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Equipment Warm up, but What About Listener Warm up?

Tube amps and even solid state amps have varying requirements to warm up, but what about the listener? Do you find that it takes you a few minutes to settle in to really start hearing the nuances in the sound? It seems that even if I've had my Hegel H390 on all day, it still takes a few minutes after I sit in my listening position before I start to hear everything I know is there. I then start the recording from the beginning and enjoy.
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tooblue
1,932 posts
 
@slaw, +1
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Absolutely! Behind your ear drum are three little bones called ossicles.
Attached to one of them, the Stapes is a little muscle called the Stapedius. As sounds get louder this muscle tightens and decreases the ear's sensitivity protecting you from louder volumes. It also changes the ear's frequency response. It is always good to start at moderate levels before turning it up to a realistic volume to let your ears adjust.  
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Cartridges do break in but I have never heard one warm up. Tube phono stages may need a short warm up period. I keep mine on permanently so there is no warm up period at all for the phonograph
tooblue
1,932 posts
 
@geoffkait , I thought you were warm and fuzzy anyway.
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa
4,867 posts
 
I've noticed that during long listening sessions, say at the three-hour mark, the system seems to reach out and the sound starts to envelop the room, including me. Do the electronics continue to warm up even further after several hours? Or, maybe it's the Vodka. 

Frank
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