[Xander]

heh...

Maybe I'll just buy lots of D batteries...

 

[raymondlin]

Music does sound better at night, I do my serious listening session both with my Speakers and headphones at night. Generally after 11 pm, and I make sure the lights are off, the TV is off. The room has to be totoally dark apart from the little LCD on the CD player and the little red light from the amp.

Sitting at the sofa facing the speakers, play some CDs and I can actually "see" the sonic picture/soundstage in front of me. That's something you can't do with headphones. I can pick out instruments, voices at the centre the bass is all around. Wonderful.

 

[Budgie]

I think it is an evolutionary throw back effect, to the caveman/tribal era. when we made our music late at night, around a fire, celabrating a succesful hunt. OoogOog Ug.

 

[Budgie]

Maybe not.

 

[squirt]

I'm glad someone brought this issue up cause i could just swear i notice improvments in the sound quality at night too...mainly its more dynamic and louder at the same volume setting...i've been thinking maybe because i often listen to music in the dark my senses focus more on the music rather than being distracted by visual stimulus...perhaps it is due to reduced power usage or maybe even vestigal caveman issues...just think about how good your system would sound back in the caveman days with thoughs deep dark nights...then again you wouldn't have a place to plug anything into so nevermind...

 

[Braver]

are you guys sure it's the day-night power thing? I mean, at might there's less traffic noise for instance. at night I always turn the lights out for music which helps in the "immersion factor". I always turn the volume down a few notches at night cause it sounds louder with less distraction (and louder is easily mistaken for better).

yes, it sounds better at night, but not because of cleaner power if you ask me.

 

[Apheared]

Sitting at the sofa facing the speakers, play some CDs and I can actually "see" the sonic picture/soundstage in front of me. That's something you can't do with headphones. I can pick out instruments, voices at the centre the bass is all around. Wonderful.

Aww, man, I'm sorry for you. This is -=WHY=- I listen to headphones. With speakers it's so rare that you get a "locked in" soundstage, and god help you re-find it if you shift, or go pee, or look at something else... it's also delicate... just changing the way you hold the magazine you're reading can change your perception of the sound.

Headphones, though. Bliss. Sorry you miss this effect.

And at night, I think it's the whole the-day-is-done thing... you're not concentrating on the 50 other things you should be doing instead of taking time out to listen intently to this recording... at night, it's your time... this is what you should be doing.

(Ok I'm not against the power thing either, I live in NYC and see it everyday... my halogen lights are brighter at 3am than they are at 10pm.)

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally posted by Apheared And at night, I think it's the whole the-day-is-done thing... you're not concentrating on the 50 other things you should be doing instead of taking time out to listen intently to this recording... at night, it's your time... this is what you should be doing. (Ok I'm not against the power thing either, I live in NYC and see it everyday... my halogen lights are brighter at 3am than they are at 10pm.)

I'll go with the power thing because I listen at home during the day when I work from home, and it's plenty quiet around here. And I know that, at least for me, there is almost never a "the-day-is-done thing" -- it's 6:21 a.m. Saturday here, and I'm still working (haven't slept yet, but am about to right now). And still my rig sounded better at night, up until a few weeks ago. Since going to balanced power, I don't really notice a difference between day and night listening anymore; and voltage drops haven't been an issue in my house during the daytime. This leads me to the conclusion that it's an AC line noise thing at my house that the balanced power isolator remedied.

So I still think it's a power thing for a lot of people.

Since I've had the BPT for three weeks now, it may be time for a review. I just have to find the time to write it soon.

Oy....off to bed now.

 

[BenG]

AC power is the public bathroom of power generation, during the day you get everyone else's crap(neighbors & everyone else between you and the power plant, roomates, family members' appliances generating noise), but at night you mainly have to worry about your own excretions

 

[BenG]

I finally got the go ahead to get an electrician to install a separate line(circuit). I don't know what I'm going to tell the electrician when he asks why I want 10AWG wiring or 20A industrial or hospital sockets, guess I'll have to open up the phone book and look for high-end contractors.

