Listening in the Dark (1 Viewer)

[Dan Hotch]

Have you ever noticed that your speakers sound better when the lights are off or turned down real low? (I bet it is those stray photons messing up the sound waves. )
Here's to listening (and drinking) in the dark. Something I haven't done sense college, but now that I got my Paradigms I find myself doing a whole lot more!

 

[Mike_Ch]

Dan,
Yeah I notice the same thing. I thinks its cos you're concentrating more on the music and less on the equipment (since you can't see it!!!). Since you also can't see the speakers, the imaging seems that little bit more tangible too. Or it might just all be my imagination
Cheers,
Mike

 

[MikeH1]

Its the same as turning off the TV when listening. I used to listen while watching hockey games (and still do) and notice a huge difference. Even if its a show I'm not really watching I find the sound suffers.

I like it better in the later evenings when traffic isn't so bad. Being in an apartment on a half-busy road the sound from the cars/trucks (and diesel buses), even with the windows closed took a lot away from the sound.

 

[SkiingNinja]

I've always thought that since your brain isn't processing all that visual stuff, you can concentrate on the nuances of music. Definately my fav way to listen to music (and drink

 

[JohnRice]

It it definitely true. It is a sensory deprivation thing. Your hearing is heightened when the other senses aren't being used so much.

 

[Miles_W]

I concur, another thing I noticed is try the looking at the volume with and without the lights on... I usually have to turn it down a little perhaps 5-6 db... Volumes that seem normal with lights on seem loud with the lights off

 

[Mark C.]

Never made it through a complete CD listening in the dark.

My eyes get heavy, I get more and more relaxed, and then

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[John Desmond]

Recreating a musical event in our rooms is of course an illusion. We're in a relatively small space that "looks" nothing like the concert hall. Our ears tell our brains that we are hearing music, our eyes tell us we're definitely not in the concert hall. Close your eyes or darken the room and we quit sending that mixed message to the brain. The brain is free to "imagine" that we are listening to "real" music.

I've also noticed that visual symetry seems to play a role in how a system images. I can have my speakers and listening position setup perfectly symetrical. IF I have a bunch of non-symetrical visual cues in my field of vision, it takes away from the accuracy of the image, (until I close my eyes long enough). I've tried to set up the front of my room to be very symetrical. Of course this is also acoustically a good thing for imaging.

 

[SkiingNinja]

Nice post John. I totally agree...I'm a big symetry man myself

 

[Larry B]

You may want to see the following thread:
http://www.hometheatertalk.com/ubb/F...ML/005137.html

 

[Philip Hamm]

Closing my eyes has a much more dramatic effect than turning the lights off.

 

[Matthew_Judd]

A girl I used to know thought it was "creepy" that I would sit by myself in the dark and listen to music. She was convinced that it couldn't be a healthy pastime .

 

[John Royster]

What? You guys critically listen to music with the lights on???

I honestly didn't think you were supposed to turn on the stereo without a candle or two and a glass of wine.
heheheh. Yeah, I can really "see" the stage in the environment I described. All the other visuals just take my mind off the music. I'm also one of those guys who listen to an orchestra with his eyes closed.

 

[Bob Marker]

As the Voice of Enigma suggests, I "turn out the lights, take a deep Breath,........and Relax."

Bob

 

[Miles_W]

Bob, they also suggest " for the next hour..." no where near that long unfortunately

 

[Bob Marker]

True, I think its more like 40 minutes.

 

[SkiingNinja]

Since we are talking about Enigma, I highly recommend (god- hate that phrase) all four albums...really good stuff
Sean

 

[Vlad D]

After reading this thread today at work, I came home, got a two glasses of wine, turned off the lights, sat on the sofa with my wife (our dog felt left out, so we let him climb up) and listened to Nina Simone. Sweeeeet!

 

[John Royster]

Life is good. music is good. stereo is one of those things I classify as "the finer things in life", right next to filet mignon and cabernet.

 

[Justin Doring]

I always listen in the dark and usually with my eyes closed (even though the single LED from my amp is the only light). I call it the $10,000 tweak (and that's NOT an exaggeration). It's much easier to be transported to the venue when it's completely dark.