Seriously though, maybe the best tweak is exercise?

TBH, my listening room in the basement equipped with the workout bench right in the sweet spot. To listen without workout activities I simply fold my workbench and move the rolling chair instead. 

Yep, I second that. Sitting on your bums all day is not good, whether at work or at home. Get up and go do something for 5 to 15 minutes every hour or so. This simple trick can help with your blood pressure, heart and blood sugar levels. This is no joke. 

No doubt exercise is important to overall health of body and mind. Enjoyment of music is ALL in the mind. So just put 2 + 2 together.

Saturday morning I hit the gym early , come home, have a decent breakfast then usually a nice long listening session into the afternoon until something finally pries me away. Nice!

I routinely perform 12 ounce curls every time I jam. Happy listening 🎶

The walk to the turntable and the record shelves ups the step counter.

@czarivey +1  yep, I can relate

My take away is bug spray. It’s 25° where I live.  At 8200 feet there’s no air up here either. If you exercise you’ll fall over.
 

Bent 

I do believe exercise improves my audio system. I can relax more knowing I am taking care of myself, and also less worry about sitting too long listening. No sports drinks, a good blended scotch. Otherwise, I hear Sour Diesel is really good.

My wife would say my main system sounds better after I dust the room it's in. 

I definitely have better vision after a workout where I am pouring sweat, such as playing squash or spinning. The hearing maybe improved by this too, since everything is better with the body after a hard workout.

Regarding exercise (also health generally) and hearing, there seems to be some solid correlations. I've been recovering from a severe ongoing inflammatory, circulatory illness, with some diabetes in the mix, for over a year now, and I can say with some solid, yet anecdotal evidence, that when afflicted with more severe inflammation, I can only hear up to 14000 hz (43 year old equivalent hearing) but when my inflammation is more moderate, my hearing improves to 15,500 hz (33 year old equivalent hearing). I happen to be 53 presently btw. So as most of us probably already know, exercise helps lower inflammation, or can help keep it at bay, so it would seem quite reasonable that some exercise definitely helps promote better hearing, which is precisely what I experienced. I also found music I normally enjoyed, became terribly fatiguing when most unwell, which was a bit similar to how when one has a bad cold or flu, watching TV or listening to music can feel tiresome or sometimes overly stimulating in a strange negative way. On the positive end of things, I noticed when my inflammation had improved significantly, that I could hear a multitude of desirable subtleties that were missing just the day before. I feel truly blessed to own a pair of awesome Magico S5s that go from irritatingly analytical yet somehow concurrently less intelligible one day, to a whole other dimension just 24 hours later: magically and wonderfully detailed, pleasantly revealing, yet silky and lush (sorry Magico, it wasn't you, but my transiently defective hearing!). I can laugh now, but before making the health/exercise connection, I was truly stumped trying to figure out what was causing the frequent auditory changes in my system. Initially, I thought I'd changed a setting, then forgot to change it back before the next day. But after this occurred a multitude of times without a reasonable cause or variable to explain the changes in SQ, I finally considered inflammation causing circulatory issues, resulting in accompanying hearing loss and hearing degradation. I couldn't believe it, but that had been the source of my ever changing sound quality that had been driving me nuts trying to pin down for so long. So I'm just saying, yes, one can very likely improve their audio enjoyment just by exercising and staying fit (DIET TOO!), as I've experienced obvious examples (in hindsight, of course🤪) of this for over 1 year now (lots of time for many repeated experiments). So stay healthy and keep listening y'all!

I have my ear buds in and the tunes a playin’ when I mow the lawn.  Does that count?

@sssmackie 

Thanks for your anecdotes and related thoughts. I agree completely that inflammation can impact hearing, and that there is plenty of evidence to support the assertion.

Of related note, sinuses are located close to the ear canals, and when they are congested, let alone stuffed/blocked, it can definitely impact hearing. With regard to diet, dairy products can contribute to congestion and nasal inflammation, so something as simple as avoiding such products on days of listening sessions can make a difference. 

I'd even take this line of reasoning to an extreme degree, based on my anecdotal experiences. I have been fasting on occasion for decades, and there is no doubt whatsoever that, broadly speaking, inflammation is decreased as a result. My listening sessions during a fast are typically outstanding, and I believe that the reduction of inflammation is the cause.

Most audioPILES I know, like me, would be out of the hobby, and everything else, if they tried that exercise thing themselves!  But seriously, if the price of entry to a nice long listening session is sweating heavily and physical exertion, I'm out.

I listen while I’m in my pool. Thanks for joking with us @erik_squires ….you wild and crazy guy you! 

@michaellent Best reason not to exercise EVER!  Makes me want to move to a higher elevation.  You know, I didn't make it to the gym today.  That makes, um, 4,752 days in row!!! 😀

Staying in good health may not improve your listening experience, but it’s been proven that you’ll be listening for awhile longer.

+1 @waytoomuchstuff 

Without a doubt vigorous exercise releases good brain chemicals and opens the mind. Music always sounds really good when I’m done. 

At the other end of the listening room I have an indoor bicycle. There’s also a 24" smart TV mounted to the front of the bike. Muted Youtube videos with the tunes crankin’ is the only way to pedal!

Listen Long & Perspire. ;)

*Still working on the hand gesture...*

I can relate to what Whipsaw said about fasting and hearing. I'd even go so far as to say that the effects of fasting on hearing is generally more effective and noticeable, compared to exercise. Btw, the likely benefits just mentioned would tend to increase as one gets older or less healthy (hearing has to first get worse before it can have room to improve)

                       Exercise those elbows and EAT MORE CHEESE!

https://www.houseofhearing.co.uk/news/eating-cheese-help-prevent-hearing-loss

https://www.edinburghhearingpractice.co.uk/hearing-loss-cheese-toasties

I've been an endurance athlete pretty much all my adult life.  I did triathlons and distance races in my 30's and 40s.  Marathon was my best distance.  Now that I'm older I'm dabbling in ultramarathons.  I work 4 days a week and any day I don't work I hike or run at least 13 miles in the morning.  

Instead of energy drinks I'm generally having protein drinks in my listening chair but it is much easier to stay there and relax for a while after a good workout.

Jerry

An occasional ear cleaning with a peroxide based cleaner has improved my hearing quite a bit. Hadn't even considered this as a tweak but, man has this worked for me!

Yes, yes, and YES. To put a label onto why exercise improves enjoyment, I can't say but it is a thing I've experienced over and over again.

Another thing that always work for me is coffee. Raises my alert level and I bet this also improves my hearing in a way or two. 

I also believe a good ear-cleaning regimen goes a long way. Something very few of us have and Q-tip is NOT the answer.

Don't forget sleep! Big influence on mood which affects your listening enjoyment. I unsure about actual hearing though. Thanks for the encouragement to get more cardio, maybe that will help my ringing.

This is one of BEST tweaks in audio listening I have ever experienced in addition to gear cleaning, air purification, moisture removals, ear cleaning and so on.  It cures my ear TINNITUS (at least a few hours after my morning 5-10K run) and my mind is sooooooo ready for a long-day listening on weekends.  This is a wonderful no cost tweak in the history of my audio listening, ever.  Good for your health as a side benefit too.

PS - I've also found that a good ear cleaning regimen helps a lot.  If I don't take care of my ear was my speakers will start to skew left.

The solution I've found is a good body wash and lots of lather and water.  So long as I do that regularly I don't need to resort to more.