Vinyl. Years ago, I used to listen to the equipment as some records sounded excellent and some were not good at all. So I was always avoiding the lesser recordings. This scenario is extremely common and is a symptom of an immature system. My systems have slowly evolved and everything sounds great. I don’t even think about what I play, or what condition it’s in. It's all about the beauty of the music, and the magic of the old technology reproduction chain.
Mid level listening
I think that when listening to music it’s best to intently listen for the music rather than to the beauties of the sound production. In my opinion that is the most enduring pleasure you can get from your system. Unfortunately, for whatever reason it doesn’t always happen. When you can’t seem to get fully into the music there’s something I’m calling mid level listening where you listen for the enjoyment of both SQ and the music itself. I know ideally that should always happen to a great degree but it doesn’t always, which leads us to be dissatisfied with our rig.
What do you think?
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- 27 posts total
well, I just listen to the music I like. no need to overanalyse. I notice little and subtle things, but I don’t go listening to a song for a specific section only. that would be miserable. If I like a song, I like it as a whole.
Thankfully I have a setup that lends itself to just letting the music shine and that is all it does. No over editorialisation with its own tone. Just true to the song being listened to |
For me, the music is the most important thing. I read people say a certain system got their toes tapping. To me, music is what gets my toes tapping, head bobbing, etc; I had no more problem doing it with a handheld transistor radio when I was 16 than I do today with a far, far more expensive and superior system. |
@rvpiano You have published before on critical listen vs music appreciation as well as becoming dissatisfied with rig sound quality over time. I will respond in a similar way as before. An audiophile should first and foremost be someone who appreciates musical composition and performance quality over reproduced music sound quality, even though the latter facilitates the former. An audiophile should be able to develop a musical appreciation mode where the composition and performance engage emotions and a critical listening mode to evaluate equipment and setup to the individual’s ideal sound. Ideal sound is subjective, and that’s OK. Developing this ability to have a critical listening mode and a musical appreciation mode, or a between state has nothing to do with becoming dissatisfied with one’s system. |
- 27 posts total