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Wake up and smell the coffee

Psychobabble gives advice on dem ol' hi-fi blues

By John Groom

May 2004

Psychobabble is a column to explore the twilight zone of hi-fi. That strange place where the improbable meets the impossible, the fussy meets the obsessional, and the physical meets the psychological.

I have a new psychology client in his early 40s who has recently returned from hospital where he spent several months in a coma following heart surgery. When driving away from the hospital he was glad to smell the Auckland city diesel fumes. He was simply thankful to be alive and out of the hospital. He feels like he has a second chance at life and his enthusiasm is a joy to be around.

I was thinking of this client when I received an email this week from Craig, a Psychobabble reader. Craig opened up the question of why we enjoy some of our listening sessions more than others. It could be all to do with variations in power supply, but I doubt it somehow.

I suspect it has more to do with the mental state that we are in than the equipment. I wonder in a few months time if my psychology client will still be as enthusiastic about diesel fumes, as his enjoyment is so obviously related to the freshness of things.

Whatever gets you through the night

It is important in our hi-fi hobby to keep that sense of freshness. I suspect that a lot of my fiddling with equipment is not ultimately to do with improving the sound but just making it different enough to revive my interest. This is still a lot cheaper than buying new gear!

A friend of mine is going through an almost opposite experience. Hi-fi for him has a sense of staleness and, after being involved in hi-fi for years, he’s not enjoying it at all.

What should he do? Maybe he just needs to switch it off for a while and give himself a rest, as silence can be very healing. Maybe, like me, he needs to have several systems so that he can move from one to another depending on how his tastes vary. Maybe he needs to get out and have a life where the ups and downs of the hobby play a smaller part. Maybe he needs to up his Prozac level. Perhaps he needs to become a hi-fi tinkerer, so that when he is down he can enliven his interest by changing an interconnect or moving the speakers.

If all else fails he can do what we blokes have been doing for ages: go out and get himself laid and wasted. It seems to be a short-term fix to most things!

Be pure of heart

Coming back to my email from Craig, he has offered me hard earned Aussie dollars if I can help him to replicate those moments of hi-fi bliss. I do think that Craig is right, and sometimes our ups and downs in enjoyment are due to the vagaries of the power supply. I think the way to deal with this is to be philosophical, as I’ve tried a myriad ways to compensate for this process, all to no avail. The best thing is to work out the patterns and go with it. I don’t expect a decent sound before about 9pm here in Auckland and for some reason Sunday night is not great. 

Don’t forget to play

There are a number of ‘tricks’ that can freshen up the hi-fi experience some of my favourites include watering the earth spike, pulling all the connecting cables and plugs in and out half a dozen times (make sure the amplifier is turned off first!), flicking the mains switch on and off a few times, using a Denson demagnetizing disc and playing a loud bass heavy track at the beginning of the session. It can also be useful to switch off all unnecessary electrical equipment. In my last home I found electrical noise from a dishwasher, fridge, TV, electric toothbrush, overhead lighting and computer. The hi-fi sounded better with them off or even unplugged.

Be present

I suspect that great hi-fi experiences are a lot like great sex: best with someone you love. Invite a friend around who is not a critical hi-fi nut and concentrate on simply enjoying the music. It is best to have a relaxed attitude and to go with the flow. Most of us prefer subdued lighting.

Don’t expect much when you are tired, hungry or have a headache. Focus on the positive of what is happening and don’t worry about what is not happening. Try listening to music while you are reading, cooking, talking to a friend or just pottering around the house. A lot of dissatisfaction is simply caused by the intensity of the listening that we do. If all else fails apply alcohol. Someone once suggested that the best way to improve a system was with a glass of good brandy!

If you drink enough then you too might get to even enjoy the smell of diesel fumes.

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John Groom is a psychologist working in private practice on Auckland's North Shore. John has over three decades experience in both hi-fi and psychology.