselytizing about how one should put the music first, that’s exactly what I was not doing. With the big expenditure and being preoccupied in the world of stereo I was trapped in an obsession of sound production forgetting the primary love of my life, music. I was seduced by the glorious noises my set often produced.
This passion for sound has long made me forget which side is up. The insidious preoccupation blinded me to the truth. Of course there were times when the music slipped through, but they were too far and few between.
I guess I got an inkling of what was going on when I listened to that car radio and was thoroughly entranced by the pieces being played. I also have to thank this forum for helping me to see my hypocrisy.
I’m now enjoying music more than in a long time, and am more selective in my choices, making them not for sound, but for musical pleasure.
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