Why does my stereo audio set up sound fantastic some days and boring on other days?

[firearm12]

I feel i dont have any problem whenever i listen to vinyl no matter what time or mood is. Infact it reduces stress levels. The time of day temperature, electricity becomes important in case of digital. Seems like digital wakes up the all kind of audiophile senses within me.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

it sounds paradoxical because once a person is well rested - there might not be need for music to relax the senses further...by extension a well rested person wont be in the mood for music. But would rather be up and about and outdoors..

Its not about what a well-rested person 'wants' to do. It's about how well a well-rested person 'can' listen.

 

[square_wave]

Bad power quality can make a system sound " noisy ". If your system can always get good power, then the only reason for the system to sound bad is the state of your mind. Also, there are some old school heavy duty amplifiers that need a lot of warming up. They can be like chameleons at various times of the day. Best is to keep those kind of amps always on.

 

[hydra]

i bet you are a wildlife warden or something ....or a writer ( hydra headed to boot )

Heh heh, no no. I've always woken at 5AM so I could finish a bit of reading, cleaning up and cooking my food before I leave for the Gym/Cycling at 7AM. I'm an early to bed, early to wake kind of person.

I've been mostly running my business from home since last March, so my working hours are spread all over the day now, to boot.

 

[drkrack]

I am trying to figure out on some “normal days” why the same system and music which I enjoy so much sounds uninspired, and even boring?
Has anyone else experienced this? Any theories or insights on this phenomenon?

Yes it happens, All the Reasons discussed previously by FMs ; like adequate sleep, noise, power variations and listeners Moods are quite Valid and unfortunate.

That's why, its worthwhile to invest in a HT setup at the same place as stereo ; whenever you feel your system isn't sounding right, you could watch a web series or a Movie on OTT platforms instead. Though many call OTT a New Version of Idiots Box ( With Same Factory made webseries, similar to Ekta Kapoor Soaps) , It was a lifesaver during extended Lockdown. Somehow the HT setup sounds the same always, because you're invested in visuals more than SQ. And Perhaps that Consistency in HT setup is the reason, that HT setups are Dominating the Hifi Shows on Regular basis.

 

[MaSh]

Well I have observed that Music Needs a mood and Music then builds a mood. Now, we humans cannot maintain the same mood all the time. Hence, there will always be slight difference. A cold one with or without a few frozen cubes usually resets the mood and takes away all the differences.

cheers,
MaSh

 

[Hari Iyer]

When the noise floor is higher usually you listen less of dortion in music as the nose will mask the distortion. Also the distortion masking depends on whether the noise was added before or after the signal.

Try this simple exercise at two different intervals separated by 30 minutes -
- keep your ceiling fan off and listen to your demo reference music how it sounds.
- now add noise by turning on your ceiling fan and check how it sounds

After 30 minutes do this,

- keep your noise on i.e keep your ceiling fan on

- now turn on your reference music demo cd and check how it sounds now.

It vastly depends on whether the ambient noise was added before or after the music signal was added.

FMs can do this experiment and report results.

 

[Record Player]

Dont we all experience this! Highs and lows in music listening. Its purely mood based listening. It just could be a favourite song of yours and your mind says wow its playing lovely and a bad day could equally make it sound dull.

Music listening is an affair really, you got to create that excitement.

Cheers

PS: Listening to no music at all while typing this

 

[unleash_me]

Its not about what a well-rested person 'wants' to do. It's about how well a well-rested person 'can' listen.

Beyond the mood or the state of mind or even the alleged power fluctuations, I have a few self-proclaimed and possibly unsubstantiated occurrences where if I'm having a cold or flu, or anything ENT related, the music almost always sounds like crap. You cozy yourself up in your sweet-spot, with a warm beverage of your choice, and you play your favorite tunes... only to find the whole experience underwhelming. The one time you need your rather expensive and socially eccentric hobby to stand by you, it lets you down. And as always, you look at the glowing tubes dispassionately and say, it's not you, it's me.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Beyond the mood or the state of mind or even the alleged power fluctuations, I have a few self-proclaimed and possibly unsubstantiated occurrences where if I'm having a cold or flu, or anything ENT related, the music almost always sounds like crap. You cozy yourself up in your sweet-spot, with a warm beverage of your choice, and you play your favorite tunes... only to find the whole experience underwhelming. The one time you need your rather expensive and socially eccentric hobby to stand by you, it lets you down. And as always, you look at the glowing tubes dispassionately and say, it's not you, it's me.

