View Full Version : Ever have a bad listening day
paulf-2007
20-05-2019, 18:26
Was in the workshop today and listening to the Lii audio crystal 10, have sounded very nice but today they just sounded awful. I've experienced the same thing in my listening room on occasion and another day back to the usual great sound. Must be my ears. Anyone experience the same thing. .......I await the onslaught of derogatory comments and piss taking, do your worst I can take it.
stairpost
20-05-2019, 18:44
I haven't experienced it where I live now, but I definitely used to notice off days where I lived before. I'm not sure if it's different kit or the different environment/building/electricity supply/mental state/expectations/unknown element.
I sold the TT I had at roughly the same time I moved, so I can't really rule out either variable.
No piss taking , it does happen. Has happened to me. How can a system that wowed you the previous night now sound so pedestrian? With the exact same music?
Sometimes I worked out the cause - a noisy car journey with the windows down was the reason one time. Other times it baffles me but I'm pretty certain it is psychological. We hear with our brains not our ears. Added to that I've had situations where systems I have put together that were total crap would still sound good if I was in a particularly euphoric mood.
Lawrence001
20-05-2019, 21:06
No piss taking , it does happen. Has happened to me. How can a system that wowed you the previous night now sound so pedestrian? With the exact same music?
Sometimes I worked out the cause - a noisy car journey with the windows down was the reason one time. Other times it baffles me but I'm pretty certain it is psychological. We hear with our brains not our ears. Added to that I've had situations where systems I have put together that were total crap would still sound good if I was in a particularly euphoric mood.Mood plus possibly background noise and electricity supply noise. Never managed to figure out which it might be.
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walpurgis
20-05-2019, 21:17
Hangovers don't help either.
Many factors; physical condition/health affects well being and vision and hearing, psychological state affects - us worry wearing us out mentally, actual humidity temperature and air pressure are supposed to according to Hi-Fi experts, and if as I do you listen to a lot of FM, reception conditions vary enormously, weekends being better, and public holidays more so.
Never had a "bad listening day", but depending on my mood I may only play a few discs or LPs, or I may be up half the night listening to music. But regardless of the amount of use, the performance of my system is pretty constant.
stairpost
20-05-2019, 21:51
Never had a "bad listening day", but depending on my mood I may only play a few discs or LPs, or I may be up half the night listening to music. But regardless of the amount of use, the performance of my system is pretty constant.
That's pretty much where I am now, my system sounds consistently good every time I use it. But the fairly basic LP12 I had at the time sounded fab one day then flat the next. I could never trace why.
That's pretty much where I am now, my system sounds consistently good every time I use it. But the fairly basic LP12 I had at the time sounded fab one day then flat the next. I could never trace why.
The Linn LP12 was apparently notorious for going 'off tune'. There were reports of some users having to return their LP12s to a Linn dealer every couple of months for a re-tune.
Audio Al
21-05-2019, 03:58
No piss taking , it does happen. Has happened to me. How can a system that wowed you the previous night now sound so pedestrian? With the exact same music?
Sometimes I worked out the cause - a noisy car journey with the windows down was the reason one time. Other times it baffles me but I'm pretty certain it is psychological. We hear with our brains not our ears. Added to that I've had situations where systems I have put together that were total crap would still sound good if I was in a particularly euphoric mood.
That rules me out then :)
paulf-2007
21-05-2019, 06:18
I could have gone into the listening room and compared the crystal 10 speakers in the workshop with the fast 10 in the listening room but if the listening room sounded better I would be worried about the cost of the crystal 10 being double the fast 10 and possibly the reason would be the different environment not the speakers. I do think it's me and not the kit, probably just not in the mood.
That rules me out then :)
Yes, we 'listen' with both. The ear/brain thing is a relationship, so one cannot be independent from the other.
Bad listening days? Yes, I think we've all had them. Mostly it's a psychological thing, but it can also be down to factors such as poor, or poorer than usual, mains quality, which is one of the reasons why so often our systems sound better late at night or in the early hours of the morning, as the mains then is subject to less interference.
Then there's the issue of ambient noise, especially if you live in a busy area, near a main road or a lot of industrial works, etc. During the day, that's going to play havoc with the mains supply it's almost certainly sharing in some way with your system, and you'll also have the constant 'thrum' of background noise superimposing itself upon any music you're listening to, which at times will be worse than others.
Late at night, when that's gone and the mains supply is less distorted, things will almost certainly sound better!
Plus, factors such as listening to equipment that's still cold, after having been switched off since the previous day, can sometimes have an effect on how it sounds, as almost certainly will speakers and things such as phono cartridges, when the ambient temperature of the room is too low, which is why your system invariably sounds better once your speakers have been given a bit of a 'caning' (had a signal going through them for a while) to warm up the voice coils, and the same applies to the generator/suspension system on cartridges, which is why your T/T will always sound better after having spun a few discs!
