so what do you do when listening?

".... when listening?"

Enjoy... mostly. right off I'll listen for errors or out of whack stuff (if any) going on with the gear itself... Once I've done that brief audible inspection, it's just digging whatever I'm in the mood for...

I'll keep roaming from one genre to another as the mood prevails... the variety and choices being made for the session keep my attention.

I'm only critical when something has been changed, and then only to the point where I've noted the difference (s). Then it's back to plain old enjoying what I'm hearing.

I'm mindful then only of the different quality levels of the recordings.

Recently, I won't even begin a session until late evening 10p +

... and yeah... I'll fall asleep too just before dawn usually.

Imbibe. Read the liner notes. Close my eyes. Dance if I feel it.

Fall asleep was probably meant to be funny (and it is) but I think something more is going on. I do just listen and preferably with my eyes closed. I think my best listening sessions feel almost like sleep, but I know I am still listening. Maybe it should be called a kind of meditation. I think this is what great music and a great system achieves for me. If there is something irritating about the sound, I don't get there. It took me a long time to achieve this with digital media, whereas analog almost always got me there.