Yeah, listening gets affected with a blocked nose. Especially if you’ve blown it hard. And when one ear is blocked more than the other, you wonder why the stereo image has shifted to one side and check your connections to see if something has gone loose... that’s hilarious.

 

[Bloom@83]

To the OP : all this happens when you start listening to your gear instead of listening to your music.
I’ve known quite a few musicians myself , not a single one of them obsess about whether electricity fluctuations or bass traps or galvanic isolators affect your sound or not. They just dont care. Yes all of them have decent setups including tube amps ,expensive speakers and all.It’s not worth the trouble , they say, when time could be better spent listening to the latest offering from Lana Del Rey , or savouring the nuances of a first pressing Scott Hamilton , or discovering the music of a hitherto unknown The Weeknd who’s making waves since the last 4 years....

 

[Analogous]

I was going over all the posts once again on this thread and realised that the causes could be:
1. Electrical
2. Electronic
3. Mechanical
4. Bio mechanical
5. Psychological
6. Substance use
7. Fatigue
8. Spiritual
9. Climate related
10. A combination of the above

 

[Analogous]

To the OP : all this happens when you start listening to your gear instead of listening to your music.
I’ve known quite a few musicians myself , not a single one of them obsess about whether electricity fluctuations or bass traps or galvanic isolators affect your sound or not. They just dont care. Yes all of them have decent setups including tube amps ,decent speakers and all.It’s not worth the trouble , they say, when time could be better spent listening to the latest offering from Lana Del Rey , or savouring the nuances of a first pressing Scott Hamilton , or discovering the music of a hitherto unknown The Weeknd who’s making waves since the last 4 years....

I agree, very few musicians are bothered about what you have listed above.
Notable exceptions that come to my mind are: A.R. Rahman, Neil Young, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker (Steely Dan)
But then musicians seem to obsess about their instruments (“ze origin of their sounds)
But I do take your point that it’s good not to obsess too much over equipment. Well, maybe a little bit?

 

[amitk777]

My system sounded best during the lockdown days, perhaps it was less ambient noise or less electrical fluctuations. But it sounded heavenly.

 

[Bloom@83]

Neil Young only seems to care about commercialising his high resolution player. Rahman obsesses about the quality \ fidelity of his digital music production which is why his OSTs sound so much superior to contemporary albums specially those belonging to the nineties(apart from the musicality of course ).
I guess we all audiophiles end up obsessing about our gear since bank accounts get depleted faster than the shake of a lamb’s tail for the next upgrade.

 

[essrand]

I think it's okay to obsess about your gear. If you are an audiophile, that's who you are, accept that you will obsess about gear, accept yourself then work around it so you can enjoy music also. No point comparing ourselves to others, especially the musicians we worship -- AR Rehman or others --, they live in a different space and a different level, a different life and different way of looking at things which is why they are who they are.
I find that I am enjoying my system better when the sun is down (before sunrise, after sunset) also choosing a playlist for that particular time of the day helps in enjoyment so I maintain separate playlist for different times of the day.

 

[Analogous]

Neil Young only seems to care about commercialising his high resolution player. Rahman obsesses about the quality \ fidelity of his digital music production which is why his OSTs sound so much superior to contemporary albums specially those belonging to the nineties(apart from the musicality of course ).
I guess we all audiophiles end up obsessing about our gear since bank accounts get depleted faster than the shake of a lamb’s tail for the next upgrade.

Nicely put.

 

[spirovious]

I agree, very few musicians are bothered about what you have listed above.

They either have dedicated room or use some DSPs to correct when in hall or open ground.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

I was going over all the posts once again on this thread and realised that the causes could be:
1. Electrical
2. Electronic
3. Mechanical
4. Bio mechanical
5. Psychological
6. Substance use
7. Fatigue
8. Spiritual
9. Climate related
10. A combination of the above

You could change no 6 to ‘Chemical’ to go well with the first five. No 7 is Neurological and 9 Ecological/Environmental. Then we’d have covered most academic disciplines.

 

[Analogous]

You could change no 6 to ‘Chemical’ to go well with the first five. No 7 is Neurological and 9 Ecological/Environmental. Then we’d have covered most academic disciplines.

Please feel free to edit, add, modify the list if it adds value to our understanding of this deep deep mystery that so many of us have experienced and shared insights on.