Improving sound by regulating temperature, smell, sight and feel

Discussion in 'General Audio Discussion' started by proflitoto, Dec 3, 2015.

  1. proflitoto

    proflitoto New

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    Audio gear isn't limited to headphones, amps, players and files. For example, audio scientists know that ambient temperature impacts sound, due to the fact that temperature impacts the function of your eardrums. That's old news and can be confirmed by wearing your headphones on a 30F degree day both inside and outside. You'll see that the cold weather boosts your eardrum's sensitivity to bass and treble, thus creating a V signature. But leading edge science shows that what you smell, what you see and what you feel can also impact how music sounds.

    1. No serious audiophile should listen to music without wearing a suitable cologne. The full range of interactions is complex, but for example, lemony notes tend to bring out the treble, coconut notes are known to bring out the deep bass in music and the smell of a fine cigar boosts mid-bass.

    2. Similarly, what you look at impacts how something sounds. Contrary to popular belief, closing your eyes is not ideal. Instead, you should read something that doesn't require much effort, such as a phone book. This focuses your brain but without taxing it in any way, thus "opening it" for new information, the effect of which is to allow music to more fully penetrate the audible nervous system. Your headphones will magically produce more detail.

    3. Finally, what your skin feels is also crucial. You must match each listening sessions with the right clothing, possibly a massage, and for some songs, you should also get a persian cat to put on your lap and pet. Again a full list is beyond the scope of this introduction, but a soft cotton robe brings out the warm mid-range in vocals, a massage brings out the bass and the soft fur of the persian cat helps accentuate high-mid female vocals (I notice that many headfi/SAF users are fond of cats, likely for this reason although they may not have realized it until now). The scientific connection here is still being studied, but one can't argue with the results that you'll hear. Try a blind A/B test.

    Additional observations are welcome as we study the issue, but please, no recommendations involving smelling one's BO while watching pornography and touching one's genitalia, as headfi has exhausted that line of experimentation to death.
     
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2015
  2. Bobcat

    Bobcat Friend

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    I'll definitely go for the cat in the lap to pet! One of mine has bunny soft fur and it's very relaxing to have her in my lap.

    Rob
     
  3. GoldfishX

    GoldfishX Facebook Friend

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    Music raises my dopamine level. It offsets the misery of being at work.
     
  4. The Alchemist

    The Alchemist MOT: Schiit - Here to help!

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    Remember, sound is a pressure wave and is caused by vibration. Which made me think for a while why many of us think some sound sounds excellent while others may think a certain sound sounds horrible, not only in music, but in other sounds such as nails on a chalkboard etc. It is normal that each individuals ear canal is shaped a little differently from person to person, which could effect pressure waves and perhaps even an individual's eardrum can have an effect on sound and how it interprets pressure waves (sound).

    What is a Pressure Wave?


    Since a sound wave consists of a repeating pattern of high-pressure and low-pressure regions moving through a medium, it is sometimes referred to as a pressure wave. If a detector, whether it is the human ear or a man-made instrument, were used to detect a sound wave, it would detect fluctuations in pressure as the sound wave impinges upon the detecting device. At one instant in time, the detector would detect a high pressure; this would correspond to the arrival of a compression at the detector site. At the next instant in time, the detector might detect normal pressure. And then finally a low pressure would be detected, corresponding to the arrival of a rarefaction at the detector site. The fluctuations in pressure as detected by the detector occur at periodic and regular time intervals. In fact, a plot of pressure versus time would appear as a sine curve. The peak points of the sine curve correspond to compressions; the low points correspond to rarefactions; and the "zero points" correspond to the pressure that the air would have if there were no disturbance moving through it. The diagram below depicts the correspondence between the longitudinal nature of a sound wave in air and the pressure-time fluctuations that it creates at a fixed detector location.

    u11l1c2.gif

    The above diagram can be somewhat misleading if you are not careful. The representation of sound by a sine wave is merely an attempt to illustrate the sinusoidal nature of the pressure-time fluctuations. Do not conclude that sound is a transverse wave that has crests and troughs. Sound waves traveling through air are indeed longitudinal waves with compressions and rarefactions. As sound passes through air (or any fluid medium), the particles of air do not vibrate in a transverse manner. Do not be misled - sound waves traveling through air are longitudinal waves.

    http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/sound/Lesson-1/Sound-is-a-Pressure-Wave
     
  5. ulikmadik

    ulikmadik New

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    I'm kind of jealous of people with sound:vision synaesthesia. Perfectly timed visualizer along all of their music.
     
  6. SSL

    SSL Friend

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    Neato.

    Next time I sit down for a serious listen, I'll be sure to wear nothing but my bathrobe and a lemon-coconut cologne. Juggling a cat, lit cigar and phone book will definitely help focus my brain.
     
  7. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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