[Ektalog]

I've always hated the sound of my equipment(s) after it has rained or in very humid days -- along more than 30 years. However, this generally applies if the room is open (not air conditioned). I live in South Florida but the same was true when I lived elsewhere in the Caribbean where it was cool enough to keep windows open. Because we HAVE to use the A/C to survive here most of the year, I haven't given the matter much thought in a very long time.

My original thoughts were that it was either psychoacoutics or perhaps the speaker cones absorbing some humidity or both.

[Carlman]

Speaker cone absorption makes sense.  

I had another thought.... what about micro-arching all over the circuit boards?  Or is the water that's in the air so pure that it doesn't conduct?  Damn the micro-arching!

You could obssess for days about sonic changes associated with the weather.  

[warnerwh]

I've noticed this phenomenon also and wonder if maybe our brain chemistry changes during different atmospheric conditions.  Certainly late at night for whatever reason many people report their systems sounding better and I feel it's because I'm more relaxed (more seratonin in my brain?).  It also seems to me that dimmer light makes for better listening as though the sound were more accurate.  This must be attributed to brain chemistry.  Any other ideas I'm open to as I'm curious.

[Ektalog]

Well, on the brain chemistry column I would put another observation about myself. The best moments -- most enjoyable -- to listen to music recordings are after a good day's work or at the end of a busy week. It doesn't seem to matter if it is mental work or physical. (I've even found that uncalibrated or mildly misadjusted equipment still can sound great if I am in the proper mood of this sort.) I should add that I don't have to be/feel tired. Actually, I should not be.

Conversly, if I've been loafing around for a day I don't seem to enjoy it as much. It is as if my brain said "this Bud's for you, you've earned it for your hard work."  [Psychologists, please stay out of this!]

Strangely enough -- and this just came to mind as I wrote this -- I've never observed if this all applies to live music. I guess the concert hall triggers another type of brain reaction.

Anyway, like Carlman implies, there are too many darn variables; the weather is just one set.

[SWG255]

I always find it amusing when audiophiles report that their systems sound better in dim light or when they listen with their eyes closed. I don't see well at all, and other than the relaxation I derive from listening with closed eyes, I notice NO difference sonically between sessions where I'm looking at my system (speakers usually ) or whether I'm listening in the dark. I'm not trying to be flip, I think this is a clue to why so many folks report imaging is so different with live music. I believe that normally sighted people can't easily untangle the visual information they receive from the audible information they receive when listening and watching live music. I think this also has an effect on one when sitting and staring at one's speakers while listening.

Our brains are amazing and to paraphrase the old anti-drug ads, "A mind is a terrible thing..." So to get back to theoriginal thread topic, our mood and physiological well-being probably has as much to do with our perception of our audio systems' performance as the weather or other environmental factors. I certainly know that some days my system sounds absolutely fantastic, and on others i start a listening session only to turn it off and do something else. There is often no weather change dictating the preference.

 

I've noticed this phenomenon also and wonder if maybe our brain chemistry changes during different atmospheric conditions.  Certainly late at night for whatever reason many people report their systems sounding better and I feel it's because I'm more relaxed (more seratonin in my brain?).  It also seems to me that dimmer light makes for better listening as though the sound were more accurate.  This must be attributed to brain chemistry.  Any other ideas I'm open to as I'm curious.

[nathanm]

Things definitely improve in dim light.  Not the sound itself of course, just my perception.  Not really anything too amazing, the less processing your brain has to devote to vision the more it can devote to sound.  I also think a centrally-located rack adversely affects the perception of imaging as much as it may or may not affect actual sound reflections.  The coolness of the "phantom center" is lessened when you are looking at some form of object in front of you.  My experience has been that the more sparsely-decorated the room is the more likely I am to think it sounds good.  Closing your eyes is much cheaper of course, but I usually end up nodding off if I do that for too long.

