Maximizing the Listening Experience...

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • joetama
    Senior Member
    • May 2006
    • 786

    Maximizing the Listening Experience...

    Is there a process that you guys go through before listening to music?

    I take and close all my windows, lower the shades, turn off all fans and anything that makes noise. I also, have my most comfortable chair in my listening area.

    Is there anything you guys do like this? And what external factors do you guys think are important to maximizing the listening experience?
    -Joe
  • Chris D
    Moderator Emeritus
    • Dec 2000
    • 16877

    #2
    Yes, I turn off all I can to eliminate the noise.

    Take off my clothes to keep cool during listening.

    Q-tip the ears to remove last minute wax for the ultimate in listening ability.

    Sit down with a pot of jello for a snack.

    Crank volume.

    Enjoy.

    Pause player, listen to wife tirade on loud music.

    Turn down slightly, restart player.

    Enjoy.

    CHRIS

    Well, we're safe for now. Thank goodness we're in a bowling alley.
    - Pleasantville

    Comment

    • Brandon B
      Super Senior Member
      • Jun 2001
      • 2193

      #3
      Thanksfully since I don't really know what you look like, Chris, the damage from that mental image was minimized.

      :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

      BB

      Comment

      • Burke Strickland
        Moderator
        • Sep 2001
        • 3161

        #4
        Thanksfully since I don't really know what you look like, Chris, the damage from that mental image was minimized.
        Yeah, the mental picture of someone actually turning down the volume and restarting the player could be rather disturbing. :>)

        What you DON'T say may be held against you...

        Comment

        • Bluespower
          Senior Member
          • Sep 2005
          • 149

          #5
          I may be showing my age... but I still like my vintage lava light for a laid back listening session.
          Bluespower

          Comment

          • Gump
            Senior Member
            • Sep 2005
            • 522

            #6
            I have to have the room neat and tidy before a listening session. If it's messy or there's kids' toys lying around it ruins the experience for me...I guess it's a distraction.

            I want to be totally focused on the music.

            My wife will probably use these posts against me in a comittment hearing one day...

            Comment

            • Brandon B
              Super Senior Member
              • Jun 2001
              • 2193

              #7
              Those padded rooms are great for listening, acoustically dead, symmetrical, low ambient noise level. Tell her she'll have to come up with a better threat than that . . .

              Comment

              • Brandon B
                Super Senior Member
                • Jun 2001
                • 2193

                #8
                Originally posted by Bluespower
                I may be showing my age... but I still like my vintage lava light for a laid back listening session.
                Hey I got one of those in my listening room too! Not vintage, it's a 90's model. Got one of those plasma ball thingies too, but it adds noise into the electrical system, so no using it during music.

                BB

                Comment

                • Thelonious Funk
                  Senior Member
                  • Dec 2006
                  • 357

                  #9
                  I hire a bunch of actors and make them stand between the speakers and lip sync or pretend to play instruments.
                  Hello, my name is Eric and I am a music addict.

                  Comment

                  • joetama
                    Senior Member
                    • May 2006
                    • 786

                    #10
                    Well this was intended to be a serious question....

                    But oh well....

                    I got some good laughs out of it!!!!
                    -Joe

                    Comment

                    • John Holmes
                      Moderator Emeritus
                      • Aug 2000
                      • 2703

                      #11
                      Originally posted by joetama
                      Well this was intended to be a serious question....

                      But oh well....

                      I got some good laughs out of it!!!!
                      Well I don't mind getting back on topic. :lol:

                      I pretty much do the same as you. However, I have no fans to deal with. My biggest issue, is trying to find time when I have the house to myself. Nothing bothers me more than to be interrupted when I'm in serious listening mode. So I try to find times when my wife and daughter are out of the house to really enjoy my music.
                      "I have come here, to chew bubblegum and kickass. And I'm all out of bubblegum!!!"

                      Comment

                      • Thelonious Funk
                        Senior Member
                        • Dec 2006
                        • 357

                        #12
                        When I went out and bought my maggies and rotel amp, I also bought a big leather chair, an ottoman, and a reading light.

                        Then I took a full day arranging my living room to make sure the speakers are the focal point, the chair is in the prime sweet spot, and the lamp was just over the shoulder of the chair. The shade on the lamp was important. No direct light. Soft bulb.

                        I have a small table that fits one book and a coaster.

                        I sit back and listen every night, (My girl has school 3 nights a week and on the others, she sits with me and reads or makes requests. It's a utopia. Most of the time anyway.

                        A glass of bourbon is really all I need to settle in to an entire night of music.


                        But I was serious about hiring the actors. It really brings the music to life.

                        :T
                        Hello, my name is Eric and I am a music addict.

                        Comment

                        • Chris D
                          Moderator Emeritus
                          • Dec 2000
                          • 16877

                          #13
                          Who's kidding about getting naked?

                          For me, Bailey's on ice is my ideal drink for movie/music enjoyment.
                          CHRIS

                          Well, we're safe for now. Thank goodness we're in a bowling alley.
                          - Pleasantville

                          Comment

                          • joetama
                            Senior Member
                            • May 2006
                            • 786

                            #14
                            Indeed......

