it sounds better late at night
Jul 1, 2005 at 6:22 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 43

gshan

Headphoneus Supremus
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Has anyone else noticed that music through headphones seems to sound better late at night? Is it just ear fatigue from being tired? Things just seem louder, and even my PX100s sound magical and more involving when listening to random songs...
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Jul 1, 2005 at 6:26 AM Post #4 of 43
i noticed my e4c's sounded more detailed and the later it gets the badder my spelling and gramer gets
 
Jul 1, 2005 at 6:28 AM Post #6 of 43
Quote:

Originally Posted by Averse
Less ambient noise at night, hearing becomes more sensitive. Just like how your eyes adjust to darkness.


Exactly.
 
Jul 1, 2005 at 7:18 AM Post #7 of 43
Might it also be true that mains AC power is cleaner at night with less gadgets running in the neighbourhood? Just speculating.

I'm a big fan of listening to music in the middle of the night if I can't sleep, or first thing in the morning before I get out of bed. Grab the Senns, a comic book such as one of the Sin City graphic novels, and bliss out.
 
Jul 1, 2005 at 10:05 AM Post #8 of 43
Not sure what it is, but I find my music to be that much more involving when I crawl into bed at the end of the day. Whether I bring it about with the aid of chemicals, or naturally, being in that almost dreamlike state makes the music my rig produces sound positively heavenly.

Less background noise/cleaner or more available power (however that stuff works) probably helps, too.
 
Jul 1, 2005 at 12:13 PM Post #10 of 43
Bosch: I'd think it's quite a lot of factors coming together - possibly cleaner power, less ambient noise and also less other distractions like less phone calls or merely the fact that by then one will have done one's work for the day and can thereafter relax and direct the mind to leisure stuff...

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini
 
Jul 1, 2005 at 12:54 PM Post #12 of 43
Actually, i would think it's the opposite. At night when you're tired, you focus less on the details and more on the groove of the music. Your inhibitions are down, you are less analytical, and you just feel the music. You don't notice that the px100's aren't extending up to the highest highs, instrument separation isn't quite perfect, etc... I've found that if I focus partially on something else, I 'feel the music' more, which is enjoyable.

edit: if you're talking lack of background noise and More ability to focus, then that's something different
 
Jul 1, 2005 at 1:30 PM Post #13 of 43
I plan my serious listening sessions only for late evenings when I find my self most relaxed. Why the reproduction is better is probably due to the lower ambient noise floor.

I also think that the mains are less polluted at night creating a more "black background". That, really exposes the fine ambient nuances which define the feeling of being in a concert hall in person.
 
Jul 1, 2005 at 6:01 PM Post #14 of 43
I use my e2c at night... I listen to quiet pink noise and dayum.. Im out like a light in 15 minutes. Been thinking about getting some koss plugs for this purpose, dont want to damage my e2cs.

I like my DT770 at low volumes for night time relaxing. The pads, headband cushion, and sound signature are very sleep inducing IMHO.

Garrett
 
Jul 1, 2005 at 6:13 PM Post #15 of 43
If you have been running your equipment for some time there may also be a warm-up factor on the equipment making it sound better over time. How significant this is depends on the equipment and how long it has been sitting idle. I don't think you will notice much on most cheaper items but the more sensitive and generally more sensitive equipment will register these effects.

I ddn't believe this until I ran a check by just letting the equipment run for an hour or so before listening. I had been bothered by the opposite effect, namely that when coming back from a trip and putting my equipment on it didn't seem to have the quality that I expected. Then one time on coming back, I just set the equipment up and let it run for an hour before listening and voila it sounded great. right off the bat.

Electrostatic phones need to charge up and can take 1/2 hour or more to start sounding good. Some people leave them in a fully charged state all the time to avoid sound loss. But even the electronics, cd players, DAC's etc. seem to take a while to get going at full quality.
 

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