Do you have to be “in the mood?”

Frogman and cd318,

You are both right.

I compose these posts because I have inconsistency in my listening experiences.   I over analyze as a means of trying to to obtain a better perspective.
 I also think others may have similar reactions and I wonder how they deal with them.

I do wish it were simpler for me.

Music seems to always be 'on' in my house, albeit a lot of it is in a background mode. For me mood is not an issue so much as opportunity.

When I want to hear what is on the disc in it's purest sense I use headphones (I have a dedicated headphone system). When I want to just sit back and enjoy the audiophile experience, or just have background music for reading, I use my main system. Some years ago I backed off any pretension of getting a near SOTA system and focused on just setting up a system that sounds good with the music and format I listened to the most (CD's). I ditched my TT , records, and ARC SP10/Threshold amp (impossible for me to listen to this with out admiring how great they sounded). I got a pair of tuneful speakers and a tubed integrated amp. I can now, for the most part, enjoy the music without thinking a great deal about the system's sound or the acquisition of new (better?) equipment.

Worked for me anyway. Good luck in finding your solution.

not "be in the mood" so much as have the time to devote to at least a couple of hours. I can listen casually through the car or a home Deep Blue 2 bluetooth speaker. Like Elizabeth, I listen many hours a day, just not all of my listening on my primary rig.

I remember the days of purchasing and trading up for a better receiver; my humble beginnings.  With the passing of time, my gear is much better and the sound more refined.  I listen to vinyl, CD, and a tube tuner (MR-67) in no particular order.  I enjoy both the tactile and listening feeling my system provides and therefore, "It" puts me in a good mood/place; always.  I have enough to critically analyze; I rather enjoy my gear instead.

Best,
Jose

Both!  Mood certainly effects the listening experience.

If you are in a bad mood your system will start out sounding bad, but sometimes the mood changes as you play music.

Also sometimes the system has to warm up, and that may take a couple of albums for your music to smooth out.

I like long listening periods (hours) to really get into the sound.