I've always thought that it would be cool to recreate the inside of a music venue in one's own home much like the all-out HT crowd imitates old theaters.  Like actually having colored stage lights shine on the speakers or something.  Or maybe making a ficticious stage to put them on. (Not as high though, of course)  Then suspend an inflatable rubber Norah Jones marionette from the ceiling whose limbs jerk in musical time from a MIDI-controlled electric motor synced to the CD.  "Hello Cleveland! Are you ready to ROCK!?"

[warnerwh]

Nathanm: Good point that your brain has less to process with your eyes in dim light. Makes sense.

[PhilNYC]

Nathanm: Good point that your brain has less to process with your eyes in dim light. Makes sense.

Yeah, but don't dimmers add noise to your AC??

[Rob Babcock]

Dim light makes me nod off, too.  Occasionally I'll keep a lamp on very very low while watching TV as opposed to watching totally in the dark (FPTV), but if I do this for long I get too drowsy too stay away.  This doesn't happen to me in total darkness, however.

I agree with Nathan that an uncluttered room helps.  It's nice not to have a central gear rack "singing to you" as well.  I suspect he may have an alternate purpose for the Norah Jones doll, though.

[denverdoc]

Re Warnerh question as to brain chemistry changes--I seem to recall some reports out of the Soviet Union--at least 25 years ago that correlated mood changes with amounts of atmospheric ionic imbalance--can't recall the conditions that drove these up, think wind and barometric changes were important.

As to the superiority of late nite listening--always thought this was due to the AC line conditions being so much better--those of you fortunate enough to have really good, clean power, is there still an improvement?

J

[nathanm]

Nathanm: Good point that your brain has less to process with your eyes in dim light. Makes sense.

Yeah, but don't dimmers add noise to your AC??

Probably do...(the lightbulb filaments usually whine when turned down low in any case, which is annoying) But I don't use an actual dimmer but rather a candle, or the light from the street lamp outside the window.  But I think there's some fancy transformer-based dimmers out there which don't generate all the nasty electrical side effects.  But hey, a candle is even cheaper!

As to the superiority of late nite listening--always thought this was due to the AC line conditions being so much better--those of you fortunate enough to have really good, clean power, is there still an improvement?

I'm inclined to believe this might be true.  I think a greater factor is the mood shift which occurs late at night, more biological than electrical.  However, since guitar pedals sound subjectively better with a dying battery or lowered voltage (to a point, adding distortion tonalities) then I suppose the inverse holds true for hifi playback where you don't want more distortion and a more accurate voltage presumably offers cleaner sound.  I've read a claim that there's some schlubbo at the power plant who turns a big dial down at night to less-than-60Hz and then back up before morning, but it sounds a bit sketchy to me. Hmmm.

[denverdoc]

Nathan,

Re the improved quality of ac mains late nite, the voltage may be more stable, but I think it may have more to do with the cleanliness of the power, ie not a bunch of transients and hash from big motors cycling off and on--would have scoffed at such a notion prior to my days as an electrophysiologist, where one summer, things got so bad no one in our department could work for several hours a day--problem finally traced to a nearby building where big coolers would intermittently  fire up, completely contaminating the ac lines for at least blocks around. Since work of this type must be done within a Faraday cage, the only route for leakage was the ac lines, the dept electronics tech spent a good several days of headscratching before he figured it out. The offending firm was good enough to use isolation on their gear. Personally, I'm looking into possibly using a bunch of batteries in my crawl space, as the price of clean up done right can be pretty prohibitive.

Oh, and also a ultrasonic humidifier/humidistat arrangement to keep RH at a comfy 30%  

[Redbone]

Temperature differences of 20°F or more make a significant change in the sound.  It may be the speaker, the room or the air, I don't know.  For those that keep their houses 75°F or warmer, try cooling down to 65° and check out the sound.  Better bass response.  Also, the electronics perform better cool.  

Music sounds better at night.  I don't think that it has anything to do with the equipment, it is the animal.

[Mag]

Okay,I know this ain't scientific but there are times when I listen to my stereo where I say wow! That sounds better than I remember. The only thing that is different from other sessions is the weather outside. This phenomina is associated with cold weather. And let me tell you its FN cold outside(-25 celcius). I cannot comfortably listen to music inside because I am shivering half the time. So take heart, if you haven't experienced this phenomina, at least you can listen in warmth.

