Three things I’ve learned about listening.

My routine of listening is 1) Ill play not so great recordings of music I like, and Ill usually acclimate to the sound quality or lack of. Usually a couple beers will help that. 2) Ill start off with not so great recordings of music I like then progress to my better quality recordings. Its like an instant upgrade.

No doubt my system has room for improvement, but  when high quality recordings sound really good, Im grateful for my system as it is.

@bikefi10 I do the exact same thing, but with wine.  

1) Ill play not so great recordings of music I like, and Ill usually acclimate to the sound quality or lack of. Usually a couple beers will help that. 2) Ill start off with not so great recordings of music I like then progress to my better quality recordings. Its like an instant upgrade.

Some of this may just be the equipment coming up to ideal operating temperature which does make things sound better.  My system takes ~half an hour to get good.

Try this...,

From a "cold" system, listen to a disk and after it is over, go back and listen to the first song again.  To me, it always sounds better than the first time (better imaging, less glare).

4) first:  stop talking. 🙊

"3. If it sounds really good, leave it alone!"

And what if one track sounds really good, and the next one, not so much?  There is so much variability in what the media presents.

Other than using eq, I’ve set my speakers up for a range of music by including 27 different "profiles" in the crossovers available at the flip of a couple switches.  You quickly learn what profiles work best with what tracks.