Are you a critical listener?

[monya]

What % of the time your system is active is spent in critical listening by which I mean concentrating on the music to the exclusion of everything else, eyes open or shut - whatever.
With me it's about 100%. If the system is on, I want to listen to what's being spun. If I want music as wallpaper I'll use the portable.

[SergeAuckland]

monya wrote:

What % of the time your system is active is spent in critical listening by which I mean concentrating on the music to the exclusion of everything else, eyes open or shut - whatever.
With me it's about 100%. If the system is on, I want to listen to what's being spun. If I want music as wallpaper I'll use the portable.

Ditto for me. I'm either listening carefully, or I don't bother. Background music is for lifts.

S.

[The Strat]

I'd like it to be 100% but there are times when I deliberately choose a CD (quite often a compilation) to have on while I go about other business.

Regards,

Lindsay

[penance]

Whether I want or not, I am mostly listening criticaly.
I often think I would get more enjoyment if I stopped the critical part. Maybe I should just stop thinking

[gthang]

If my system is on i'm sitting in the sweat spot.

I can't afford to run my amp for background listening, have a dab Roberts radio for that.

[Alexxus]

I voted 25-50%, but the truth is, I just don't know. I mean, I don't see that much difference in listening with my eyes closed or while cooking, for example. Even with my eyes closed I'm distracted by my thoughts quite a lot. On the other hand, I found myself listening very closely to music while I'm cooking, because I'm very relaxed when I do that and most of my brain watches so I don't chop my fingers off, so no distracting thoughts there. Granted, no sweetspot or any of that audiophile stuff, but somehow I don't quite miss it, sometimes. Must mean I concentrate on music, huh?

I don't have a portable, nor do I have a second system. I have an open plan ground floor, so I can listen to my system very well while I faff about. I enjoy the technicalities as much as the next person, but at the end of the day it's music I want to hear, it's making me sing that I want it to do and if in the process I happen to be amazed by the sound of the drum or the cymbals, or whatever, then it's even better. But primarily, I want music to make get in touch with my feelings, not make me analyse it. Not sure it makes any sense, but that's how I feel about it.

[Matt J]

I'm not quite set-up for critical listening as I'm in the middle of getting rid of a noisy laptop for a quiter desktop effort, although as above I find I don't miss out on much when not 100% listening critically, but I voted less than 25% for the sake of accuracy. I listen mainly whilst browsing the net, but it's deffo not just background lift music. shock horror, man capable of multi tasking!

[bigdur]

gthang wrote:

If my system is on i'm sitting in the sweat spot.

I can't afford to run my amp for background listening, have a dab Roberts radio for that.

Sat in the sweat spot? Sounds disgusting

[whizzkid]

I have more than one hobby so to enjoy them all I do them at the same time, so its really one of pragmatism and as Matt says I can multitask quite easily.



Dean...

[gthang]

bigdur wrote:

gthang wrote:

If my system is on i'm sitting in the sweat spot.

I can't afford to run my amp for background listening, have a dab Roberts radio for that.

Sat in the sweat spot? Sounds disgusting

you'd like it, it's warm and sticky

[monya]

Alexxus wrote:

I voted 25-50%, but the truth is, I just don't know. I mean, I don't see that much difference in listening with my eyes closed or while cooking, for example. Even with my eyes closed I'm distracted by my thoughts quite a lot. On the other hand, I found myself listening very closely to music while I'm cooking, because I'm very relaxed when I do that and most of my brain watches so I don't chop my fingers off, so no distracting thoughts there. Granted, no sweetspot or any of that audiophile stuff, but somehow I don't quite miss it, sometimes. Must mean I concentrate on music, huh?

I don't have a portable, nor do I have a second system. I have an open plan ground floor, so I can listen to my system very well while I faff about. I enjoy the technicalities as much as the next person, but at the end of the day it's music I want to hear, it's making me sing that I want it to do and if in the process I happen to be amazed by the sound of the drum or the cymbals, or whatever, then it's even better. But primarily, I want music to make get in touch with my feelings, not make me analyse it. Not sure it makes any sense, but that's how I feel about it.




A well balanced approach. You'r not as nuts as the rest of us er - me, I mean!

[spacey]

i too multi task.

[XJC]

SergeAuckland wrote:

I'm either listening carefully, or I don't bother. Background music is for lifts.

S.

Agreed!

Music demands to be listened to and should provoke a reaction.

I'm sure we all have other hobbies too but there is only one that you can focus on completely at any given time. I've always been into music then hifi, cycling ,rugby,most sports actually,bikes, old cars and women. or is that cars and old women?

It is impossible to devote yourself to them all.

Each one that is a passion will get your love and full attention periodically. A passion is a passion and by it's very nature, the word means briefly.

The female of the species claim they can multi-task. Multitasking means that you are not doing any one job to the best of your abilities. They do not seem to understand this.

Multitasking is the epitome of passionless.

X.

[Alexxus]

XJC wrote:

A passion is a passion and by it's very nature, the word means briefly.

Multitasking means that you are not doing any one job to the best of your abilities.

Multitasking is the epitome of passionless.

X.

You know, I'm always amazed how sentences delivered in such a convinced tone get the ring of axiomatic truth. What makes politicians successful, I presume. Even if most of it is complete rubbish

From my point of view, of course Sorry mate, just couldn't keep quiet, all that stuff so completely does not apply to me.

[XJC]

would you care to elaborate?

X.

[whizzkid]

XJC wrote:

[b]

Multitasking is the epitome of passionless.

X.

Are you having a windup? Or are you incapable intellectually of doing more than one thing at a time? and understanding what you are doing, feeling, and ultimately experiencing because I am and so are many others. Now I'll spin this around, anyone who has to focus totally on the music above all else is intellectually challenged




Dean..

[rabski]

I always multitask when I'm listening, as I find that breathing and keeping the heart pumping are essential to musical enjoyment.

[tuga]

If/when I wish to listen to music I just sit down and enjoy it.
There may be music as background at the office but if I am focused in work then I am not listening to it (even though can I hear it).

Cheers,
R

[Tel]

Is critical listening sitting in the sweet spot being analytical and chin stroking (I do that)

or

Sitting totally lost in the music and noy analysing anything (I do that)

or

Dancing about in the kitchen singing along to the lyrics while chopping the veg (I do that)

or

Singing as loudly as possible with the volume cranked right up on a boring motorway journey (I do that)?

All extremely enjoyable

[johnnyesox]

Bit hard,critical listening this morning [Hawkwind live last night!]
Back on the vinyl at the mo',so there has been a fair bit of critical musing over the last week or so,probably more so when summit new is added into the system,in my case a fairly well specced LP12.
Would say I am in the 50-75% area most of the time though.