Listening at Night vs. Day

[mcdonalk]

Some audio enthusiasts say that their systems sound better at night than during the day. My stereo system sounds better during the day than it does at night.

I almost exclusively listen to my system at night. On occasion when I have listened to it during the day, I thought that it seemed to sound just a little better than it did at night. A little smoother and spacious. If I accepted that this consistent experience wasn’t my imagination, then perhaps my ears were more “rested” and less “fatigued” during the day than at the end of a long day.

Several weeks ago, a friend dropped by during the day to hear my system for the first time. I had been telling him about Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony and its uncharacteristic cheerfulness for a Shostakovich symphony (and a striking contrast with his eighth, for sure!). So, I played for him a recording of that symphony, which I often listen to at night, and it brought tears to my eyes! For the first time! What phenomenon was this?

Several days ago, I was listening to my system around 10pm, and on this particular night, it sounded to me like it did during the day. I think that I have a possible explanation.

My house has a solar panel system with a battery storage system. Typically, the panels start producing electricity at around 8am. When the panels produce more power than I use, the excess goes to charge up the batteries. When the batteries are charged to 100%, the excess is sent to the grid for credit. Typically, the batteries reach 100% charge around noon. After the sun starts to descend, household power is sourced from the batteries, until the batteries are drained to a 50% reserve that is maintained for grid outages. (The 50% reserve is programmable; it would just as easily be set to 90% or 10%.)

So, on a typical sunny day, the system provides for home power for almost all of my “on peak” hours. During the summer, the system may provide all my power from 8AM to 7PM, after which power comes from the grid. In the non-summer months, the solar system will l provide power until midnight or later, because the air conditioner, the greatest sink of power, is not operating.

The solar panels provide DC current to an inverter, which provide AC current to the house. Similarly, the battery units (of which there are two) have integral inverters that deliver AC current to the house.

I have come to believe that my stereo sounds better when it is being powered from the house inverters than it does when it is being powered from the grid. On the night mentioned above, a summer anomaly occurred. A rainstorm kept outside temperatures very low for this time of year, and the air conditioner ran very little, allowing the battery reserve to power the house into the night, whereas on the previous and following hot days, power was sourced from the grid at this time of night.

 

[Doodski]

What audio amplifier(s) are you using?

 

[boselover61]

What cables are you using

 

[diddley]

I think we are being fooled again here

 

[Doodski]

I think we are being fooled again here

It's possible, I hope not although I was thinking the system mains voltage might be different for night and day. It probably is. If the amp is a linear power supply type then that would have higher or lower output power dependant on the AC mains voltage during the day or night.

 

[Another Bob]

This is something that is very difficult to prove/disprove because you can't do blind A/B testing of day vs. night listening. The evidence (see Amir's recent reviews) indicates, however, that the quality of the electrical feed does not matter in most cases - i.e. with typical modern components. Other differences in day vs. night listening, such as levels of ambient acoustic noise and the listener's mood would probably far outweigh any effects of changes in the power.

 

[Sombreuil]

Couldn't it just be that you're (probably) more focused at night than during the day?

 

[Doodski]

the quality of the electrical feed does not matter in most cases - i.e. with typical modern components.

I agree although if the peak voltage of the AC mains is reduced it will affect the amplifier total power output. The user has a fair amount of electronics in his solar system and the inverter might be outputting higher or lower voltage than the power company. It could be splitting hairs like you say.

 

[Chrispy]

Beliefs can be weird things.

 

[Cbdb2]

I agree although if the peak voltage of the AC mains is reduced it will affect the amplifier total power output. The user has a fair amount of electronics in his solar system and the inverter might be outputting higher or lower voltage than the power company. It could be splitting hairs like you say.

A 20% drop in mains voltage reduces the max power by less than 3db. If the OP is using that much power he needs a higher power amp.

 

[Cbdb2]

This is something that is very difficult to prove/disprove because you can't do blind A/B testing of day vs. night listening. The evidence (see Amir's recent reviews) indicates, however, that the quality of the electrical feed does not matter in most cases - i.e. with typical modern components. Other differences in day vs. night listening, such as levels of ambient acoustic noise and the listener's mood would probably far outweigh any effects of changes in the power.

Details on the inverter would help. Is it pure sine? It might be cleaner, and some audiphool amps have terrible PSRR.
Scope the different AC. Than scope the rails of the power amp with different AC. Than FFT the amp out.

 

[Chrispy]

Vague subjective experiences are only so fascinating....that said I've generally when living in big city with mucho noise difference between day/night indeed preferred a night time session....where I am now where there's little difference not so much altho am a night owl and just think generally I prefer late night for much of everything....

 

[Frgirard]

Some audio enthusiasts say that their systems sound better at night than during the day. My stereo system sounds better during the day than it does at night.

I almost exclusively listen to my system at night. On occasion when I have listened to it during the day, I thought that it seemed to sound just a little better than it did at night. A little smoother and spacious. If I accepted that this consistent experience wasn’t my imagination, then perhaps my ears were more “rested” and less “fatigued” during the day than at the end of a long day.

Several weeks ago, a friend dropped by during the day to hear my system for the first time. I had been telling him about Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony and its uncharacteristic cheerfulness for a Shostakovich symphony (and a striking contrast with his eighth, for sure!). So, I played for him a recording of that symphony, which I often listen to at night, and it brought tears to my eyes! For the first time! What phenomenon was this?