Therefore, if you want to minimise the likelihood of experiencing a 'bad listening day', take the following steps:
1) Fit a dedicated mains radial spur for your system, and/or apply some form of judicious noise filtering.
2) Listen to music mostly late at night, or after peak mains usage hours, rather than during the day.
3) Ensure that not only the electronic equipment you're using has been switched on for a while and warmed up, before listening critically to music, but also the room you're in isn't too cold, so that speakers and cartridges can perform optimally (there will be an ideal temperature allowing for such), and which should remain as a constant throughout listening sessions.
4) Play your system for a while, putting a signal through the speakers, perhaps by leaving a CD on repeat and/or spin a few records on your T/T, in order to 'warm up' the cartridge, before listening critically to music, as that will definitely make a difference.
And *most importantly* of all:
5) Avoid listening to music critically, or judging the sound of your system when you're tired and/or in a bad mood!! :nono:
Because even if you've ticked all of the above boxes, unless you're relaxed/unstressed and ready to enjoy a listening session, your system will NEVER sound right, or as it should.
Marco.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ChzRaQwUgAAAPXa.jpg
Pepperamip
21-05-2019, 07:36
I've had this before. Seems like BS but you sit there in what you would swear are exactly the same conditions yet you do not like what you hear. Maybe a brain ting rather than what equipment is doing?
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I've had this before. Seems like BS but you sit there in what you would swear are exactly the same conditions yet you do not like what you hear. Maybe a brain ting rather than what equipment is doing?
Absolutely, although I firmly believe that what I listed in my last post is also applicable. I agree that the psychological factor is highly significant, but the problem is, in terms of the above, they may not be *exactly* the same conditions... Consider this scenario, based on what I wrote earlier:
At midnight the previous evening, when it was really quiet, the room was warm (but not too warm) and you were totally chilled out, after having sunk a few beers and were feeling good about the world, and your system, having been playing music for hours, was really rocking and sounding fab. Then after you'd finished, you switched off your system, turned off the heating and went to bed happy.
The following day, you come home from work, tired and stressed, and in a foul mood. It's 6pm and every bugger in town is switching on cookers and kettles to make cups of tea/dinner, and the mains supply is under a heavy load, traffic noise exists in the background, raising ambient nose levels accordingly, even though you're not necessarily conscious of it, the room's a bit cold because you've been out all day, and your gear's been switched off, and along with your speakers, unused since last night...
So, keen to relax and alter your mood, you switch on your system from cold and play some music...............only to discover that it SOUNDS SHITE, compared with how it did last night, and you've 'done nothing'......... "Eh?", you say to yourself, "what the fuck's going on here??":scratch:
Well, the reality is that the prevailing circumstances/conditions now are rather different from what they were when you were listening to music last night, so in *actuality* even although superficially you've 'done nothing', you haven't replicated those *exact* conditions, vibe and ambience, which existed the previous evening - and most importantly the MOOD you're in now is totally different!;)
Therefore, only by repeating the same conditions that existed the previous evening, recreating them again later, and altering your mood accordingly, will your system sound as good as it did the previous evening. It's pretty much that simple:)
Marco.
mood and stress levels will have a lot to do with it. also if youve had a loud day that can cause what your hearing to be attenuated
Yes that, too. Always allow your ears a period of 'readjustment' if working in a noisy environment, or have just been on a long car journey (or whatever), before listening critically to your system, or anyone else's.
When I used to travel to work, and came home after a long day, feeling tired and stressed, I wouldn't play any music at all until I was in the right frame of mind to enjoy it - or I'd play some at a low volume, so that the system was 'ticking over', and there was music in the background, but it wasn't loud enough to be critical of the sound.
Then, when I could sit down and relax, with a beer or a glass of wine, I'd turn the music up, and more often than not it sounded great:)
The bottom line though, is that you can't expect the same results, if you don't do the same things!
It reminds me of when my mum used to moan about the pasta sauce not coming out as good sometimes as it did others, when she never measured anything and bought her ingredients from many different places........
Marco.
paulf-2007
21-05-2019, 13:11
Definitely speakers need warming up when in a god room, my listening is only heated when I Ho in there so I usually switch on and let it play Spotify or tuner for an hour to warm up. When I had the PX25's they liked an hour warm up, sounded distorted and grainy until they warmed up and very noticeable with lowthers. Most of my workshop listening is daytime but unless I'm using power for power tools it's basically a dedicated spur for the music and lighting. I remember one year st scalford a Scottish gentleman in the next room came into my room when he heard the proclaimers playing while I was setting up. I went into his room later and his Cyrus set up sounded dreadful, at the end of the day I went back in and it sounded glorious.
