You can call this a "ritual" if you like, but I think it is indispensable: My system is in a dedicated biogenically sterilized room. Before entering the sterile listening room, I spend exactly 27 minutes in a high pressure antiseptic shower, rinse another 9 minutes with reverse osmosis water, then don a cryo-pathogen full body suit with a tri-mix (oxygen, nitrogen and helium) rebreather. I'd rather not discuss the details of my system, since most people would find it somewhat extreme -- such as the fact that my turntable is micronically calibrated to compensate for the rotation of the earth in order to neutralize the potentially disastrous effects of the magnetic field upon the platter.
Unfortunately, all of my meticulous preparations usually take several hours and I have never had much time left over to actually listen to music.
Unfortunately, all of my meticulous preparations usually take several hours and I have never had much time left over to actually listen to music.