Critical listening and altered states

Even the right CBD will make your hearing more acute like THC does

"Well, class...what have we learned?"

To each, their own.

The Search brings you to what you seek.  Hopefully....

...except.....for some....who always will find 'the Next Level' a mere point to leap to the next....What... ;)

Enjoy, J *S*

More good stuff.

@vinocour 

When I evaluate gear or make buying decisions that are chemically enhanced, even slightly, I often do not agree with myself when the enhancement has worn off or I listen to a choice over time. I currently never make buying decisions while in an enhanced state.

Agree. My OP is not necessarily asking, "Do you rely *totally* on enhancements to evaluate gear or decide on a purchase?" That seems like an easy thing to decline. The question is about prompting oneself to see all possible angles (at some point) for an evaluative judgement later on, in a (likely) a sober state of mind.

@oregonpapa papa

I tried pot once. It made me want to rape and kill.

Interesting. Made me want to doodle and canoodle. Perhaps alert your local Sheriff about those underlying tendencies?
 
@old_ears 

Is your "pleasure" from evaluating, or being one with the sound...mutually exclusive, both can be fulfilling. Give me both grasshopper!

Agree. Evaluation can be a means to an end or an end in itself. Honestly, I do enjoy evaluating for its own sake and also as a tool to improve  immersive listening. My OP is asking about whether the technologies of occasional psychological enhancement can improve evaluative listening done for the purpose of better immersive listening.

@mastering92 

If I’m listening to audio gear for the purpose of evaluating it, I am completely focused on objective performance. I don’t need coffee or anything else to concentrate.

Right. The question isn't about the ability to concentrate. I think most here can do that, as it's something we learned in elementary school. This is about whether the deliveries of focus can be expanded and enriched by finding ways beyond existing prejudices and preconceptions. (This is how we gain an appreciation for things we either disregarded or formed a rash opinion about.) But this is probably just autobiographical, that is, about my own expectation that while I'm a pretty good listener, I'd be able to surpass my present abilities if I reconsider what I'm doing once in a while. I get the sense that you're way past me, because your statement indicates that you have become a master listener whose abilities needs nothing -- not even coffee -- as they have reached the zenith. If that is true, congratulations; you are a master sommelier of sound.