True, true Slawney and then they stupidly say, electrostats have no real HIGHS. All nonsense, if you get your impedances right , because if that's the case, you won't need tweeters, plasma or otherwise. The music room will resound with glee and joy well above 10 khz, even without them. Radialstrahlers are mor for what the French call a partouse, I think, and I'm a bit too old for that. |
Detlof, depends on what kind of "sweet spot" your trying to hold onto, but if you mean that magic 3 or 4 cm exactly in the middle of those twin mountains of electrostats, then I know what you mean. Forget about Radialstrahlers, since it is very easy to hold onto the "sweet spot" once things really get going on the "Kuschelcouch," as long as your partner understands how important it is to not deviate from the preassigned position--an easy matter with hard cushions. Radialstrahlers just encourage Kuscheln in every imaginable place in the room, and you wouldn't want your partner to get hurt in some erotic frisson too close to the plasma tweeters. |
Slawney, you make excellent sense. That's why I threw out the two listening chairs, which I had in my music room and put in a "Kuschelcouch" with plenty of cushions to try and find the best of the two worlds, only to find out, that is can become damned hard to hold onto the sweet spot. Maybe I should get one of those Radialstrahlers after all. Cheers, |
Detlof, I admit my regimen seems a little chaste. I left out lovemaking, because then my partner usually wants to "cuddle" for too long afterwards (you know these German women, they want it all, an exciting climax and then hours of "Kuscheln" afterwards, so unlike the "Flittchen" we both know about ;-) ) while I immediately want to jump out of bed to put Stravinski's "Firebird Suite" on the turntable. A visit to a hot-water spa (Wiesbaden and Bad Homburg are nearby), hopefully with a full body massage, can take the place of lovemaking: however, the ear can irrigate with too much blood, and lead to dimished high-frequency sensitivity. |
Slawney, admirable! Alas, you've forgotten lovemaking.
A double dose of it beforehand or none at all? Or does it depend on the type of music you wish to listen to? The Paris version of the overture to Tannhäuser, for example could do the most strage things to your composure, if you had been abstinent for too long. (Ha, this gives me an idea for a new thread, which I'll launch at once) Cheers, |
When I really want to listen closely and for a while, I have a pretty obsessive dietary and physical regimen:
1. No caffeine or alcohol during the days that precede the listening session: usually impairs hearing.
2. No red meat on the day of the session: usually, a small portion of sushi is best.
3. A long, hot bathe: actually, I think the body listens through the pores as much as the ears.
4. Perhaps, a nap, if tired.
5. No long car or train rides the day of the session, or anything involving alot of vibrations.
6. No audio magazines in the listening area when the session approaches.
7. Freshly ventilated and dusted room.
8. Perhaps some light yoga beforehand.
All of this while all of the components in the system are warming up: hopefully for three or more days beforehand.
|
I didn't have any anal habits until I started reading this thread. Now I'm just another hopeless obsessive compulsive audio neurotic. HOCAN for short. :o)
Actually, a lot of these make sense once you think about them. |
Jeffloistarca, cleaning your ears out? That's not anal at all. I had a feeling all was not well in my aural cavities last year, so I had my doctor clean my ears out. What a difference it made having those rather shockingly large amber chunks removed. Best upgrade I ever made! Lately I've noticed things are starting to get a little muffled again, I think it's almost time for another upgrade! |
I unwind and reweave my Kimber Kable. This prevents me from having time to biwire and saves money. That is also why I like the 4TC better than the 8TC.
-Karl |
Lol, Detlof; it must be the baffling precision of my ears as they pick up discrepancies from the unsymmetrical absorption (due to curtain "asymmetry") of sound emanating from the back-firing woofers. Kills the fine nuances of absolute phase in my system... |
Hugging my Dunlvay V's and kissing my classe amps very often. |
All right...I have my drapes overlap at the exact center between my speakers. I acutally measured, its sooo sad. The center of the window is to the right of the center of the soundstage, creating an optical illusion that the stage is off. |
Greg, does it baffle you, because you are forming baffles with your curtain? Cheers, |
I straighten the curtain behind the speakers so that the pleats are vertical to the floor... (this baffles me too, but I do it!)
Never bother about other curtains in the house; I systematically leave a "creative" mess around the house anyway (books , CDs, LPs,in piles; papers stacked all over the place); Go figure... |
The label orientation & the auto thread made me think about a one time incident when I worked at a tire shop while in school. As I was finishing up this guys car with 4 new tires he asked me to orient the valve stems so they would rotate together in the same position. I looked at him like he was nuts & he thought about it for a second & then figured out when he went around the first corner they would all be out of wack and simply said oh yeah, I guess that wouldn't work.
Not meant as a supercilious retort to those of you who orient your labels-you should see my tool box! (5 1/2' tall)
And I agree with Kevziek about the washing hands thing-it's something I learned before audio (photography). |
Rlwainwright - I used to work at a used CD store. Your need to have the label oriented with the case is surprisingly common. |
I wash my hands with Dawn before touching any of my equipment. Next, I avoid touching my face while listening, because doing so can get skin oils on one's hands, which can then get transfered to the equipment by touch.
Another thing is putting hand towels over equipment between listening sessions to avoid dust accumulation.