Then it's PS Ultimate Outlets or BPT for the icing. (or urinal cake, if you will)

 

[Apheared]

Hey, ya know, we try our damnedness to quantify everything, but maybe we're all just different. I think it sounds more detailed at night, and I'm using a portable source and a battery powered amp.

So it's radiated AC "pollution" maybe? I mean ask anyone that's ever been here, the first thing you miss or notice coming in/going out is that your body resonates at 60Hz... you can feel electricity on your skin, in the air, etc... it's tangible. (mommy, what's a terawatt?)

While that's true, see what I mean? We'll try to use any form of justification as to why, but always after the fact. You can twist anything to fit afterwards though. Does it get easier after you make multi-thousand dollar investments to prove something? Uh.. another thread.

I'm sure AC is both more stable and cleaner at night, even at your local neighborhood transformer... but wouldn't that also depend on your power supply for your gears? So gear with robust supply might be affected less than a cheesier one. Same for cleaner devices. I mean I run off batteries via an on-line UPS, so technically even if I plugged in I shouldn't notice a difference in day and night sessions. It's irrelevant if an add-on device like Jude's balanced power converter would make this even cleaner - it still shouldn't change in quality from daytime to nighttime.

Hmm. I think I'll stick with the original thought re: day vs night. Same thing as closing your eyes while listening, just stronger. I M O

 

[thomas]

I agree 100%

I'm sure there are differences between powersupplies, RF noise levels, and probably air density too, but at night you're also probably a lot more relaxed, allowing you to hear your equipment better.

Ever try darkening the room and closing your eyes during the day? i'm sure you'll also notice an improvement...

 

[davidcotton]

A mail order company in England called Russ andrews who do power thingies reckon that its the rf from the lights, so if you turn the lights out the rf dissapears.

They reccommend using candles in place of lights as it also adds to the effect.

Note BE CAREFUL IF YOU USE CANDLES.......

 

[Tim D]

My Beyer DT931 are sounding terrific this instant...and its about noon, and I have my air purifier on which totally kills the power lines. Lol...but ummmm maybe it has to do with the fact that my lazy ass just woke up a couple of hours ago. Music sounds really good after waking up for me too.

I think it would be silly to assume that our perceptions are constants like a machine. I'm sure our mood, mental, and physical health can affect our perceptions, and none of those things are constants. But it is true the quality of power is never a constant either.

Oh...and music totally sounds better when I'm lying in bed with no lights, compared to ummm sitting down looking at a monitor with 85hz screen refresh.

Who is to say our hearing functions are totally independent of the rest of the mind and body functions. I mean we already know that listening to music during or after working out can be really dangerous to your ears. I know if I work out hard I can get my ears to feel very weird in terms of pressure.

Just make sure any upgrade you make is beyond the level of mood shift/perception shift, and you'll be ok. Otherwise you coulda just smoked a bowl. Haha jk.

I try to justify crap too...cause I do also know I left my amp and tuner on with my headphones all night. But it could also just be my refreshed state of health/mind. Hmmmm maybe I should turn off the auto-off function on my amp and let it run forever? Oh and maybe the DT931 diapghrams being rubbery need to be broken in every single time before you listen to them otherwise they start to break-out.

Oh and sometimes I have huge shifts of volume even though I don't listen to anything really loud. BeyerDT931 are phones that sound much better when I can appreciate quieter volumes.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by Xander So, now my upgrade is: Denon CDP New Power Unit Thingy Headphone Amp

Um...shouldn't that be:

Listen at night
CDP
Power Thingy
Amp

MHO, Amp should go before Power Thingy.

My theory: different for different people. I think it's power and RF for most people, but I know in my case...well, I'm just more aware at night (not a morning person doesn't even begin to cover it). It's almost like being on awareness-enhancing drugs...w/o the drugs, of course.