Several days ago, I was listening to my system around 10pm, and on this particular night, it sounded to me like it did during the day. I think that I have a possible explanation.

My house has a solar panel system with a battery storage system. Typically, the panels start producing electricity at around 8am. When the panels produce more power than I use, the excess goes to charge up the batteries. When the batteries are charged to 100%, the excess is sent to the grid for credit. Typically, the batteries reach 100% charge around noon. After the sun starts to descend, household power is sourced from the batteries, until the batteries are drained to a 50% reserve that is maintained for grid outages. (The 50% reserve is programmable; it would just as easily be set to 90% or 10%.)

So, on a typical sunny day, the system provides for home power for almost all of my “on peak” hours. During the summer, the system may provide all my power from 8AM to 7PM, after which power comes from the grid. In the non-summer months, the solar system will l provide power until midnight or later, because the air conditioner, the greatest sink of power, is not operating.

The solar panels provide DC current to an inverter, which provide AC current to the house. Similarly, the battery units (of which there are two) have integral inverters that deliver AC current to the house.

I have come to believe that my stereo sounds better when it is being powered from the house inverters than it does when it is being powered from the grid. On the night mentioned above, a summer anomaly occurred. A rainstorm kept outside temperatures very low for this time of year, and the air conditioner ran very little, allowing the battery reserve to power the house into the night, whereas on the previous and following hot days, power was sourced from the grid at this time of night.

Your electronic gears with their power supply reformats the electric power to eliminate all noises.
Find in your audiophile beliefs why you have this feeling.

"brought tears to my eyes!" happens for me with my kh420 or my bluetooth speaker.... depending of my emotional state and my relaxation.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ac-distortion-noise-on-audio-equipment.25501/

 

[RayDunzl]

I hope someday to have my electricity supplied by a Fusion Plant, as it should be a good match for many artists to which I like to listen..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_jazz_fusion_musicians

 

[LTig]

If the OP listens at lower SPL in the night then Fletcher Munson explains why SQ is better during the day.

 

[mcdonalk]

Tonight at around 10:30PM, I was listening to Shostakovitch's first piano concerto as I was reading, and it caught my attention, and I thought, that sounds better than usual! I checked the status of my home solar/battery system, and sure enough, the house was being powered from the battery storage and its inverter. The battery storage has been lasting later into the evening lately, since it is getting cooler here, and the AC is running less. Up until recently, this time of night, the house would typically be running from grid power.

 

[Andysu]

I hope someday to have my electricity supplied by a Fusion Plant, as it should be a good match for many artists to which I like to listen..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_jazz_fusion_musicians

fusion hi-fi power that'll do it

 

[DVDdoug]

I agree although if the peak voltage of the AC mains is reduced it will affect the amplifier total power output. The user has a fair amount of electronics in his solar system and the inverter might be outputting higher or lower voltage than the power company. It could be splitting hairs like you say.

Only if you are pushing the amplifier beyond its limits and clipping. And there would be (probably obvious) distortion. More or less voltage doesn't affect the volume or output unless it causes (or eliminates) clipping. And if the voltage is dropping enough to affect the amplifier (which probably has a regulated power supply) the lights are probably dimming and there might be other electrical weirdness in the house. Lights dimming or flickering is often the 1st indication of a power problem.

I'd assume it's simply psychological and there are usually many other factors besides time of day that affect your mood and your enjoyment of music.

LED lights often also have a built-in regulated power supply and in that case they are also highly immune to power line variations.

 

[Mnyb]

I don't think there is an technical explanation at all , none of those factors like cleanness of power or whatnot influences sound enough .

It's in the meatsack in the sofa

1. habbits , SPL relaxedness coffe , maybe a beer ( or wine ) ligth conditions brigh or cosy .

2. hormonal rythm of the body .

3. Something else in the meatsacks brain any possible combination .

it's a very common experience so the explanation whatever it is is a human one . Our equipment is better than this .

 

[tmuikku]

Hi,

sound enters the ear canal, astronomical amount of data in form of nerve firings shoot toward unconscious parts of your brain, which does processing of the data. There is some data from all senses not just ear but sight, smell, touch and so on. Add in memories, effects of the day so far like current emotional state and adjustment the auditory system has done so far, all kinds of stuff mixed in and sound finally pops it out into your conscious mind as audio perception.

Very likely changes you hear are not in your gear, it's way more stable than your auditory system is. It's very important to understand that auditory system in our heads is very much part of the chain, last link between audio on a recording and conscious perception of it. It's not your conscious self that hears directly what enters your ear, but there is unconscious process in between, which you can do nothing about directly. You can test this literally by adjusting listening distance live when you do listen music, notice how perception changes although your gear stays exactly the same!

If you want to affect perception, the auditory system function, you need to do it indirectly, like by adjusting listening distance, or stabilizing your daily activities, like do critical listening only after good night sleep so that auditory system is likely in some relatively default state every morning. Same stuff happens with your other senses, like optical illusions, effects from psychedelics and so on, all kinds of stuff happen between your sensor and conscious perception of it. You "see" and "hear" dreams while asleep, things that are not related to signals from actual light and pressure sensors of yours at the moment.

This is also how your hifi dealer and marketing material sells you all the stuff, attribute everything to the gear when the end result is largely about your brain as well. Then they persuade you to "hear" things, it's not too hard, you can do it yourself as well. You'll get fooled until you realize it's your own brain that tricks you, and the tricksters use it against you until you take control of it. Until then, you are just a passenger.