[3602]

You won't get the full capabilities of the gear.
 
So I haven't been sleeping well for about a week now. Most of the time during the day, I am drowsy.
 
Alright why don't we just cut the story...
 
Anyway.
 
First time I realized this is when I just got the Turbine Pro-Golds and was going to NYC by bus. From Quebec City. Of course, when I got on the bus (about 22:00) I was naturally quite excited, and I had no fatigue. Back then I was still using my iPod + Amp pack. The bus rolled, I plugged in the Golds and listened to some nice German opera (Der Ring des Nibelungen, not that I understand anything). At one point, fatigue struck. So I turned off the pack and hit the pillow... um, headrest.
 
Woke up a bit later for border passing. Passed the border, kept rolling. Again, plugged in the Golds: man, these sound like [stars]. Murky, detail-less, no bass.
 
Next day when we all got to the hotels (Lancaster), I grabbed some hot grub and yet again resumed the said opera. It seems as if the Golds are "revived".
 
It's the same thing over and over again. During mid-day the phones are stellar. Whenever I'm tired, however, it is as if the phones are tired with me. At that library by Central Park (NYC) the Golds were fine; after a dinner somewhere in Times Sq. (Mars-2112-something restaurant) I would feel deflated and the phones would sound deflated too.
 
And it's not just before sleeping: If I listen right after I wake up, they would also sound like said [stars].
 
Fast-forward to about a week ago. I went out to get the Coppers. It was somewhat late (20:30) but of course I'm all jacked up about the new phones. They sounded much clearer than the Golds with a tighter bass.
 
Today the phones broke (made a thread about it). As already mentioned when we just started, I haven't been sleeping quite well, so today is a tiring day. Got the replacement Coppers, fine. Go home, listen (no more nice Germans since I reverted back to the CD era).
 
No bass (again), sounds a bit constrained, harsh mids and stressed highs. What, man? Did they replace a defective pair with a defective pair? I yawned, then it hit me: fatigue.
 
I knew that the decommissioned Golds, sleeping in my drawer somewhere, are "good": loads of bass. I was like, fine, I'll go listen to the Golds, and if they has bass, then the new Coppers must be defective.
 
But the Golds had no bass either. It sounded way too muffled. It actually sounded like SE530's.
 
So don't listen to anything seriously when you keep yawning. Your auditory central is half asleep and most of those neurons aren't firing. Fatigued listening = bad listening.
 
Thanks for reading. Chime in if you have (or don't have) similar experiences. Now I have to eat, hit the bed, wake up and back to smelling benzene. That's not an aroma: it smells like rubber.

 

[khaos974]

Hmmm, do you listen to gear or music? I'd rather listen to good music in crappy conditions rather than no music at all.
Sure, I'd prefer to listen to music in optimal condition, but when I feel like listening to music, I start listening, regardless of my tiredness.
I wouldn't start a new piece of classical music, especially from any "difficult" composers, but for a known piece, or a pop/rock recording, hell yes.

 

[earthpeople]

When I'm tired and listen to music, it's pretty much the opposite of what you described. Everything sounds so wonderful and euphoric; the music is simply mellifluous. I just feel like I'm being enveloped in a warm blanket of sound.

 

[azncookiecutter]

Quote:

When I'm tired and listen to music, it's pretty much the opposite of what you described. Everything sounds so wonderful and euphoric; the music is simply mellifluous. I just feel like I'm being enveloped in a warm blanket of sound.

I'm in the same boat. Some of the best listening sessions I have is in a half asleep-half awake state.
 

 

[wund3rk1nd]

when im sleepy i tend to forget analyizing the music and to just simply enjoy what im hearing. unless im suffering from lack of sleep and still need to listen to the music naturally i'd be pissed at everything and find that the earphones aren't good enough

 

[haloxt]

Interesting observation, but there's two points I think are important. One, fatigue has two different connotations, one is tired and stressed out, and the other is tired and relaxed. Secondly, some music were made for "relaxation" and aren't mentally demanding or demanding of reproduction gears' technical ability to appreciate, and they are fine to listen to when you have any kind of fatigue.

 

[3602]

Quote:

Interesting observation, but there's two points I think are important. One, fatigue has two different connotations, one is tired and stressed out, and the other is tired and relaxed. Secondly, some music were made for "relaxation" and aren't mentally demanding or demanding of reproduction gears' technical ability to appreciate, and they are fine to listen to when you have any kind of fatigue.

Yeah I think mostly I'm the first case. The second case would be sunk in the couch, chomping nachos and watching Firefly. Ahh I am so going to do this this weekend.
That said, my replacement Coppers are actually defective. Right now I have a re-replacement pair of Coppers.

 

[MrGreen]

As someone who has a strong music education, I actually find that tired listening is an interesting experience. Everything seems much faster, for example. Sounds dance around more, rather than I hear everything as it is (notes, locations, etc). I wonder if thats what music sounds like to the untrained?
 
 

 

[Ypoknons]

Quite possibly. I only have rudimentary music training (high school band), and honestly dissecting everything into notes and scales isn't as much fun as just flowing with the shapes, textures and raw emotion music conveys.
 
Of course, if you want to analyze gear, you gotta awake.