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auditioning sessions vs. listening sessions

By "auditioning" sessions I mean those times when your attention is directed, first and foremost, to how the system and/or CD/LP/etc. *sounds*, as a result of the combination of hardware and software being used; during such sessions you might get up from the listening chair to tweak the toe-in of the speakers by 1/2 an inch, or you might be swapping some new interconnects in and out of the system.

By "listening" sessions I mean those times when your attention is directed, first and foremost, to the music, in and of itself (particularly if the composition is new to you), and/or the performance of the music.

So my questions are: can one make this kind of a distinction? Is it desirable to keep these two kinds of sessions separate? If so, how successful are you in doing so? Do you have any specific strategies for achieving this? For you, does the one tend to seep involuntarily into the other? Would this seepage be a good or a bad thing?
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Showing 3 responses by newbee

newbee
4,751 posts
 
Listening to music I love always quickly turns into a 'listening' session.

Listening to music that doesn't really move me most always turns into an 'audition' experience. I find myself listening more to the sonics than musical content.

For that reason I never use music I love for auditioning equipment. I rarely use 'audiophile recordings' either because I have a tendency to attribute the 'recording technique's excellence to the reproductive qualities of the equipment.
newbee
4,751 posts
 
Detlof, You are so right,

God bless the grape! Off topic, sort of, my first real experience with wine tasting occurred on Thanksgiving day 10 years or so ago. My brother-in-law entrusted us with keeping 45 cases of California Cabs, 10 year old stuff he took delivery of from some wine futures. We didn't touch it til he came to Calif for a visit. We opened one of each brand and did a 'wine tasting'. I really gained appreciation for; 1)the small but important differences in wine, and 2) how an appreciation for the subtlies could eclipse any memories of the rest of the day! Wish I could say as much about some audio experiences. I still have 2 bottles left. My brother in law never took delivery from me! :-)
newbee
4,751 posts
 
An interesting thing happens to me that really differentiates an audiophile music session vs a musicophile session. I would never fall asleep in the former. Even if that were induced by boredom. :-(

But in the latter I can become so relaxed by the flow that I can close my eyes and just drift. When I also happened to be tired I've been known to just drift off. Not such a bad thing I think! :-)
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