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The Night Air

Most of us have noticed that our system sounds better during certain days, and most often always sounds better at night. I always wondered whether this was an illusion created by eliminating the "visual distortion" easier in the dark, or whether the negatively charged atmosphere really had an effect on sound. After all, AM radio frequencies travel farther at night due to atmospheric changes.

This also brings questions as to barometric pressure, humidity, and elevation and their effect on components and sound quality. I have even wondered if reviews should contain at least sea level/elevation figures and whether you could draw any parallels from this information.

Could a room air ionizer have a positive effect on sound?
Do I need to move to Denver to get my equipment to sound its best?

Got to go....men in white suits are coming to take me away HAHA HEHE HOHO
128x128tgun5
zenieth
381 posts
 
You forgot .............. YOYO !!! REALLY.............
tgun5's avatar
tgun5 OP
138 posts
 
I not sure I buy the argument that power is cleaner at night. With the average working couple, all chores are completed at night. I would guess that dishwashers, washers and dryers, microwaves, and televisions all have increasingly more night use than ever before. Depending on your community, factories that run three shifts utilize the same electric use as in the day. When I owned the Monster AVS2000, the digital readouts indicated that the power fluctuated more at night - especially up until 9pm. I found the same up and down voltage at night on an older Tripplite 2400. Besides, the better line conditioning units should somewhat equalize the difference. I would love to find out if anyone actually has run an ionizer in the listening room and what effects if had if any.
nutella
223 posts
 
Here's a little piece of useful info.
Ever notice how things sound on a misty or foggy night?
Turns out that if you spritz your listening room to make the air a little more moist, the sound will improve.
The denser the the medium, the faster sound travels. A room that has more moisture will sound better than a dry room.
Hey, I thought it was BS until I tried it. I usually approach these tweaks with skepticism but when I hear it with my own ears then I think, hey, why not pass it along. YMMV. IMBFOS.
perfectionist
197 posts
 
I find that my system sounds it's best on Sundays, with the emphasis on day.
Logic would dictate that it is related to the power grid. But I wonder if industry being lighter on Sunday also contributes (which would also relate to the grid). I've also noticed that traffic is much lighter on Sundays, it's much more quiet outside.
I'm not sure, but I am sure it's better on sunDAY.
ubglub
76 posts
 
I think the sound of my audio set up improved when I added a humidifier to the forced air HVAC system, used during the heating season of course. This was before I was aware of tweaks, and it took me by surprise. And no, I have NOT determined the optimal humidity level for sound enhancement!

But wait, isn't it DRIER in the mountains???

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