Shovel_Knight
21-05-2019, 13:35
I noticed that my tolerance towards high-pitched sounds varies day to day. On some days trying to listen to something like Coltrane’s Africa/Brass with its screeching brass section drives me crazy and on some days I may even turn the volume up to 11, metaphorically speaking. But I’m sure it depends more on how many cups of coffee I had than on my system’s performance
fatmarley
21-05-2019, 14:27
Another thing i've found that's odd is how the volume you play at affects the sound. Sometimes everything sounds a bit thin, but crank up the volume and it's great.
I know the first thing that will come to peoples minds (Fletcher munson), but I don't remember having that problem with Tannoys. They were full sounding even at very low volume.
Another thing i've found that's odd is how the volume you play at affects the sound. Sometimes everything sounds a bit thin, but crank up the volume and it's great.
I know the first thing that will come to peoples minds (Fletcher munson), but I don't remember having that problem with Tannoys. They were full sounding even at very low volume.
I think that's due to the low bass being quite high in level compared to most other speakers.
Lawrence001
21-05-2019, 18:58
Hangovers don't help either.I just veg out in front of the telly, have no interest in serious listening when hungover and background music doesn't do it for me either.
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I think that's due to the low bass being quite high in level compared to most other speakers.
I should have said 'impact'. It's the slam rather than the depth that makes the difference I think.
Pepperamip
23-05-2019, 07:25
One of those things you think "is it just me that gets this" but when you put It out there all of us have probably experienced it at some point.
If you had to make a list of everything that can effect (or is it affect never do get them two right) your listening experience it'd be a f'ing big list.
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Haselsh1
23-05-2019, 08:26
Oh yes indeed, that moment when it is all warmed up, you sit back to relax and listen to the music but you just know that life would be so much better if it were switched off..! No idea why it just doesn't work out sometimes and the music just conflicts with what the hell is going on in my head. Maybe an oil burner and lavender would help ;)
I am almost 60 for Christ's sake
:eyebrows:
It is weird, last night here upstairs I was listening to the system and thinking, 'WTF, these digital amps, my speakers - yuch'
Then today on FM hearing "Turn to Grey" the synth was the best I have ever heard it, (Theramin sine wave sound), so dynamic and beautiful. Why?
Pigmy Pony
24-05-2019, 16:21
This is happening so much, to so many people, I can't believe it's the systems or mains supply. It's got to be us, our ears, our brains.
I wonder whether this may happen when we visit a hifi show, when you don't like most of what you hear, with maybe a couple of exceptions which happen to be more 'in tune' with your mood. And whether going back the next day or at a different time may yield different results and favour other setups.
It seems safe to say that most of the variability is within us and that the system remains relatively the same.
We have a lot of 'software variables' and even hardware ones within us.
Pete The Cat
26-05-2019, 13:10
The answer is "yes" and the reason is almost certainly me rather than my system. Having a cold, being tired, mood, things on your nerves...all factors that change the experience. Sometimes if I know I'm not feeling right I just avoid listening to music so as not to spoil it.
To my point about having a cold. I do think our own individual ENT shape/condition and how we each cope with atmopherics varies widely, and is a much greater reason for differences of opinion between us on how things sound than is given credit for.
Pete
Ok folks, every day I listen to Steve Wright's 'golden oldies' at 1500, and today was played "Live and Let Die" From Macca.
There is a part today, between verses, which goes into, well, just a bloody noise for me, and it makes me doubt the validity of my whole system. I could not differentiate any separate musical instruments during it,
Does anyone have this, and if so what is it like on your system - please, I need help!
In all seriousness, Dennis, it sounds like you're getting too 'intense' with your system, and continually analysing the sound, to the detriment of your enjoyment of music. However, I doubt that there's anything seriously wrong.
Therefore my simple advice would be to stop listening to your system for a while, say a couple of days, and do something else instead. Then revisit things again with 'fresh ears' (and your head in a better place), playing your favourite music, and I *guarantee* that things will be better!:)
Marco.
it's a murky 1970s recording that could be the problem. try the Guns n Roses version, much better digital recording and a better version too.
The better the system the more it will show up differences in recording. I had that issue until I realized what was going on. Some analogue recordings are a bit soft and sludgy when compared back to back with more modern recordings. Not the system's fault.
With a busy mix like that, if you think how often they were bouncing the tracks around and doubling the noise each time...
But analogue tape's the best! Yeah, right....
paulf-2007
29-05-2019, 16:08
McCartney and the Beatles were mostly rubbish recordings, how abbey road got its good reputation I don't know, wasn't anything to do with the Beatles
it's a murky 1970s recording that could be the problem. try the Guns n Roses version, much better digital recording and a better version too.
The better the system the more it will show up differences in recording. I had that issue until I realized what was going on. Some analogue recordings are a bit soft and sludgy when compared back to back with more modern recordings. Not the system's fault.
