I can see the virtue in both what @gents and @unreceivedogma are saying.
I am not nearly as critical or scientific as @unreceivedogma is, and my listening room, such as it is, is not nearly as scientific or critical as his is, but my listening was in the living room for many moons, then my system went into hibernation, and when it came out at the end of ’17, someone said or did something that irritated me, so I moved it into a small back bedroom because a) I thought I would be isolated while I was listening, and b) I thought it would be more intimate (meaning between me and the music) and I thought that might be a better sound. So I dropped some dedicated lines back there and over the last six years have tried to do little things here and there to improve the sonic effect. But no full blown room treatments. Like I said, I am not as scientific or critical as @unreceivedogma .
But when I am back there, there are no distractions and I am listening, not doing anything else. A room that small is an imperfect environment, and had I known the limitations, I might not have moved back there, no matter how pissed off I was at the time. I listen at very near field and it gets loud quick; I learned early on back there that in a room that small, earbleed levels get fatiguing fast. I have only played the Lou Reed Rock And Roll Animal one time back there, and that was when I first made the move.
But although it isn’t as scientific or critical as @unreceivedogma , I do think I understand what he is saying when he says he is up in his attic to listen. When I am in that bedroom I referenced, I am there only to listen and therefore I hear more.
But as to what @gents typed , when my system was in the living room and I was listening, frequently I would be barbecuing out on the backporch with an artist or band I really liked blasting away (but not distorting) and it was not just background or wallpaper. It was like having a musical group or an artist that I liked over to play for us in our living room and they would sound good. When I was outside undercooking red meat, of course I would not be analyzing the soundstage or the detail or the air, but the sound was full bodied and it would grab me by the ___ when a harmonica would blat out or a sax player would bite down and step out or a bluegrass band would start really getting down and having fun. And after we had finished eating, then I could turn down the lights in the living room and sit down on the couch and turn the level down a tad and enjoy from a different perspective.
And as far as fun goes, I really did have more FUN when I was listening and not making listening work. Maybe I was not hearing as much in one sense of the term, but in another sense, maybe I was hearing more, and I was not nearly as uptight about it.
But I am not saying either is right or wrong. If it works for you it’s right, and by the same logic, it cannot be right if it doesn’t work for you.
As I type, my system is gradually being turned on, component by component, and after I hit ’post’ I am going to turn on the power caps for my amp, and then a bit later after I help the neighbors with their dog, I will turn power on to the amp’s tubes, and after I eat I’ll start listening back there in that little unfriendly bedroom to some music a(I just put some new speakers in their I am trying out) and I am sure that I will enjoy it.