Casual listening

For me, listening to recorded music involves three essential factors. The first is the quality of the playback system. Unless there's a new component in the system I already know what it sounds like, so at the moment I'm listening there's not much point in analyzing it whether I'm listening casually or critically.

The second factor is the quality of the recording itself. Someone else here said that listening isn't analyzing how the music is recorded, but rather analyzing how it's played. For me that's true to some extent, but if it's simply a bad recording I think it's hard to ignore no matter how casually I'm listening since it's going to affect my ability to accurately analyze the music. I may or may not put with it depending on how interested I am in that bit of music. But if it's a reasonably good recording, and one can usually tell pretty quickly, then there's no point in analyzing it further.

The last factor, of course, is the quality of the music being played. I tend to save my critical listening time for music that's at least a little more complex and that requires full concentration to "analyze" and appreciate. Then there's the less complex stuff that I might listen to while reading or doing something else that shares my attention. That music will normally be played at a lower volume, and I'm hearing it but I'm not fully engaged in it, i.e., listening casually. Of course, there have been many times when I've been hearing but not "listening" to a piece of music when something yanks my attention away from whatever else I was doing and requires me to turn it up and shift into critical listening mode. I love those moments!

@ezwind 

   Although I’m not happy about it, I too tend to have problems listening to poorly recorded music no matter how good it is. However if it’s historically significant, I can make allowances for the sound and go right to the performance. 
 Also, if I start off listening softly, and I find myself getting into the music I will turn the volume up.

there is a major difference between being immersed in something, feeling the music -- vs -- being evaluative or analytical in your focus - both are types of intentful listening, but quite different -- one is for enjoyment, the other might well be an enjoyable process for some, but it is ’work’ of sorts as it is being quite analytical and evaluative, trying to judge, parse, decipher, gauge, compare what one is hearing against something else, or some ideal we have in mind

a trained musician can listen to a piece of music and be evaluative also, but not of the sound, but rather, the construction of the music and/or the technique, say, of the pianist or singer...

so it is really about mindset, are you willing to engage in a way to be moved, transported, etc... versus asking yourself, what is good/bad/right/wrong?

There is definitely a difference between listening to your system and listening to music. Your can switch on the “analytical” mode… or try not to turn it on.

However, your system plays a big part of what you tend to do. For decades I worked on improving all the obvious stuff, details, slam, imaging, sound stage. I proudly listened to my “Reference System” as I came to call it. I could instantly identify the venue, mastering of the recording.

I would be glued to my system, for 45 minutes many evenings. The most I could get as I was working. But if I did have more time… well 45 minutes was enough. I would loose interest.

Making a very long story short. I realized the details were way out of proportion to the music and the rhythm and pace was being destroyed. Ten years later… all tube Audio Research gear and Sonus Faber speakers (I ditched the planar speakers) and I am pulled into my system. All the details, soundstage, bass is there. But they are in proportion to the major musical components and the rhythm and pace is spectacular. I fall into the music… I don’t notice the system. I listen now three hours a day and find it really difficult to pull myself away from it at the end.

I can tell in any system what is distracting from the music now. This skill took me a very long time (decades… ok, I’m slow). But as an example I took a friend down to an audio store. We auditioned three integrated amps. The Luxman - highly detailed, The Pass - natural and foot tapping, Audio Research… my eyes would close and I would fall into the music. Easy to tell which I wanted. But I recommended the Pass for my friend. It was because he was new to high end audio and craved slam and flash. The Pass delivered that, but with the rhythm and pace which would satisfy when you were not being impressed with the bass and soundstage.

There is equipment made for many different purposes / tastes. Many of us love the pursuit because we enjoy using our analytical skills. But these can lead us away from what we really wanted when we started.

@newbee

I’ll have to look this up.

 

 

newbee

4,506 posts

03-18-2023 at 02:10pm

I bought a fix for that problem. For me the problem arises from having a system set up too well, i.e. the clarity and imaging are good enuf to become distracting (when listening in the sweet spot). I bought a Black Ice Foz SS, a device that allows you to apply more out of phase information which in turn creates a sound (variable of course) with the center image less in focus and the soundstage much larger. Reminds me of what panels and electrostats and omni’s can) do. I put it in a tape loop and now I can read and listen to music at the same time. Just for fun!