Equipment Warm up, but What About Listener Warm up?

b_limo, +1

To put 2 and 2 together, I always start a listening
session in the morning at lower than normal volume, and gradually
increase it.

Morning listening can be problematic as the sound through
one ear canal is sometimes less clear than the other.
I have found exercises online to address this.
A doctor says it is the settling of fluid inside the inner ear.

I have a shungite cap that covers the ears.  I sometimes wear
it for 15 minutes before a session.  Looks and feels weird, but it works,
improving the sound.

I am a fan of Debrox as an ear canal cleaner, about once a month.

And I agree, mental and physical states are "key," and it's
great when everything "comes together."

I don’t know if it’s a question of “warming up,”  but I agree that it takes playing at least one side before a cartridge starts to sound right.

Mindset and mood greatly effect musical enjoyment.

Bad mood and you will have a poor musical experience.

Good music can change your mood and mindset.

don_c55,

Well said. I’d like to go further and add that the wish to change our mood/mindset is the main reason we all listen to music and pursue our audiophile habits in the first place. For the great majority of us musical entertainment is almost as necessary as breathing.

As consumers, rather than creators, it’s also an addiction that’s comparatively benign compared to many others, although some of us might become cross addicted, unable to enjoy music without the additional support of recreational drugs or alcohol.*

Outside of a club (where the trance like effect of the bass can be enhanced), it doesn’t work for me, but each to their own.



*Or in a few extreme tragic cases - compulsive tweaking. A situation where very little musical pleasure can be attained. The advocates of tweaking usually have little concern or consideration of the distracting, sometimes neurotic effect of their propaganda.

In fact some even seem to exploit it by an almost constant active encouragement. 

If you find yourself afflicted don't despair. A way back can be found by the development of other interests, by regaining some control over your life, by spending more time with family and friends etc.

Some audiophiles have shared their experiences where they found it necessary to take the drastic step of a dramatic downsizing/downgrading of their main systems before they could begin to enjoy music once more.