Critical listening and altered states


Ok, this is not a question about relaxing, but about listening to evaluate how the system (or a piece of gear is sounding).

What, in your experience, are the pluses and minuses of altering your state of mind for listening? This can include anything you've used to affect your everyday state of mind, from coffee, beer, scotch, tobacco, to much stronger — and psychoactive, dissociative — additives.

What do you gain by altering your consciousness in terms of what you notice, attend to, linger on, etc?
What causes more details to emerge?
What allows you to stick with a thread or, alternately, make new connections?

Or perhaps you like to keep all those things *out* of your listening; if that's you, please say a bit about why.

128x128hilde45
Weed, shrooms, mdma and ketamine. All different and all incredible when done right. Ket does make it hard to change the record, best get it done before your bump hits. But then you are just so present in the moment and able to appreciate music in ways you never could have imagined.
Lsd often takes me to a place where music makes little sense, unlike shrooms or majic truffles. the ultimate is combining mdma and shrooms, or mandy and k, but only when safely at home- unlike mdma, k is a party killer and was banned from our raves and festivals. Too much stumbling. But fun at home or in a safe environment.
@grannyring

just now, i did try the Quboz 16/44 streaming version of track #11 of Sempre Libera, and i also heard the extreme distortion pulse on peaks. very annoying. sorry about that. i do not recall ever hearing that.

my guess is that either it’s simply a bad transfer, or possibly this recording has no limiters used and it’s too hot somehow. it might be fun to question Quboz about why that is happening and see how they respond.

to make sure this was a Quboz issue, i also sampled my dsd and 24/88 files and they played perfectly as always.

please let me know how the redbook sounds. thanks.
...I just do my best to keep it out of the minds of those who would merely abuse it....a bit of Service to the States....*s*
It doesn't alter your state of mind, but I must say that the big jar of CBD cream that my daughter bought me does wonders on my knee pain and my neuropathy suffering feet. Pain is gone about 20-30 minutes after application. Highly recommended.

Frank


    A certain revered string agitator once said: "are you experienced? not necessarily stoned, but experienced?"  Pleasure without analysis is immersive listening- the right brain; critical listening- the left...  Actually producing music by a trained performer-both sides now.
  Is your "pleasure" from evaluating, or being one with the sound...mutually exclusive, both can be fulfilling.  Give me both grasshopper!