Critical listening and altered states

@oregonpapa 

You had the good stuff!

Friends,
When I evaluate gear or make buying decisions that are chemically enhanced, even slightly, I often do not agree with myself when the enhancement has worn off or I listen to a choice over time.  I currently never make buying decisions while in an enhanced state.

When I evaluate gear or make buying decisions when I am in a naturally clear, settled and analytic state of mind, then the music is almost always engaging and satisfying when I am listening in an enhanced state. 

For me personally, my mood is important for the selection of what I listen to.  Sometimes late Beethoven string quartets transport me to someplace heavenly, sometimes I do not have the "ears" to listen for more than 2-3 minutes.  Sometimes it is Phillip Glass or Avro Paert.  Sometimes it isn't classical.  Rather Patricia Barber or other vocal jazz does it, or instrumental jazz like Oded Tzur, sometime I need Pink Floyd, or The Rolling Stones, or Tina Dico, or ambient electronic, or Indonesian Gammelan Orchestra, or Carnatic music . . . .  Yes, my tastes are varied and eclectic.

Listening for pleasure, to be nourished is a different kind of endeavor compared to listening to compare components.  Both of these listening contexts can be completely enjoyable and satisfying yet they are quite different.

I know I will never hear "the best" anything, only what pleases me the most at the time of listening based on my personal preferences and state of mind.

So much enjoyment and nourishment in music well performed, well recorded and well reproduced.  To each his own.

Weed, shrooms, mdma and ketamine. All different and all incredible when done right. Ket does make it hard to change the record, best get it done before your bump hits. But then you are just so present in the moment and able to appreciate music in ways you never could have imagined.
Lsd often takes me to a place where music makes little sense, unlike shrooms or majic truffles. the ultimate is combining mdma and shrooms, or mandy and k, but only when safely at home- unlike mdma, k is a party killer and was banned from our raves and festivals. Too much stumbling. But fun at home or in a safe environment.

@grannyring

just now, i did try the Quboz 16/44 streaming version of track #11 of Sempre Libera, and i also heard the extreme distortion pulse on peaks. very annoying. sorry about that. i do not recall ever hearing that.

my guess is that either it’s simply a bad transfer, or possibly this recording has no limiters used and it’s too hot somehow. it might be fun to question Quboz about why that is happening and see how they respond.

to make sure this was a Quboz issue, i also sampled my dsd and 24/88 files and they played perfectly as always.

please let me know how the redbook sounds. thanks.

...I just do my best to keep it out of the minds of those who would merely abuse it....a bit of Service to the States....*s*