Do you listen alone or with guest s


I am curious about the social element of listening to an audiophile system. Do you listen alone?? with wife, ladyfriend, buddy or guests?? For myself, I prefer to listen alone and for a few important reasons. I like to listen to the performance of the system I have put together or have made changes to. I listen to judge the performance of the musicians in terms of innnovations,and new revelations about the music's structure. I listen to "just" listen, to get that emotional fix that only music can provide. I occasionally ask my wife to listen with me or to a particular cut, but after about six minutes she loses interest. In the past, with lesser systems, I tried to point out things to friends in the music that I was hearing. After a short while, I realized I was making others uncomfortable, and also myself. Listening alone over the years became a ritual. I never regretted following this path, and was/am surely open to other listeners in the room....Maybe this is smug attitude to have; I think it comes with the territory of high-end audio. It often annoys me when I see people switch on a stereo and listen for just background music, or incidental music. I feel it denigrates the music and the musicians (excluding hip-hop, Daughtry,and Lady Gaga) I realize and am grateful there is no "golden rule book" for listening to music. The audiophile who drops thousand of dollars on his system cares about sound and music---science in the service of art.
sunnyjim
While the majority of my listening is done alone, I also often listen with my wife and with friends. And I would also disagree with the comment that it is only possibly to listen critically when alone. Being a professional musician, most of my friends are as well, or they are people who truly appreciate music, so they are all listening at least somewhat critically as well. The communal experience of listening to great music can be a very powerful thing, and while the concert hall is the best place for this, it can also be done in the home. While we musicians can be very critical listeners, we are also the most appreciative listeners as well - I have had some incredible experiences listening to music with friends, though it is not quite the same as playing it.
i am a member of an audio club. when i have a meeting--about once every 18 months i set up the listen and others listen to it. i usually only in the listening room to change cds.

at other times, i listen alone, but not for the reasons that have been posted so far.

i am somewhat of a multi tasking person and prefer to listen when reading or writing.

i believe this habit can be traced to the years when i attended undergraduate school and when studying for an exam, had music in the background. hence i enjoy music in the background as a secondary activity.

when i am reviewing , it forces me to focus on the sound of my stereo system.

as long as i don't notice any unusual anaomalies in the frequency response, i do not listen critically.

as i said, i reserve my analytical listening to reviewing.

of course, when attending symphony orchestra concerts i give the music my undivided attention.

since i believe the concert hall experience is so superior to listening to a recording, listening to music at home is based upon my taste in the particular recordings i chose, and some level of satisfactory sound. thus , i listen to music in the background mode and inviting others to listen when i don't participate with them would be rude and impolite.
Boy SunnyJim ,Sounds like there is a lot of rain in your forecast.Take a deep breath, it isnt so serious!