[denverdoc]

As a psychiatrist intimately familiar with all the little psychological ploys our brain uses to produce perceived differences in sound, (see my other posts for various rantings on the subject and the waste of money I believe high priced IC and cables, and even most high end amps, to be) can't believe I am taking the opposite opinion of Redbone that it is not just night time, but has as much to do with the cleaner AC supply and reduced ambient noise--the later the better.

 Sure a little bone weariness and a worry free state of mind helps as others have commented on, as does a good single malt or whatever your drug of choice happens to be.

Speaking of which, and perhaps such subjects are tabu w/in the circle, but one subject I have seen precious little coverage of anywhere in the audio community is the influence of mind/mood altering agents on audio perception. For instance there are any number of agents which seem to enhance auditory perceptual acuity--if devilishly subtle differences exist that are someone confounded by blind ABX testing, one might wonder whether the use of such might help. Drugs that strike me as candidates would include THC, LSD, Mescaline, psilocybin, MDMA (XTC), Salvinorin A, and perhaps Ketamine.

I am in no way advocating the use of such here, only a somewhat off topic query re others experiences.  

[pjchappy]

Denverdoc,

You could make a killing off of these 'audiophile' sites. . .  just FYI. . .

 


p

[denverdoc]

Sadly to say, the thought has occurred to me, esp with drugs like salvia divinorum still being legal--do a little weeekend workshop in Santa Fe with some state of the art equipment, and watch these sheltered little boys reach out and touch the music for the first time--would stop many in their tracks i suspect from the endless upgrade cycle on equipment for pursuit of better chemicals thru which to hear their systems!

My malpractice carrier might have some qualms, however.

[pjchappy]

Hey, I'm a med-mal defense attorney. . .mutual hook-ups. . .

 

p

[denverdoc]

Well, then we do this--forget workshop--too much like work--a symposia perhaps, for enhancing ones listening abilities, Day one, early am session--basic psychoacoustics, anatomy/phys of hearing , mid morning session: how good is your hearing--audiometric evaluation, lecture on OSHA guidelines, afternoon session: Multichannel enhancements, binaural headphones, ambisonics, v  how good can stereo get? Cocktails, dinner, and for the non-adventurous, a trip to the Santa Fe opera, for those wishing to participate in an audio adventure, and willing to sign a ten page disclaimer, the fun begins. When they arrive at breakfast bright eyed and bushy tailed, eager to share their experiences with each other and the rest of the curious non-atendee opera goers, well we are then pressed by demand into having a second session.  

Hell for the price of a good pre-amp, could learn more about music reproduction then a lifetime on their knees at the local audio salon.

J

Of course for those who thought the experience worthwhile chapter 2 in Jamaica.

[Roc]

Guys,

Sorry I'm entering this thread so late.  I should tune in more often.

Last year I took a tour of Telarc in Cleveland.  I was thrilled to have owner Robert Woods and half of the staff show me around and answer my questions.
 In the middle of a conversation regarding minimum mic'g Robert and Michael Bishop (recording engineer) told me the single most important factor in making a good recording is the humidity.  
Keep in mind we are talking about recording at a concert hall, but none the less humidity was at the top of the list.
They said when the humidy is low the sound does not come out/off of the stage nearly as well as high humidity.  Recorded sound quality suffers, becoming more distant, dull and lifeless.

Here is the real surprise.  On low humidity days (sound not coming out) they move the mic's OUT further, rather than IN further.  Strange but true.

Now at my house I notice the opposite.  I have a hygrometer in the room.  When the humidity is 30-40% I get better bass and overall better clarity of sound.  Above 50% and the sound gets worse.  Logic would say that if Telarc is right (and I'd bet on it) more sound should come out at me in higher humidity.

Maybe there is some truth to the earlier comments that the room modes change with the speed of sound, which results in a different set of cancellations and overall tone.

Dave