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How often is your system "good"?

In a recent article in Stereophile, the author wrote, "When my system is good, it forces me to appreciate artists and songs I'd never noticed before."
http://www.stereophile.com/content/schiit-audio-yggdrasil-da-processor-page-2#bQow2O0DxgbPdplw.99

My presumption is that the author meant that his system sounds better some days than it does others.   I think this is an accepted fact.  I believe my system does better early in the morning and late at night due to power constraints.  I have a voltage meter on one of my outlets and I feel better about the sound when the voltage isn't sagging.  

My question for readers here is how often is your system good?   And to what do you attribute the goodness of your system from one day to the next? 
mward
gs5556
1,209 posts
 
My guess is that reviewer would have had a whole different outlook if the Yggdrasil was encased in audio jewelry with a five-figure price tag. The price tag always puts a bias in one's head and a $2300 DAC automatically discounts it from being compared to the "state of the art" competition.

I have the Yggy. It replaced my four thousand dollar (1996 dollars) Theta Gen Va and it sounds better. The Theta was a contender back then and still holds its own today. 
terry9
2,210 posts
 
After I've changed something it always sounds better. Then, mysteriously, it declines and declines and declines.

I'm constantly recovering from the last "improvement". But, over time, the system actually does get better, each high point being a little higher than the last. Except when it doesn't, and I have to go back to where it was the day before.

The one constant is that electronics need an hour of warmup. Before that, the system is harsh and uninviting.

erik_squires
15,643 posts
 
In addition to mere "it's in your head" there's some tiny bit of evidence for actual psychosomatic effects. That is, the mind influencing your body to act differently.

It's been a very long time since I took Neurology but there are some muscles around the ear drum. If you have ever been in a situation where you were scared and MUST hear better, you may have heard them activate.

It is possible, but completely unstudied, that when audiophiles change something, they activate these muscles, improving their low volume hearing until their ears get tired and revert to normal.

Of course, you are free to disbelieve, but at least it's one plausible reason.

Best,

E
raymonda
855 posts
 
My system always sounds good, it is more of a matter of degree, or, good, better, best. That dgree is determined by my mood, choice of recording, time of day and ambient noise and distractions.
bondmanp
1,782 posts
 
Like raymonda, my system always sounds good, but source material quality has a huge impact on the sound, as I think it should.  That said, there are some nights when I am just not feeling it, and some nights when I can't stand to stop listening.  I guess there are many variables, but the other day I had Norah Jones' "Cold Cold Heart" playing from my server, and I had a stupid grin on my face, as I wondered how it could possibly be any better.  I am sure it could.  But, in the moment, that seemed to be nearly impossible.  And I did this with a much smaller investment than most audiophiles make in their systems.
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