Why does my system sound different on different days?

[rom3]

OK, this thread is for fun, not out to prove or disprove anyone's opinions.

For a long time, I have noticed that, for music in a 2.2 configuration, my system sounds great on some days and "meh" on other days. Same seating position, same source, same music, same volume. Some days I sit and smile and say, "I've really got this dialed in now", and other days "where are the dynamics, where's the bass, maybe I need to run Audyssey again for the umpteenth time."

I sometimes wonder if this is the reason some people believe in breaking in speakers and others say not needed? You get your new speakers and set them up only to be underwhelmed. Then, after using the speakers for a few days, they sound much better. Could it be you had a "bad listening day" on day 1 and something changed a few days later?

Some things I've considered that might impact one's impression of how good the system sounds:

• Ambient noise (traffic, lawn mowers, HVAC system, babies crying, etc.), this seems obvious
• Stuffed up ears, have a cold or allergies?
• Mood?
• Barometric pressure. This one intrigues me the most. Could it be possible, that on a high pressure day, one's ears hear differently than on a low pressure day?

What does Audioholics say?


My 2.2 System:
AVR - Denon X4100W
Amp - Outlaw Model 5000
L/R speakers - Ascend Sierra Towers (RAAL ribbon tweeters)
Subwoofers - 2 X SVS SB2000

 

[everettT]

Source material? Even trying to compare apples to apples our ears hear things differently. And if identical source material is used , the difference would be your ears most likely

Good speakers reveal flaws in the recordings

 

[rom3]

Source material? Even trying to compare apples to apples our ears hear things differently. And if identical source material is used , the difference would be your ears most likely

Good speakers reveal flaws in the recordings

Good point! As mentioned above, same source, same music, and that is what I'm getting at. Why do our ears hear differently on different days?

 

[everettT]

Good point! And that is what I'm getting at. Why do our ears hear differently on different days?

I can pick out if someone adjusts my Systems, not sure I've ever noticed a difference with same source same system differences without a component failure

 

[Pyrrho]

Given your description of your situation, I would say that the most likely thing is your mood. Mood also affects your other perceptions, like what tastes good to you at a particular time. Sometimes, something savory is what one wants, and other times, something sweet. What changes is not one's favorite savory or sweet thing; what changes is one's mood, which affects what one will enjoy.

I have found that, when I am in the right mood, Jimi Hendrix is great. But in a different mood, I really don't want to hear him at all. The same type of thing likely applies to you and pretty much everyone else.

On days when you are not enjoying your system, try a different type of music, or shut off your system and go do something else that you would enjoy.

 

[MrBoat]

Some days, some people are just not in the mood to listen to music. Not me, but some people aren't.

I do vary my start up times though by as much as a couple hours. I make sure all the distractions are done for the day.

User break-in is much more likely than component break-in. Happens to me almost daily. I'd swear the speakers are warming up but it's just me. I'm ok with that.

 

[highfigh]

Our hearing is affected by almost everything- temperature, humidity, mood, air pressure changes, blood pressure....

 

[MR.MAGOO]

Some days, some people are just not in the mood to listen to music.

I love Sinatra, however on some days I really don't like to listen. Go figure.

 

[yepimonfire]

Some days, some people are just not in the mood to listen to music. Not me, but some people aren't.

I do vary my start up times though by as much as a couple hours. I make sure all the distractions are done for the day.

User break-in is much more likely than component break-in. Happens to me almost daily. I'd swear the speakers are warming up but it's just me. I'm ok with that.

Speaker break in is a real phenomenon, generally for woofers, the fs slightly changes as the suspension loosens up. Can’t remember where I found the video, but one guy tested the theory on a cheap GRS 10” sub, measuring the t/s parameters before and after, and found that the fs dropped by about 5hz.

Whether or not this translates to a measurable increase in bass or not (considering the cabinet tuning would be unchanged), I’m not sure. I’m actually about to test this theory. One of the woofers I’m my new Klipsch rp-160ms has a slight rattle at high excursion, so Klipsch sent me a replacement woofer. I haven’t swapped it out yet because I want to thoroughly break the speakers in. When I do swap it out, I plan on taking measurements of the other speaker with the broken in woofer, and the new woofer. After that, I will leave band limited pink noise (40-80hz) playing for 8 hours on the new woofer and then remeasure the LF response. Stay tuned for the results.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Humidity does change the speed of sound in air but it's not much of a difference. Same with ambient pressure. I suspect, however, that it's one of two (well, three) possible situations.

One, the power quality from your Utility won't be consistent from hour to hour, and depending on where you live, may be either pretty decent or severely compromised during high demand periods. If you like, you could buy a Kill-A-Watt meter and see if your voltage sags or the utility is under-capacity during high demand which will cause the frequency to fall below 60Hz. More of a potential problem where you have conventional versus switch-mode power supplies driving your components (likely the case for at least your power amp/receiver/integrated amp).

You are also tightly tied to your closest neighbour's power supply (everything after the transformer on the pole, which services more than one residence, or more than one unit in a multi-unit building or complex) and whatever they do can affect your power delivery or power quality.

Nasty possibilities are X-10 devices, any "data over power" devices, appliances with compressors (fridges, freezers) or motors (furnaces, washers, dryers), microwave ovens, especially if they are aged and working hard to operate, and any switch-mode lighting (CFLs, LEDs). They all will affect Power Quality on an intermittent basis.

