What kind of listener are you?

For thrill and feeling, there are many songs that will never sound better, to me, than they did when we heard them the first time on the radio in our cars or at the beach or wherever.  Most rock music I grew up with fits into this category.   I became an “amateur audiophile” - emphasis on amateur - as my tastes evolved to classical and jazz music.

Our ancestors beating on a log only cared if their Gods listened. Well maybe it got the blood flowing, scared off the gnarly beasts, and meant a good night's sleep. 

Depends what I happen to be focused on at the moment.  

@mahgister I recognize inside me a satisfaction or a dissatifaction that goes on with the increase or a decrease of the S.Q. and his capacity to convey the rightful musicality and timbre...I can compare my past emotions to the new emotion, not a past sound to a new one

@mahgister +1

To me, culling out sonic cues can be fun and interesting, but really is only looking at a tiny part of the whole picture. I look to my feelings and emotions to evaluate SQ as a Whole. Being immersed is a state of emotion and being, and I want to be immersed.

How you listen probably depends on what your ultimate goal is. For me, it's a happy toe tapping head nodding live music experience. For others, hearing a mis hit  rim shot or singers inhale in a studio recording showing perfect microphonic resolution makes their day.

Great post, Millercarbon.

Not to distract but wondering whether  your values and the way you listen have changed and is influenced by  length of time being in the audiophile hobby, age, technical vs non tech vs musical background.

I'm older (not sure if wiser) and over the decades, my values have changed from technical thrills to emotional contentment. Or maybe I just don't want to think as much🤔

ENJOY the music, no matter how you listen.

Over the years, I came to the conclusion that the one thing that all, or near all, live performances have in common is a fullness and a richness in the music that is sometimes not captured in our home systems. It's a tight rope act to get that sweet spot between dry and analytical and jaded and blurred.
One of my first experiences at hearing a system that approached the fullness and richness of a live performance, without sacrificing detail and nuance, or having to be mind numbingly loud, was back in the late 80s, when auditioning a pr. of Apogee Duetta Sigs. Not sure about the electronics, as I was primarily auditioning the speakers, but it must have been some very nice gear of the time.
It is this fullness and richness of sound, combined with an accuracy of timber, space and detail, that can be enjoyed at a volume considerably less than a concert, that I try to attain.
 
Also, I've found that my eyes and ears work together to create an imaginary stage, when auditioning speakers and equipment. If I close my eyes, in a short time, the stage and placement of vocals and instruments seems to diminish. Regardless of price, I like to assess, in addition to tone and timber, how well a system can create a stage and keep things where they belong. For some reason, I can not do this with my eyes closed, as I need some kind of visual reference...Jim