Now you know why everyone wants to buy my equipment when it goes up for sale. |
Being on the web at 10:00 p.m. on a SATURDAY night... |
After the maid somehow loosened my speaker cable connections while dusting or vacuuming,I find myself checking for spade to binding post connections every day out of habit.I've told the maid to leave the dust on my system but she is anal about cleaning and she says that's why I pay her and my wife loves her like family so I'm now an anal binding post tightener. |
I very carefully clean my ears wirh moistened Q-Tips daily. Under the assumption that dirt gets in your ears and veils the sound a bit; it may be a little obsessive but costs nothing and can't hurt if you're careful. |
Clue, true, there are ESL which attract, but also others which repell dust. Also here the secret is the proper positioning....and Gun, I see you point about dynos. But I've not been introduced to S. Spielman and seem to have mislaid my keys for that darn time-machine. So I have to stick with my subs. |
I have 2. 1st is fanactically cleaning the contacts on everything. 2nd, is spending to much money on this stuff and not enjoying the music enough! |
I have no anal audio habits, I'm one of the lucky perfect ones. Now if you ask my wife she'll tell you that leaving cd's or records lying on the shelf or against the cabinet without putting back where they belong. In due time dear, in due time. This is just my way to me, not a bad habit at all.
The closest anal habit I can think of when listening is when my butt itches and I scratch it. But you really didn't mean that kind of anal, did you?
As Driver and Abstract note ALL habits serve a purpose. Unfortunately it isn't always as obvious to the casual observer. Why does the baseball player spit 20 times between pitches or scratch his gonads for the world to see. We don't ask why, we accept it as part of the game. |
Spending too much time online at AudiogoN |
Sometimes I listen with my butt. Is that what you meant?
Really, I constantly worry about having a blown speaker or a bad tube. I check my system way too much. I hear every crackle. Maybe I'm more obsessive-compulsive.
What??? Who said that???? |
I don't mind to spend 4 to 5 hours to get up, adjust my tonearm VTA, sit down, listen for any difference in sound quality, and then get up, adjust, sit down,listen, and...You get the idea. |
Rlwainwright . . . just wondering what tools you use to make sure that the CDs are PERFECTLY straight. I've tried several laser products and none has been satisfactory. |
Abstract I agree!!!! I do the same thing. If you can find them the best cases are the mobile fidelity cases. They release the dvd when you open them so you dont have to pry them out. |
lol....i hate the residue on cd cases as well. my biggest habit, which is a good one, is to always use the remote. i rarely touch my gear.
o, another one is to always use the stop button. God did not create the eject button to replace the stop button. |
A record store taught me a trick for opening new CDs.
You pry off the bottom left hinge with your fingernail so the front plastic cover detaches from the rest of the case. Then you pull the whole front cover around and over the top -- the protection sticker comes off with one stroke because you're pulling with the plastic cover, not just part of a tiny strip.
You can crack the CD cover's hinge trying to pry it open (or putting it back), but sometimes you're walking out of the store and just *have* to listen to the CD right away in your car or on your discman. |
I have the same habit as Danielk141 - I will not play or
put away any CDs that have that have that adhesive residue
that comes from the "protection" stickers placed on new
CDs.
I personally find this a very annoying part of getting
a new CD. The record industry turkey that came up with this
idea needs to be used as a punching bag for a few days.
|
I do something to mess up my imaging, just so I can fix it again and say,"Ahhhhh!" |
Detlof, I like DSOTM as well for removing crusty dustys. Or how about Spinosaurus vs. T-Rex from JP3 jumping around? They're sure to shake the neighbors too. I actually have one of those Sharper Image Ionic Breeze machines by my audio rig, and I keep the ol' Audio Advisor Static Duster and a can of compressed air handy. |
Detlof, I do a similar routine. But as the dust starts to swirl it all seems to land on my tubes...electrostatic effect or something.. and i can no longer see that soothing glow so i'm forced actually get out of my listening chair and ..well...dust.
I can't imagine the effect with ESLs!!!
I remain, |
I *always* replace the CD in its case perfectly straight with the title at the top - I can always tell if someone else in the family has been playing it. Not that I really care if they do, but I simply MUST straighten it out if I find it skewed. Anybody got a life they wanna sell? |
...lift my VTL amps from time-to-time to get some fitness exersice. They're ~46lb each but I believe that has a meaning... |
My cables always have to be in proper order. I'm talking about the speaker cable as it curves to the back of the entertainment center. It has to be the proper radius of curvature and be in the correct location. I have no idea why. It's what I do. |
Gunbei, I leave the dust and don't even try to read the displays, rather using my ears than my eyes to voice the music. However, when the dust has collected so much, that I cannot find anymore knobs to twiddle, I feed my subwoofers with LPs like "the Darkside of the Moon" or "Also sprach Zarathustra's" opening bars and the dust gets blown from the listening area in great rythmic swirls. This happens every five years or so and is very effectful, in that it gets the neighbours wondering, where the sandstorm and the thunder came from. Very amusing and highly recommended. But you definitely have to anally sit out that period of at least five years and let the dust collect without interfering. |
Mine is to never allow more than 1/8" layer of dust to accumulate on my gear. Once it gets past 1/4", reading the displays can get pretty tough. |
Driver is right--all audio habits serve a very important purpose. Particularly getting the humidity right in the audio room. Actually, mine is somewhat video related. I hate the cases that DVD's come in. I wish they were CD sized, so I scan in the cover and make my own CD sized labels and put them in a standard CD jewel case. They take up less space, and I can store them in the same cabinet I use for CDs. |
I don't put a new CD case in my CD rack until I've taken off that little bit of adhesive that always stays on the case, from that stupid little holographic seal they put on under the clear plastic wrapper. The bonehead who thought up that sticker should go through life with one on each eye.
I'm leaving now.. |
I don't have any meaningless anal audiophile habits. They all have a purpose! |
