How does one "Get lost in the music"?

Touché, Noromance... indeed! And Frogman, wow... I just got lost in that video. What a treat to see one of my favorite artists perform with my eyes actually open. And this happened even though I played it back on my laptop! So much for all the theories, bring on the music! Thanks.

Hi everyone, it's been a while. System upgrade completed (could've bought a nice new car instead); everything finally broken-in. Happy beyond expectations with the life-like sound, which often sweeps me away. Hence, it was impossible to resist this thread.

Leicachamp,
To me, forcing myself to listen critically, struggling with my mind and trying to concentrate on getting lost in the music doesn't sound like any fun at all. When I was a budding audiophile, I definitely remember feeling stressed out when listening, as Douglas mentioned in this thread. My heart would actually start racing as I listened –– quite the opposite of a meditative state. Now, after 30 years of daily shock therapy, I only listen when I feel like it, when the music calls me –– which seems natural and sustainable. And since my living room is also my listening room (successful WAF negotiation), whenever I have the house to myself I have a 8-minute ritual that converts the space into the Man-Cave. This transformation further heightens anticipation of my session, making it more of a special event.

ManCave protocols include moving the couch back, removing the coffee table, positioning the listening chair in the sweet spot, leaning the big pillows against the walls at the point of first reflections, folding over the area rug to reveal the speaker positioning marks and pulling the Thiel 3.7s away from the wall (they have outrigger spikes resting in Herbie's Brass/Teflon Gliders) and aligning them perfectly with those marks. If I'm really going for it, I'll turn all the Home Theater 5.1 speakers (which are completely separate from my 2 channel gear, but alas, are still in the same room) away from the listening triangle and put a thick folded towel over the HT's center channel to silence any rouge vibrations. Then, I turn off the fridge (yup), grab the VAC remote, get a glass of water, pick a ultra-sonically cleaned album, flick on the turntable light, kill the room lights, drop the stylus in the lead groove, then plant my butt in my chair, turn up the volume to "venue transportation level," take a deep breath and most importantly, close my eyes! Above all, if you want to get lost in the music, the most important element is closing your eyes the whole time. If you do this already, you know how surreal and odd it feels to have the music end, open your eyes and realize where you actually are.

I don't think this getting lost in music thing is an ability or skill for me it's listening to music I love that is superbly recorded (for me, on vinyl) on a system at whatever price point that hangs together well enough to transport you to the recording venue and involve you emotionally in the experience.

Hey Jtcf-- Glad we share the same surreal effect of our listening rituals! I enjoy those sessions immensely.

Mapman-- I agree wholeheartedly. I got completely lost in the sound of my red plastic all-in-one record player in my early teens. Now, in mid-life, I'm a lot more discerning and it takes more at this level to "get lost". I still love my gear, but only because it does what it does in reproducing musical events that can sweep me into another place and time.

Rockadanny -- Oh you nailed it. Those few (by percentage) recordings that are engineered so well that all the engineering disappears along with my room are so precious that I buy multiple copies (now that's just crazy, right?). Last night I was listening to Bill Evans' Waltz For Debbie on an original pressing and it never fails to move me, on my system. I've heard it on lesser systems that weren't put together very well to little effect, if any -- just didn't have the magic. After all these years of stumbling around this expensive hobby, I'm so grateful to now know how to put together a really musical rig (for friends who ask) at many price points.

In my experience, I have noticed that I have several listening modes:
Casual – where I'm cooking in the kitchen but it sounds like Bill Evans is in my living room. I love that. Bill plays his heart out for hours and I don't even need to feed him dinner.
Critical – Where I notice minute aspects of the recording, venue, and gear and I'm either impressed or not, but definitely keeping score in my head.
Teleportive: The Holy Grail of this hobby (for me). I put on a magic LP, close my eyes and seconds after needle drop, I'm gone. Teleported to a venue, front row center, where a favorite musician is holding court, in total disbelief that anything can sound so beautiful or anyone can be that talented. This happens about once a week in the Man-Cave.

If we're not having fun, something's not right.

Mr. Tennis-- Seems to me that Leicachamp is already doing what you suggested by posting his question to his audio community. Perhaps you mean that we as a group could not really help him and that maybe I should give him the name of my Shock Therapy clinic?

Nice to hear from you Leicachamp. Look what you started!

It's not all sarcasm. Many audiophiles indulge a bit to relax their minds before/during listening sessions.

However, for me, great music replayed well is the best natural high. I can't imagine why I would want to dull my senses at the very time I want them most alive! I know, I know, altered states can be fun sometimes, no argument there... but if you find yourself needing a few shots or a fat joint to get "lost in the music," you're probably listening to the wrong music (for you) and possibly on the wrong system.

When you first experience the euphoria of being completely swept away by the sheer beauty and power of music that reaches you emotionally... well, you've found your drug. Put down the glass and go buy some records!

My $0.02 Feel free to attack.

Schubert and Tostadosunidos, I wish I could agree and I envy you both. If I could still get lost listening to my car stereo, it would have saved me years of obsessive behavior, untold shock therapy treatments (which I just found out are legal again) and upwards of mumblemumble $XX,000 on gear!

Mapman... I think we should keep that study under wraps lest our Oreos become a controlled substance!

Tostadosunidos, Yeah, I remember that era. But even earlier, in 1971 or so, I remember my first experience hearing STEREO playback. I was mesmerized – and for the life of me I couldn't understand how that tiny needle tracing a microscopic groove could separate the music into 2 channels! On top of that, early stereo mastering/mixing of popular rock music was all about effects like panning back and forth and disembodying the musicians from their instruments (i.e. different parts of the drum kit showing up in different channels). Yes, now it's total cheese ball, but back then... talk about going to another world... all I can say is – thank God for gravity.

Also, slightly off topic (sorry, Leicachamp):
I know that there's now a renewed interest in MONO... but this time, it's expensive high-end MONO... but I must be missing something. I don't recall ever hearing a MONO rig throwing a wide and deep soundstage, which is where, among other attributes of STEREO, that I get my thrills. Can you (or anyone for that matter) enlighten me as to why there's a retro buzz about 1 Channel sound, to the point of having a few $5K MONO phono carts on the market?

Ack! sorry... I didn't express myself clearly, Tostadosunidos –– I was referring to when it was that I actually experienced stereo for the first time. I was all of 10 years old. I don't think I saw a cassette or 8-track tape for a few years after that. The cutting edge of technology missed my neighborhood completely.

Mr.Tennis, Before we all start questioning our sanity, I think this thread is not about merely enjoying music –– but what it actually takes to "lose ourselves" in the experience at this point in our lives.