Eidetic listening...

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I wondered this because I've become increasingly aware that little things, such as lifting my head off of the sofa, seem to influence the sound. I've found the best sound to be when I effectively lean forward, thus decreasing the distance between ears to speakers, and increasing the separation of the speakers relative to my listening position - a kind of nearfield listening. The sound seems to surround me better.

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I am the complete opposite of this. I don't even like listening from between the speakers! I listen almost exclusively from off axis. I find the concept of a tightly defined stereo image to be very distracting, and whilst I definitely prefer stereo to mono, I just prefer a feeling of 'stuff happening over there'.

My Kans image in a far too defined and precise way for my taste, I suspect I would be far more into the Shahinian approach. Ironically my favourite speaker from a imaging perspective is the Isobarik, a speaker most people criticise in this area. Bariks are able to produce real sounding instruments, but the image is absolutely not pin-point - just like real life!

As for listening techniques, I tend to stick something on, lie down on my couch and get as immersed in the music as possible. I listen in many different ways, ranging from not concentrating at all and gaining a holistic view of the piece, through to really dissecting, and trying to understand something about the music's construction by playing along on my bass.

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Sometimes, not every time, I can enter a sort of trance, a change in perception, which makes things appear much more distant, whilst the sound seems less bound to the speakers. It's a difficult thing to describe, a sort of eidetic listening experience, and I wondered if anyone else gets this?

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I know where you are coming from with this. There is a similar state with jamming in a band where you instinctively hit notes that are right, though you are not conscious of what you are doing. This is back to my problem with stereo image, I can get far more involved in the actual musical content without the distraction of the exact location / panning of the microphones getting in the way.

Tony.

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Sometimes, not every time, I can enter a sort of trance, a change in perception, which makes things appear much more distant, whilst the sound seems less bound to the speakers. It's a difficult thing to describe, a sort of eidetic listening experience, and I wondered if anyone else gets this? I suppose it's a bit like a
kind of self-hypnosis, and I have to add that no mind-altering chemicals are involved in this!

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I understand what you're talking about here, although the first time experienced it there probably was some mind-altering chemicals involved!

I think the hypnosis comment is appropriate here, I think one can more easily achieve this state with practice.

I would say though, that in the state you mention I'm not at all analytical, just letting the music wash over me and whilst undoubtedly enjoyable, my recall of what I've just listened to, in terms of details or even lyrics would be sketchy.

Andy.

Andrew L. Weekes
alweekes@audiophile.com

Getting the most pleasure out of your system is easy.

1. Relax..forget about the technology...just relax and listen to the music.

2. Sit midway between the speakers...always sounds better.

3. Avoid all distractions......relegate the wife to another room.

4. The best tip is to bring a bottle of malt in and slowly sip it. The music is at its best when the bottle has an inch less than when you started.

Never fails with me

Regards

Mick

1) Listen to music as an escape from the significant other. Music is your retreat; your private time. Perhaps you have others over to enjoy music and your system - but these would all be your friends. The music in the house is almost all or entirely chosen by you.

or

2) Listen to music with your significant other. Music is part of your relationship; it is a social activity. Others that come over enjoy the music and are a mix of you and your significant other's friends. The music in the house is chosen and enjoyed by both of you.

In my previous relationship, I was at #1. In my current relationship, I'm at #2.

How about you?

- GregB

No, music is my pleasure. Wendy is very often doing other things. If she is in the same room she will lsten, unless she does not like it.

"Music is your retreat; your private time."

No, see above.

"Perhaps you have others over to enjoy music and your system - but these would all be your friends."

Rarely have friends over specifically to listen to music. We do talk music a lot when we meet socially though and swap CDs.

"The music in the house is almost all or entirely chosen by you."

Yes, that is true.

cheers

Nigel

I on the other hand prefer 'just listening' although in this mode I usually find that I am usually drawn to other tasks - a symptom of having too much to do and too little time to do it in - despite my enjoyment in the music. Consequently, I really enjoy those stolen moments when I can grap a disc or two and do the listening on my own at a decent volume on my own terms...

This has almost always been the way - and, if truth be told, most of my friends are 'background listeners' rather than 'focal listeners' - this both intrigues and annoys me. FOr background listening, we hear but do not really listen - an irony of sorts.

John

Back to the psycho-acoustics, here's a phenomenon I noticed. When I had my starter-system, the sound was better when my eyes were open (particularly with the old Technics CD player). As the system improved, the sound was better with my eyes shut (particularly with the Linn Basik Turntable)....

When in London I often listen to a lot of talk radio - some interesting stuff, although I have been known to wake up on top of the bed at 4am with the radio still babbling on.

Looking forward to moving back up North (couple of months) and moving my system out of my mum's place.

Andrew

Andrew Randle
2B || !2B;
4 ^ = ?;