[giantsteps]

 

  Throughout the years no matter where I lived my system always sounded better after approx 9:00PM. Early morning....around 1 to 5AM it's nirvana. What has been your experience?


  Frank 

[rajacat]

I agree. My rig definitely sounds better late at night. Who knows why? Less background noise? cleaner electricity? more relaxed? A little help from my friends?

-Roy

[SET Man]

Hey!

    Actually I do enjoy listening to music at night also. My usual listening hours are from 7PM-11PM. Sadly I live in an apartment rental and been a good neighbor I only listen to music til 11PM, but I do wish sometime I could listen until 1AM on some night.

  Anyway, yes I agreed that I find my system sound better later at night too. And not just that and maybe more importantly I find that I enjoy music more at night than during the day.

  I've been pondering about this for awhile now and I think there are couple of things that might contribute to this phenomenal....

1. Cleaner AC line. This is very audiophile thinking. Yes, with all the businesses and heavy industry turning off the AC line could be less polluted and this might make your system sound a bit better.

2. Different surrounding like less noise, lower temperature, darker and less distraction overall make you feel different and put you in a different mood.... more relaxed?

3. You in a very different mood at night than day time. At night you feel at ease more than daytime... well at least I'm like that. And this make you more concentrated and easier to be absorbed into the music and sound.

   Also, I found that my music style change when it get later at night. I'm not sure if this have to do to the fact that maybe I'm afraid that I will disturb my neighbor or it is just me. But I tend to go for something lighter later at night instead of heavier during the daytime or early evening. Still even sometime when my neighbors are not home I still go for something lighter at night anyway.

   So, Frank you are not the only. But to me I think it got to do with your mood at night more than anything else.

   Now I will have to see if my system will sound better on the night with full moon

Take care,
Buddy

[giantsteps]

  Buddy

 1. Cleaner AC line. This is very audiophile thinking. Yes, with all the businesses and heavy industry turning off the AC line could be less polluted and this might make your system sound a bit better.

 I've been BSing w/ audiophiles and musicians for over half a century and I can tell you that you can bet your ass that you're on the right track. 


 Frank

[giantsteps]

 I will venture further and state that if you A/B power cords, conditioners ad infitum in the wee hours of the morning you will not hear dramatic differences. I'm all ears...anyone dispute my assertions? I've never conducted such a test so I could be totally wrong.


 Frank
 

[Zero]

Cleaner AC lines certainly help, but when you get to the brass tax - its all in your head.

Most of our brains can only process so much stimuli at once. Just the simple act of shutting doors and lowering the shades during mid-day listening sessions will yield very audible improvements. This is  because your brain will no longer have to use its 'processing power' on sight. Listening in the dark allows us to relax, and in this case, hone our sense of hearing more acutely.

[ecramer]

I guess working second shift does have some advantages my prime listening time is between 1230pm and 230pm kick back turn off the lights, usually its some think light but i usually want to chill after work not get wound up. So it will usually be some Coltrane or Casandra Wilson or perhaps some Miles Davis you get the drift but yea my system does sound better at that time. I think its better power and less outside stimulus after all how many of us have well built dedicated listening room 

ED

[nodiak]

Agree with what's been said.
But the thread title reminded me of when my son was a toddler and I couldn't play music until he went to bed. So it was always and only - Audio after 9:00PM - for a few years there. I was amazed that he slept through some of those nights...sometimes it got pretty loud. 
Don

[Dmason]

One other thing, and possibly the most profound, is the fact that early man shifted into survival mode during the night. He no longer had the big advantage, with eyes and weapons. His hearing became more acute.

Hearing acuity increases in the darkness on average ~4db at night.

Also, there is ALOT less hash in the AC lines at night for the above mentioned reasons. Draw is down, power cleans up. This is ultra noticeable at my place and has occurred in just the last half hour. What time is it? 926 pm. Apres 9 seems to be the witching hour. I also like to listen to the local classical station, like right now, with my homebrew 75Z coaxial dipole antenna, and I swear, suddenly about this time, good production acoustic stuff is just like aural butter, decent tuner into SET, V. nice. And with alittle help from my friends. Round and green. 

[BrianM]

One other thing, and possibly the most profound, is the fact that early man shifted into survival mode during the night. He no longer had the big advantage, with eyes and weapons. His hearing became more acute.

Hearing acuity increases in the darkness on average ~4db at night.

Really?! I never knew that.  I mean, I know people who lose their sight gain acuter hearing, but that's presumably over time.  The idea of it happening (to a small extent) almost instantaneously is a new one to me.

Also, there is ALOT less hash in the AC lines at night for the above mentioned reasons. Draw is down, power cleans up. This is ultra noticeable at my place and has occurred in just the last half hour. What time is it? 926 pm. Apres 9 seems to be the witching hour. I also like to listen to the local classical station, like right now, with my homebrew 75Z coaxial dipole antenna, and I swear, suddenly about this time, good production acoustic stuff is just like aural butter, decent tuner into SET, V. nice. And with alittle help from my friends. Round and green. 

Like everybody else I've had those magical late night listening sessions for whatever reasons, but I've also had them during the day, i.e. it seems to sounds especially good one day, so...   The only power-related effect I've discovered (and it is a very small effect) is that when my refrigerator is running I get a slightly louder hum coming through the speaker cones, and a bit of a high pitch ring/hiss.  Barely audible - the hum is louder only when your ear is about 6 inches from the cone, and you might discern the high pitch noise if everything were completely silent and you strained a little to hear it.  But it doesn't seem to amount to any kind of a musical difference in what I'm listening to.  The fridge isn't on the same AC line as the stereo.  None of it amounts to anything I would spend money to "fix" since as I say I don't really notice a musical difference.

[Brown]

Has anyone checked the voltage from the outlet? In my case the voltage after 11PM is higher. Could this make a difference ? Less use on the grid equals less pollution of the line maybe?