If you truly are in a situation where you have to negotiate listening time with your neighbors then I honestly don't know which to recommend- The Art of the Deal, or the Glock. It really is a tough call. Or troll. Considering the psychological state of the typical audiophile, another coin-tosser.
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I moved to a 2 acre lot in the woods to get away from (damn) neighbors. Living in the city with footsteps overhead was a torment.
I will say this though; a long session with everything warmed up stretching past midnight is far superior to grabbing a 20 minute side on a cool system. |
Long ago when I was in an apartment there were occasionally times when the close neighbors were all elsewhere and I could listen as loudly as I wanted for a couple of hours.When I lived in the city in a house and had a young family there were also times when everyone cleared out for a few hours and I could listen undisturbed.It was really a big deal and I thoroughly enjoyed those listening sessions.Like a mini vacation.
Now I'm in the boonies,kids are moved out,and I still plan a marathon listening session every week.Other than that it's headphones or casual listening as I take care of other responsibilities. |
Agreed, noromance, though a little music is a pleasant start to the day. It almost has to be a mini-vacation so I can feel really free to dive into my collection. There is a flow to moving from one piece to the next, a queue starting to stack up in my head, that is impossible with just 20 minutes, or even an hour.
Neighbors have never been an issue where I live now, but I (mostly) kept respectable hours and volumes during the apartment years. I do pay attention to the forums about how audiophiles manage neighbors, especially with the right gear. Elizabeth, I believe, has talked about the merits of her Maggies in her condo. Puts the music in the room, not through the walls.
Jtcf, I really like the idea of planning a regular weekly listening session. Difficult to manage on my part, but it's a goal worth striving for! |
I built the wife a killer ht system as she likes tv more so she is happy in that room.
Leaves me free to retreat to my room and forget the rest of the world exists and relax for a good few hours each evening.
One advantage of non sub division 1.5 acre lot and daughter at university..
Oh and it helps that generally I HATE people.......
I find that if I play music during the day , which I do a lot, it tends to be more background. Even though it is still good I am not enjoying it or revelling in it as I do at night while sprawled in my big chair. |
Since I am now retired, I have a lot of time to listen to my systems. From around 11 in the morning , until 3-4 in the afternoon, I am listening to my main rig in the living room. Usually around 4pm, my wife likes to watch Ellen on TV, so I retire to my man cave upstairs which has another system and I listen to it and surf the web as my computer is also in that room. I average 4-5 hours a day on the main rig and another 3 hours on my other system. Life is good. |
Like you , my listening time is at a premium, I share the room my system is in with my family as it is our living room. My system is set up in near field and is the nicest system I have ever owned, will probably be my last system as I am 68 and retired and have spent the last 10 years getting to where I am, so no more shopping except when something might fail. My listening sessions are late night and early into the morning and so rewarding and anything less will not satisfy that need. An album side or listening to a CD while doing something around the house will not satisfy the need of playing 6 or 7 albums in a row and just relaxing, getting lost in the music, no casual listening here will satisfy that need, so I feel you man. I have put together a very good headphone system in my office, after adding phono and a good tube phone stage to it I find my self up their listening quite a bit lately. BTW, great post. Enjoy the music
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My listening room is in the basement and I usually listen there, alone, after my family goes to bed for the night. I usually try to listen for an hour or so. Sometimes I'll start a listening session earlier and get in a couple of hours. I also sometimes listen for an hour at lunchtime (I work from home).
Rarely does anyone come down and listen with me. However, I cherish the times they do....
I do get together for a listening session with a couple of neighbors occasionally. Those sessions sometimes go into the wee hours of the morning, like 3-4 am. Good times....
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Right?
I had a friend a friend who used to drive 8 hours nonstop with a trunk full of records, wine, and whisky for a long weekend of fun. Good times indeed!
These days, I have a friend I see once in a while who comes over for a session, but it's rare. Folks have kids and busy lives. |
my rig is in the center of the house "great room" and I seem to get a chance to hear what I want at the volumes I like when the house is vacant, son at work, wife at the gym etc. this happens at least three mornings a week
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Retirement is the "cure all" for anytime listening. |