Two, your components may not perform optimally until they reach stable operating temperature, which can take up to half an hour (rarely, an hour) depending on your specific equipment.

Speaker break-in is a one-time thing; once the materials have been exercised to achieve a "broken-in" state, they won't change much, if at all, for their lifetime. (And for the non-believers, the Theil-Small parameters will measurably change from when a new driver is first run up to the break-in point; so yes, it is easily measurable). But in your case very unlikely to be the problem.

The "third" possible situation is your state of mind, where the system may sound worse if you are not relaxed for whatever reason.

If you are willing to do a bit of work, you could download the Audio DiffMaker application (WindowsOS, free) and see if, and by how much, the system does reproduce music differently at various times. If there are Power Quality issues you should see something show up.

 

[MrBoat]

Speaker break in is a real phenomenon, generally for woofers, the fs slightly changes as the suspension loosens up. Can’t remember where I found the video, but one guy tested the theory on a cheap GRS 10” sub, measuring the t/s parameters before and after, and found that the fs dropped by about 5hz.

Whether or not this translates to a measurable increase in bass or not (considering the cabinet tuning would be unchanged), I’m not sure. I’m actually about to test this theory. One of the woofers I’m my new Klipsch rp-160ms has a slight rattle at high excursion, so Klipsch sent me a replacement woofer. I haven’t swapped it out yet because I want to thoroughly break the speakers in. When I do swap it out, I plan on taking measurements of the other speaker with the broken in woofer, and the new woofer. After that, I will leave band limited pink noise (40-80hz) playing for 8 hours on the new woofer and then remeasure the LF response. Stay tuned for the results.

That would be kind of weird to design speakers around though, I would think. Then when you start to think about how tight some of the clearances are in some of these drivers, a substantial amount of audible break in, along with the way most drivers are situated in cabinets with regard to gravity, you would think a driver would have to be situated just so to allow for a certain amount of sag too, or that they would have to be rotated 180 degrees periodically.

 

[lovinthehd]

Mood is the biggest factor I'd think.

 

[KEW]

Mood is the biggest factor I'd think.

Yeah, I think what our brain does after our ears feed it the signal is pretty significant.
Some obvious factors that will change our perception:
Fatigue
Caffeine
Alcohol
Pain (the music I can enjoy with a headache is a very small subset of the music I can normally enjoy)!
Excitement (essentially amphetamines released, even if they are natural).
I'd bet if "they" measured your brain wave activity while listening to music with a dog at your feet vs being alone it would make a difference (but maybe not in the same direction for everyone)!

 

[Bizarro_Stormy]

 

[zieglj01]

In general your mood swing -- and being tired or rested will play a part.

 

[yepimonfire]

View attachment 23112

I really hope I’m not the only person here who laughed hysterically at this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I am.

 

[2channel lover]

Source material? Even trying to compare apples to apples our ears hear things differently. And if identical source material is used , the difference would be your ears most likely

Good speakers reveal flaws in the recordings

Tell me about it.

Abraxas...the legendary album from Santana....I've heard more than one person tell me it was a bad recording. The B&Ws did reveal some distortion in some of the guitar licks, but it never really dawned on me as a big problem... the Salks did more than reveal it...it's doubtful I'll play the CD again with these speakers.

Some good news on that front...the SACD release promised to clean up the distortion...there are a few copies circulating and the reviews are good so that might be a Xmas present to self.

To the OPs point...a head cold definitely has some bearing on what we can hear on a given day.

 

[speakerman39]

I think in addition to our moods, is distraction. Some days my attention span is NOT near as good as on others. Likewise, at times I also have more patience than on other days. Coupled with our differences in mood and temperament, these aforementioned factors can result in the perception that out setups sound different on different days/times. That is, of course, all other things being equal albeit same source, speakers, and etc.


Cheers,

Phil

 

[Verdinut]

Speaker break in is a real phenomenon, generally for woofers, the fs slightly changes as the suspension loosens up. Can’t remember where I found the video, but one guy tested the theory on a cheap GRS 10” sub, measuring the t/s parameters before and after, and found that the fs dropped by about 5hz.

Whether or not this translates to a measurable increase in bass or not (considering the cabinet tuning would be unchanged), I’m not sure. I’m actually about to test this theory. One of the woofers I’m my new Klipsch rp-160ms has a slight rattle at high excursion, so Klipsch sent me a replacement woofer. I haven’t swapped it out yet because I want to thoroughly break the speakers in. When I do swap it out, I plan on taking measurements of the other speaker with the broken in woofer, and the new woofer. After that, I will leave band limited pink noise (40-80hz) playing for 8 hours on the new woofer and then remeasure the LF response. Stay tuned for the results.

When a woofer's suspension loosens, and this does not happen with all woofers, it will cause a decrease of the driver's resonance frequency. However, the changes in box performance are trivial. The reason this occurs is that the Fs/Qts remain constant before and after break-in. Some builders suggest adjusting the tuning of the box after break-in, but as already stated, the modification will not lead to really significant improvement in the driver's performance.

In his book, Vance Dickason suggests breaking-in a woofer, only to assure that a valid test sample is being used. If a bad voice coil rub or poorly glued surround or spider are going to be a problem, banging the woofer around with a reasonable amount of voltage at a frequency close to the Fs for 12 hours should reveal the flaw.

Source: Loudspeaker Design Cookbook -7th Edition