With a busy mix like that, if you think how often they were bouncing the tracks around and doubling the noise each time...
But analogue tape's the best! Yeah, right....
Mmm.... Best not go there;)
It's only (subjectively) "best" when done right, which clearly in this case it hasn't... Plenty of "soft and sludgy" modern recordings too, IME.
Marco.
McCartney and the Beatles were mostly rubbish recordings, how abbey road got its good reputation I don't know, wasn't anything to do with the Beatles
Sorry, Paul, I strongly disagree. McCartney's solo stuff, yes, but The Beatles, definitely not. Every original or (properly remastered) Beatles album I've got on vinyl sounds superb - and far better than many recordings produced today:)
Maybe that's because speakers such as mine [Lockwood Majors] were used at Abbey Road to mix the albums in question...?;)
Marco.
the original beatles stuff was mixed for standard box stereos really so its not surprising that folk who are usd to modern sound find it a bit lacking. I like it personally and even more so the recent masters, which have also made it better for headphone listening...More balanced stereo/mono.
I kind of know what you mean, Grant, but lacking in what specifically?
Perhaps in terms of bass, although it's not really bass-driven music, but certainly not in terms of detail, depth or clarity, which to my ears in that respect makes many modern recordings sound rather artificial, and nowhere near as lifelike.
Marco.
yup, more lifelike but maybe lacking a bit of soundstage, in way modern stuff is mastered. But it was mastered that way for a reason; and it didnt do their sales any harm. As for Abbey Rd album....It was in the day, my fav. I had it on tape and it went everywhere with me ... among others of course
Yeah, I'd agree in terms of soundstage. I don't listen to music that way, though.
Marco.
Mmm.... Best not go there;)
It's only (subjectively) "best" when done right, which clearly in this case it hasn't... Plenty of "soft and sludgy" modern recordings too, IME.
Marco.
Don't get me wrong there are some superb analogue recordings. I've got plenty. I've also got a fair few sludgy ones. Partly it depends on the frame of reference. Beatles recordings were good for the time and the equipment. On a universal scale they are not much cop.
Yeah, but it depends what you mean by "not much cop", and what the benchmark is in terms of what's considered as 'much cop'...
For example, I much prefer the stripped-back, 'fresh', slightly edgy sound of early Beatles albums, to the 'super-slick/smooth' (for me overly-polished/produced) sound of those of Steely Dan;)
Note that I'm talking here purely, sonically, not musically. 'Rubber Soul', for example, for me, sounds stunning!
Marco.
I had a bad listening day a few weeks ago. I was playing a M- original copy of 'Kick Out The Jams', flipped the record over for Side 2 and the bloody thing slipped out of my hands. Result - a lovely spindle gouge across Side 1 :doh:
Agree re. the early Beatles albums and all of Steely Dan's output (for which I have a love/hate relation - I'm surprised I have most of their output!).
Yup, I like most of Steely Dan's music, but hate that smooth over-produced 'studio sound' they seemed to favour, almost as if they knew it would appeal to hi-fi geeks:eyebrows:;)
It strips the soul/'humanness' out of the music and robs it of the natural 'grit', which makes music sound real, IMHO....
Marco.
Yup, I like most of Steely Dan's music, but hate that smooth over-produced 'studio sound' they seemed to favour, almost as if they knew it would appeal to hi-fi geeks:eyebrows:;)
Marco.
They were hi-fi geeks so that probably explains that.
Where I find analogue recordings fall down is if they try to get too complex with the mix. Not that it bothers me, for me the recording quality is intrinsic to the music I just accept it for what it is, whether it is squeaky clean or rough as a badger's arse. How boring would it be if all music was recorded to 'audiophile' standards? That's why I can never understand hi-fi enthusiasts complaining about recording quality. Hi-fi is about replay, not recording! How it was recorded has got nothing to do with how you replay it.
Well nobody said that the track was actually brilliant on their system, which is a relief, but maybe nobody thinks that that track is any good and no one has it.
"McCartney and the Beatles were mostly rubbish recordings, how abbey road got its good reputation I don't know, wasn't anything to do with the Beatles "
I disagree with that, we have to consider the equipment available at the time, and I loved AR, but that was about the time that Hi-Fi started to become prominent, and there was a shift in focus to techniques and recording quality. (PF and caned boy on "The Wall"). My view is because although the recordings may be rather poor by modern standards, the writing and the live in one take, make some great performances, and that can carry a lot of emotional thrust.
Agree about Steely Dan, and more so The Nightfly.
But on the Beatles, I heard the other day "There's a place", one I used to have in my teens either on the "Twist and Shout" EP or "Help" discs. What a song, still valid sentiments, lovely chords, and talks about stuff we can still feel all these years later.
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