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AUDIO FORUMS >> General Discussion and Support >> Better at night?...
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Message started by Mark on 06/22/12 at 05:32:36

Title: Better at night?...
Post by Mark on 06/22/12 at 05:32:36

Alright... Since I'm still up, and listening to my sound system, I got to thinking about this: Why does it sound better at night?... Everybody knows it does... I mean, we know the power coming into our homes is cleaner in the wee hours when usage is low...

But how about the human factor?... If you think about it, humans have a very poor sense of smell... And our night vision sucks as well... So, why should we think, back in our evolutionary past, when it got dark outside --or inside for that matter-- that our hearing wouldn't have become enhanced?... You know, to keep us from becoming some other creature's midnight snack...

And perhaps even our circadian rhythms are set to make some of us hear better during the wee hours...

I'm sure things have been written about this, but I really don't want to look them up right now, as my eyes are not working very well, it being dark and all... (m.)

Title: Re: Better at night?...
Post by will on 06/22/12 at 15:38:25

No doubt that I get a greater sense of nuance, detail and the soundscape when the eyes have nothing much to do. I think we are so visual that that sense can be pretty dominant, occupying a lot of the mind's attention. My wife and I, our first several years as full time potters, we inadvertently segued into the night shift. Later we realized that it was because it was less distracting visually, auditory, and energetically, making it easier to focus on the work and get absorbed by it. I am not positive, but as far as I can tell, my power is treated enough that it isolates the line racket. So I think it is sensory allocation so to speak, which could easily be enhanced by the things you point to. After all, who do you know who thinks they are a great multitasker, and who does each of many things as well as they would have had they given total attention to it.

I love to hear the music in a dark, quiet room.

Title: Re: Better at night?...
Post by Lon on 06/22/12 at 15:44:56

Ever since I installed the Power Plant Premier and great power cords in my system (and before, when I had my P300 before it failed) I really haven't noticed much of a difference between day and night listening. I'm also at the moment "retired," not working, and so my evenings are not necessarily any different mood or emotionally than my days. I think the "late night listening better sound thang" is mostly source power related in my experience.

It can also be that in an urban environment sometimes the background ambient noise drops . . . the world's activity slows or stops and everything becomes more still and quiet. That can lead to "enhanced hearing," because there's less claptrap about. I know in my middle of the city neighborhood early Sunday mornings are almost eerily quiet, a great time to just drift and listen.

Title: Re: Better at night?...
Post by Mark on 06/22/12 at 16:56:43

I'm thinking of the word synesthesia right now... That's cross- sensations... I had a conversation with a respected audiophile once, and he said that he could 'hear' light... He explained that light was a sort of static that got in the way of hearing the music better...

From a physics point of view, there are more particles in the air at night. Since there are more particles in the air, the air is more dense and carries the sound waves faster and farther...

I still think it's a least in part due to our evolution... It makes sense that, if our sense of smell is not good, and our vision is not good at night, we would be genetically 'selected' for better hearing at night... (m.)

Title: Re: Better at night?...
Post by Lon on 06/22/12 at 17:35:39

Think of any word you want. :)

Actually I think there's a possibility that you're right about the evolutionary possibility. By the same token, it's been many centuries since man knocked other predators off their danger pedestals, and it's also possible that this "gain" has lost ground in that time.

Possible is possible!

Title: Re: Better at night?...
Post by sberger on 06/22/12 at 18:02:26

I get my PPP today. Looking foward to late night quality listening in the daylight.

Title: Re: Better at night?...
Post by Lon on 06/22/12 at 18:10:57

Awesome news! Let us know what you think. I think it's going to transform the sound.

Title: Re: Better at night?...
Post by dminches on 06/22/12 at 19:24:20

My guess is that it is a combination of things - cleaner power, it is probably quieter, people are more relaxed, etc.

Title: Re: Better at night?...
Post by Mark on 06/22/12 at 20:05:01

Right...

Let's see what we've got so far:

Title: Re: Better at night?...
Post by marky on 06/22/12 at 23:37:36

I`d go along with Lon...my Isotek power plant was an eye opener. I find night time listening enhances the receptors and have an idea that atmospherics change in the evening, you dont need so much volume, and when your day is done you allow yourself to become more accesible to cerebal pleasures.

Title: Re: Better at night?...
Post by rmt on 07/20/12 at 02:54:09

Cleaner power, less ambient noise, fewer distractions - yes. Vestigial DNA? I doubt it.

Title: Re: Better at night?...
Post by Mark on 07/20/12 at 03:57:46

Well, since changes take a long, long time, it seems at least possible that our genetic selves have retained some of our primal characteristics... I don't think we've changed our basic bodies much in the last 40,000 yrs or so... (m.)