First let me say, there were no drugs involved in this one.
I was listening to my tuner (old marantz solid state 20/20) on acoustat model 3s. i dont know what song was playing but it was in the alternative trance genre w/ lyrics. my right ear felt like it was connected to the speaker by a tube directly into my eardrum. it sounded exactly like i had one side of a pair of etymotics in my ear. the sound was totally divorced from the speaker and seemed to be coming out of a little tiny speaker situated right in my eardrum. the detail was perfect and the tone of the music seemed almost unreal and lush but with a slight humming (or vibrating) and absolutely personal. even when i moved my head a little it still felt like the sound was right in my right ear. this wasn't happening with my left ear. were there some sort of odd harmonics at work? was this an intentional mixing trick?
Oh hell I forgot, was it possibly DONNA THE BUFFALO that you were listening to when it happened. I love their hippie trance music and it does tricks on me, but not sober, but that's not to suggest anthing, I just thought it might be a simple explanation like killer music and krippie pot and/or guinness excess.
No,we can be sure, scientifically, that what you think you heard wasn't "some sort of odd harmonic...[or]...a mixing trick...."You should probably start with a good physical and hearing exam. Is ther a history or tinnitus or other hearing problems in your family? Are you obese or do you have HTN? Have you been able to repeat the experience? If repeatable, next time sit backwards and see if moves to your left ear. This would argue in favor of the stereo in the differential diagnosis and against further medical workup. At least on a audiology area. Are you taking any over the counter medications or prescription drugs? Sometimes these can produce humming. Can you elaborate on your description of symptoms such as "tone...unreal and lush but with a slight humming...". Was the tube-in-you- ear sensation accompanied by warmth or the sound of bacon and eggs frying in the distance? These and other questions must be explored before a complete response is advisable or possible. Beyond this advise, for now, you should consult a primary care physician regarding the need for a complete physical and/or neurological and/or psychiatric workup. Best wishes. Email if I can be of further help. I know several fine M.D.s and even one that is an audiophile in the LA area.
Yep, the Roger Waters disc has Q sound and so do Madonna's Immacuale Collection and Paula Abduls - Spellbound discs. I also have alot of elctronic/techno music that has lots of out of phase information in the recordings.
i think n1glass might have hit it. i just talked to an acoustat super-freak who mentioned something about Q-sound. anyone ever heard of it? apparently it involves phase shifting in the mixing. roger waters did this on 'amused to death' ive been told. i'm going to pick up a copy and check. unfortunately i have no idea what song i was listening to when this happened and i dont know the time to call the station. but i may not be crazy after all. i'll let you know.
It could very well be some phasing trick buy the engineers. Try switching the interconnects so that the sounds would be coming from the left channel....if it's there in the left also, then it's on the recording. Don't laugh folks, I remember hearing Jimi Hendrixs' "Electric Lady Land" the first time on a top setup and was simply blown away by having his guitar come from the back of my skull and swirl around. Un*&@ing believable! Phase tricks like the one Kubla describes are actually not that uncommon in recordings these days. Just listen to Madonna's "Ray of Light" album.....
Ohhhhhh, now I know what you're talking about, thanks Plato, sure. All the time I have Brittney Spears and Jennifer Lopez inside my ears talking to me. Usually Brittney in the left and Jennifer in the right. They bicker back and forth with one another over which one is the hottest and get downright nasty over who deserves my affections the most that day. Madonna hasn't been in one of our conversations in a long time, but Pamela Anderson checks in every now and again to say a few words. So, yes Khan, that has happened to me.
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar," said Freud. If you enjoyed it, consider it a "gift" experience. Somethings are better appreciated and left as a mystery.
As you know, I am a past Acoustat III owmer and on a couple of occasions a similar phenomenon occurred -- but only with one recording. I was playing through the tracks on Madonna's "Immaculate Collection" CD and I started to play the song "Vogue". As the song progressed, I distinctly heard Madonna's breathy voice whispering "Vogue" distinctly inside my left ear. So, if you too were listening to that particular song when this occurred, I think that simply reversing the left and right channels will set things right again. --Either that, or say 10 "Hail Mary's" and 5 "Our Fathers," then make a sincere "Act of Contrition". The latter option seemed to work best in my particular case.
System, Oh... you don't remember. Well we were at your house listening to music yesterday when you suddenly said something about it making some wierd kinda noise. None of us heard it but you kept insisting that you did. It seemed to upset you that no one else heard it. Though we kept telling you that everything would be ok you said you kept hearing these sounds in your head. Finally in desperation (i guess to get rid of those sounds in your head) you asked us to take the system away.
On the count of three I'm going to snap my fingers. You will be completely awake but you won't recall any of the previous events. Okay: 1.......2......
could be ... equipment malfunction through power irregularities, reception problems interfence from other stations, FM waves bouncing where they shouldn't (have you ever moved closer/further from a weak FM signal and noticed how the signal and thus the sound changed), intentional recording techniques, room interactions ....
If you can remember the exact time you heard the song, then phone the radio station to get the name of the CD and go out and buy a copy of the music. This is the best suggestion I can make, because judging by your shock/amazement, you probably won't sleep a wink until you know the truth!
So what you're saying dekay, is have my phase inverted? interesting.
glen, i can't remember how long before i had a shower but it may have been two or three hours prior to the experience. but i wasn't aware of that water-in-the-ear feeling.
i think there was definitely something with the sound itself and not the internal wiring of my brain. the sound seemed to be hitting a certain frequency that was unusual. the music was also a bit stereo lab-ish meaning that they played around with certain sounds coming from different channels for odd effect.
OK: Here's what you do. Go to Beverly Hills (you will need a good Ears, N & T and your CA insurance will most likely cover it), have your ears reversed (they will probably have to put them on backwards, but this will aid in the double blind test, so don't sweat it). If this is a real phenomena, then your left ear (not your right) will trick out. Then, we'll go from there.
Guys…this is serious. What if there’s something wong with my BWAIN!
This was an absolutely definite concrete experience. Not like people who think power cords actually alter the sound of their system. Du-oh!
I mentioned there was a type of humming along with it. I realized how to describe that sound; it had similar harmonics as the sound of blowing into the top of a glass coke bottle. The music had a reverb that sounded like the source was directly on my eardrum.
Ok, let the jokes fly but dont make me go over to audioreview for the real answers either.
Anyone remember that Partrige family episode where one of the bandmembers couldn't play because she was picking up the Rolling Stones in her braces during a gig? You don't wear braces do you Khan? Arthur Salvatore thread look out.
Whatever you do, don't brush your teeth or floss at this point as it may disturb the vibes. If you are right handed then this explains beyond a doubt why the left ear is not with the program.
Maybe it's the speakers. The first time I listened to Acoustats it was with New Age type music (through ARC electronics) and I could have sworn I was wearing headphones - I was a good 15 feet from the speakers.
kubla: thanks for the confirmation of our experiment's success. i suggest you remove all the queens from the deck now and forego playing solitaire until you're contacted again by your control. -kelly
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