What Do You Do?

[MylesBAstor]

When your system sounds bright of just plain off? Panic? Call an audiobuddy? Check or clean your connections? Check your tubes? Check your cartridge? Measure your AC line voltage? Or just write it off to having a bad day?

[Rob]

I turn it off and come back when my mood has changed, after a few glasses a wine or after going out for several hours with my kids/friends...works every time.

[MylesBAstor]

Guess you're not OCD!

[rockitman]

I think the human may be off on any given day versus the stereo system.

[1morerecord2clean]

I like the comments here. I truly believe that it ain't the system having a bad day. It's us. Sometimes I can find a recording that hits the sweet spot and facilitates a long listen and sometimes not. Sometimes I can find that sweet spot by changing from analog to digital, heaven help me. It happens once in a while. When I hit one of those off days the last thing I do is screw around and adjust things which don't need adjusting and when your mood changes you're in the badlands because you tweeked your system into a nasty spot.

[JCOConnell]

When something doesn't sound right, I double check the source by putting on known excellent sounding records. Van Halen I (rock) Something Else (jazz).

That 's what I do.

[MylesBAstor]

Yep good advice.

[Bill Hart]

Check stylus.
change record, per JC.
If still an issue, I'll check VTF or alignment.
If it is a 100 degree summer day, I'll often write it off to bad power on the line.
I typically don't leave tubes in place so long that it becomes a question, and when I'm concerned about them, there is usually a good reason, so I replace them. (Wow, you forget how good a nice a fresh set of power tubes sounds in the amp once you do).
Try not to drive myself crazy. Most problems have answers. And, many of you are right, sometimes it's mood or state of mind. But, I don't usually play my system when I'm not in a frame of mind to listen to it. So, that's usually not an issue for me, and on those rare occasions when I fire it up and start playing and realize, I'm not really in the mood, I'll shut it down. (Not because it doesn't sound good, but because I'm not in a mode/mood to listen).

[Rob]

As Bill said being in the right state of mind is key. when i was unattached with lottsa time on my hands id have 8, 10 12 or more hrs of non-stop record playing marathons. depending on whether I ate my Weathies that day, listener fatigue would set in early or late in the session. It never ended well, I could pin point every flaw in my system and would start to contemplate wholesale changes. system verification check-ups soon becomes the definition of insanity itself; doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.

[Garth]

At audio shows the method I have seen used the most often when listeners do not seem interested turn up the volume seems to be the go to method

[1morerecord2clean]

So you have actually been at shows where the audio wasn't near max already?🙀

[Steve Lefkowicz]

When I run into an audio show demo that is too loud, I simply ask them to turn it down. If they don't I leave. I don't need a headache when at an audio show, though I know I will end up with one anyway.

[Garth]

If you want to go to demo rooms where the volume is not maxed out already go early in the day when the demo guys hangover is still in full bloom. A good visual tip is how pale the demo guy looks near death look is a good sign he will not turn it up to loud.
Now if a audio reviewer walks in you lose your chair and Keith Moon takes over the demo.

[Alrainbow]

Our systems can change for many reasons as above shows. One I did not read above is power , using a regen as many do at shows can help this. If no changes to your system was done you can try to play ref tracks you know very well varying kinds as well. Meaning vocals an such.
Lastly some claim there power varies from one day to the next even through out the day. My psernonel view is our brain and mood. I have asked and posted on other forums
of this. As I am. Bad sleeper I may play music at odd ours
for me late night or wake in the middle of the night gives me the most details to observe
you will notice the same with your tv
i think it has to do with our brains being over driven all day with input. A fresh wake up for me yields best results
a final thought coffee or booze helps to a point.
Mood does greatly effect my feelings in this matter.

[JackD201]

Seeing as my system is very consistent, the rare time this happens it's usually because I've just spent hours prior in noisy or chaotic environments. Sometimes plain silence beats out music at the end of the day so I just skip listening altogether and just hit the sack

[cpp]

Change the music like JC. But most of the time, I just listen to music unless what I'm hearing is just plain horrid and/or the cat stars hollering some dreadful sound. . .Then its time to do some investigative research.

[Steve Lefkowicz]

If I'm listening to digital, I reboot the server, as Windows can often do odd things to the sound. If LP, I'll switch the record just to see what's going on. Since I so often have review gear in my system, if the system isn't sounding right, I'll put my regular gear back in to make sure the system is working okay. It often doesn't sound right on really hot days (probably power issues) and usually sounds its best on cold rainy days (a rare occurrence here in So Cal).

[MylesBAstor]

I put it this into the category of one experiment is no experiment. If the system sounds off the next day, then something is definitely amiss. But I know people that will tear there system apart trying to figure out what is wrong. Often that screws the sound up more than helps.

I think it also points to just how "tuned in" we are to the sound of our system using frequently played and familiar albums. Over the years, I've also developed a feel to identify the characteristic sounds of something going South or needing attention. To wit a tube on its way out or out. Sometimes it might take a power tube a couple of weeks to reveal itself but you know something is amiss: the top end or balance is off or dynamics are lacking. 6H30s really sputter and turn violet. Other tubes when they go microphonic, can introduce distortions into the music, especially in the mids or vocal ranges.

Many times when the system is sounding bright, it's telling me that I need to clean the connections, especially the power cords.

I've even had an occasion or two when Buddy, who loves lying on my cables, has largely disconnected the spade from the binding.