Critical listening and altered states

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.

To listen critically - We need to put our energy into the power of objective reasoning and honest observations.

i suppose we have ’sub-hobbies’ within our hobby of being a music loving audiophile. so there are no rules. no right or wrong approach to critical listening. no incorrect mind sets we are trying to be in.

OTOH in the particular audiophile journey i am on, i am as interested in how some change makes me feel emotionally in a right brain context, as objectively what my left brain thinks it hears. am i being drawn into the music? is my body happy?

unless i can get into a mental mode where i am capable of being open to the power of the music to capture me, my critical listening session cannot be relied on to get the whole picture. so my fist step is always making sure that i’m happy and content and comfortable......and free of distractions including excessive expectations. i need to just be listening to music with my mind free to let it happen. i call it my ’zen’ place.

after now 27 years of very serious system building and room building, this is the viewpoint i have learned that works best for me.

being cold and calculating and objective = a system result target accordingly. how can it not? which is a different result and sub-hobby than mine. and my experience tells me the stress of attempts at purely objective listening clouds the whole musical truth. we should avoid trying too hard.

i’m not saying that there are not situations that call for short term objective listening; for instance whenever i’m setting up a cartridge there is a degree of objective analysis going on. but it’s not how i would make a larger system direction decision or gear choice. if i’m not enjoying my critical listening session, how often am i capable of doing it?

my really extended critical listening sessions are likely my most satisfying periods of my audiophile experience. and leave me feeling fulfilled and in a great place mentally.

YMMV.

@jdane,
"Tacitus (I think) says the Germanic tribes used to make decisions: (1) at night when they were all sh*t-faced, and (2) in the morning when they were sober. They only followed their own counsel if the decision was the same in both cases."

Thanks for sharing. Great advice that’s almost a parable for life.



@ianb52,
"There is a paradox that with certain altered states the detail of perception and emotional intensity are increased, but the ability to do focused critical listening (left brain-type activity) becomes difficult and not fun. These states can key you into what is abrasive in a system, what feels intuitively good, and what is getting in the way, but not in the usual deliberate way."


It’s difficult to describe but I think you’ve nailed it. It’s certainly problem for me and one that I try to circumvent, almost anyway, anyhow.


However, the term ’critical listening’ is almost a contradiction in terms, at least for me. I always listen better when I’m relaxed.
Therefore the two things I most like to have before sitting down to listen are a comfortable seat and as much background peace and quiet as possible.


Having said that, a degree of constant low frequency noise and chatter are ok, but no sudden alarms and no surprises. https://youtu.be/qNWE_2avJT0