HELP Turning off the Left Brain


Its been over 25 years since I bought my first stereo. All my friends wanted wheels, I just wanted to play my records on something other than my parents stereo console. After spending over 25 years training my ears to distinguish between the tiniest differences in and between components, cables, room acoustics et al (and yes I believe for the most part it is a learned skill), I now find it very difficult to sit down and just ENJOY THE MUSIC without always critiquing the presentation. As a matter of fact, a lot of the music that I originally enjoyed when I was among the great unwashed masses, I can't stand listening to anymore. I always thought that at some point the equipment would allow the music to transcend the medium, but regardless of the quality of the presentation, the left brain always whips out the notebook.

Has anyone found a way to stop the madness?
Ag insider logo xs@2xmusicfirst
Two things helped me in this regard:
1) Assembling a system that sounds very consistent each time I listen to it. Not fussy, in other words; and
2) Listening to as much new music as possible. I find that I'm getting into the music more than into the analysis, if that makes sense. If I stick to the same familiar stuff, or reference discs, then I'm often comparing sonic qualities as opposed to just listening to the music.

And the third recommendation is to follow your moniker. Enjoy the Musicfirst!

Howard