                            I'm doing a speech on steps to getting the most out of your listening experience, oh joy college is fun, and wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one who had weird things that I did before setting down and listening....
                            -Joe

                            Comment

                            • wkhanna
                              Grumpy Old Super Moderator Emeritus
                              • Jan 2006
                              • 5673

                              #15
                              For me, neatness counts too, everything in its place, no visual distractions.
                              A cold Becks Dark or glass of wine. Maybe a single malt on weekends.
                              Then there is the question of what to listen to. What’s my mood, what would I like my mood to transition to? Like planning a journey.

                              I settle into my ‘sweat spot’, after everything is set, and using a 90's vintage tube pre-amp, no remote for the volume. So lots of details to consider.

                              Fortunately, the wife likes music, and most times is in another room but loves the ‘ambiance’.
                              On occasion, when certain music strikes a ‘tone’ with her, she will come in and join me.

                              And many Saturday nights, I will pull out some 30's & 40's big-band music, or occasionally show tunes or some select tunes form our youth in the 60's & 70's and we dance, actually her mostly. Great fun, and fun to share our common love of music (though she still will sometimes cringe when I put some of my classical).
                              _


                              Bill

                              Practicing Curmudgeon & Audio Snob
                              ....just an "ON" switch, Please!

                              FinleyAudio

                              Comment

                              • Chris D
                                Moderator Emeritus
                                • Dec 2000
                                • 16877

                                #16
                                Originally posted by wkhanna
                                I settle into my ‘sweat spot’, after everything is set,
                                "Sweat spot"? Is that intentional?
                                CHRIS

                                Well, we're safe for now. Thank goodness we're in a bowling alley.
                                - Pleasantville

                                Comment

                                • John Holmes
                                  Moderator Emeritus
                                  • Aug 2000
                                  • 2703

                                  #17
                                  Great fun, and fun to share our common love of music (though she still will sometimes cringe when I put some of my classical).
                                  That's funny. My wife does the same thing anytime I put on Holly Cole! :lol: I try to explain that some artist are an accquired taste. She just shakes her head.
                                  "I have come here, to chew bubblegum and kickass. And I'm all out of bubblegum!!!"

                                  Comment

                                  • joetama
                                    Senior Member
                                    • May 2006
                                    • 786

                                    #18
                                    Originally posted by John Holmes
                                    That's funny. My wife does the same thing anytime I put on Holly Cole! :lol: I try to explain that some artist are an accquired taste. She just shakes her head.
                                    How could she not like Holly Cole?!?!?!?
                                    -Joe

                                    Comment

                                    • wkhanna
                                      Grumpy Old Super Moderator Emeritus
                                      • Jan 2006
                                      • 5673

                                      #19
                                      Originally posted by Chris D
                                      "Sweat spot"? Is that intentional?
                                      No....It waz the weakand......musta bean the singlal mallt.......
                                      _


                                      Bill

                                      Practicing Curmudgeon & Audio Snob
                                      ....just an "ON" switch, Please!

                                      FinleyAudio

                                      Comment

                                      • John Holmes
                                        Moderator Emeritus
                                        • Aug 2000
                                        • 2703

                                        #20
                                        Originally posted by joetama
                                        How could she not like Holly Cole?!?!?!?
                                        Hehe, I agree. But in her defense, she is just really begining to get into the jazz side of music. She just turned 38 in Dec (I'm 45), and is starting to appreciate the more laid back and relaxing music of various genres. Though, she has always enjoyed love ballards in R&B. But she really dislikes Holly Cole on any level. :B
                                        "I have come here, to chew bubblegum and kickass. And I'm all out of bubblegum!!!"

                                        Comment

                                        • Thelonious Funk
                                          Senior Member
                                          • Dec 2006
                                          • 357

                                          #21
                                          Mine is a hater of Miss Nina Simone.
                                          Hello, my name is Eric and I am a music addict.

                                          Comment

                                          • wkhanna
                                            Grumpy Old Super Moderator Emeritus
                                            • Jan 2006
                                            • 5673

                                            #22
                                            The supreme nemesis of my wife is Madeleine Peyroux.
                                            She heard her do an interview and didn’t like the way Madeleine came off?!?!?
                                            Regardless, I love her Billy Holiday sound and eclectic repertoire. So I make sure the significant other is not home when I play Madeleine’s CD’s.
                                            _


                                            Bill

                                            Practicing Curmudgeon & Audio Snob
                                            ....just an "ON" switch, Please!

                                            FinleyAudio

                                            Comment

                                            Working...
                                            😀
                                            😂
                                            🥰
                                            😘
                                            🤢
                                            😎
                                            😞
                                            😡
                                            👍
                                            👎
                                            Searching...Please wait.
                                            An unexpected error was returned: 'Your submission could not be processed because you have logged in since the previous page was loaded.

                                            Please push the back button and reload the previous window.'
                                            An unexpected error was returned: 'Your submission could not be processed because the token has expired.

                                            Please push the back button and reload the previous window.'
                                            An internal error has occurred and the module cannot be displayed.
                                            There are no results that meet this criteria.
                                            Search Result for "|||"