Does Your Stereo Help You Manage Stress and/or Anxiety?

[harmonica2]

I am curious to know whether or not other audiophiles rely on their audio equipment to help manage stress and/or anxiety.

Thank you for participating!

[wgscott]

No choices are offered for the stereo being a source of stress and/or anxiety?

[Booster MPS]

I would say listening to MUSIC is my means to help manage stress. The gear is simply a means to an end.

[wanta911]

No choices are offered for the stereo being a source of stress and/or anxiety?

 

Yeah, judging by some of the threads around here I would say that this option would be appropriate on this forum

[Paul R]

Gods *yes*.

 

Of course, the number one stressor around in a stupid stubborn inanimate object.

 

-Paul

[Ajax]

No choices are offered for the stereo being a source of stress and/or anxiety?

 

Thanks Bill, I've been reading the Ethernet thread and I needed a good laugh.

[groovybassist]

Definitely yes.

[Teresa]

I voted “I wouldn't make it through the day without the therapeutic benefits of my stereo.”

 

As many of you know I'm in a constant state of pain that prescription pain relievers only minimize. When I sit down and just listen to music and close my eyes, it takes me away from my pain for awhile. Without music I likely would be dead.

 

Wgscott, I find people strongly disagreeing on how any part of their stereo sounds and why, can cause stress and/or anxiety. Signing off the internet and listening to music is a relief from that.

 

Thus I agree with Booster MPS that listening to music is a stress reliever. My stereo exists to play the music that I love.

 

Paul I agree SSIOs (stupid stubborn inanimate object’s) are the number one stressor on internet forums. Great acronym you came up with!

 

Ajax, the Ethernet thread is a train wreck. How many people posting there are going to try the $250 AudioQuest Vodka Ethernet cable if they pass the ARS test? Personally, they are way out of my price range.

[sdolezalek]

Thanks Bill, I've been reading the Ethernet thread and I needed a good laugh.

 

When you sit back and relax and just listen, music can significantly influence your mood, attitude and thinking, instead of stress and anxiety you get peace and reflection.

 

Then you come back and read some more of the Ethernet thread and your blood slowly begins to boil ... But, I think the reason it does is that there are seeds of information and knowledge in that thread (and in so many others here) that could really advance our collective knowledge and thinking on audio, but they require one important ingredient that the human ego keeps getting in the way of:

 

The willingness to admit that you might be lacking of full knowledge and that others might positively contribute to a fuller knowledge and that you, if your views are phrased and framed appropriately, might similarly contribute to the fuller knowledge of others.

 

Whenever the volume of "you are wrong" writing exceeds that of "you might have something there" writing, threads become stress and annoyance inducing. Contrast, for example, some parts of the thread on vibration isolation (which admittedly has its share of I'm right you're wrong), but generally contributed hugely to my understanding of why isolating your equipment from vibrations is important and what various means of doing so might be or not be.

 

That is why we must balance our time on CA with our pure listening enjoyment of music...

[harmonica2]

I would say listening to MUSIC is my means to help manage stress. The gear is simply a means to an end.

 

I think it is widely accepted by mainstream medicine that listening to music can reduce stress and/or anxiety. But does an audiophile-class system do an even better job? Is this one of the main benefits that attracts people to this hobby? Is this why our forum threads sometimes spin out of control? Does this help explain why our members are willing to spend a lot of money on incremental improvements in audio quality?

 

These are some of the questions I had when I submitted the poll.

[Jabs1542]

I think it is widely accepted by mainstream medicine that listening to music can reduce stress and/or anxiety. But does an audiophile-class system do an even better job? Is this one of the main benefits that attracts people to this hobby? Is this why our forum threads sometimes spin out of control? Does this help explain why our members are willing to spend a lot of money on incremental improvements in audio quality?

 

These are some of the questions I had when I submitted the poll.

 

I have several systems throughout the house and the main stereo is the one that always pulls me into the music and takes me away from the stress. How about others with multiple systems, do all of your systems have the same effect or does the "main rig" work it's charms best?

[Allan F]

"Music has charms to soothe a savage breast,

To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak."

- William Congreve, The Mourning Bride, 1697

(frequently and mistakenly attributed to William Shakespeare)

[harmonica2]

I have several systems throughout the house and the main stereo is the one that always pulls me into the music and takes me away from the stress. How about others with multiple systems, do all of your systems have the same effect or does the "main rig" work it's charms best?

 

I only have one system, but when comparing high-quality components, I definitely consider to what degree the sound provides a calming feeling. Once a certain level of detail is achieved, that's all that matters to me.

[Paul R]

I have several systems throughout the house and the main stereo is the one that always pulls me into the music and takes me away from the stress. How about others with multiple systems, do all of your systems have the same effect or does the "main rig" work it's charms best?

 

Oh yes. What would be the point in owning them otherwise? They are all calable of that, and provide satisfying musical experiences. They are not all terribly expensive.

[bluesman]

How about others with multiple systems, do all of your systems have the same effect or does the "main rig" work it's charms best?

I'm with Booster MPS - it's the music that does the trick. Right now, I'm listening to Buddy Emmons (RIP) streaming from my work PC through an old Sony clock radio in my office. I'm already looking forward to getting into my car in a few hours for 30 minutes of uninterrupted music through its OEM radio (we have great classical, jazz, and alternative HDFM stations in Philly). Even listening to music in the car works wonders, and I arrive home already feeling great (OK, maybe just less not great...) no matter how burdensome the day was.

 

Once I get home from work, I stream something from JRMC to the tablet on my bedside table while doing my evening workout in the bedroom. We listen through our main system with a glass of wine before dinner, eat, then unwind in the den while listening through our far-from-high-end HT system (in-wall Speakercraft AIM7s, small Yamaha powered sub, Pioneer Elite receiver). Unless I really "need" a fix, I'm fine with any system.

[Jabs1542]

I'm with Booster MPS - it's the music that does the trick. Right now, I'm listening to Buddy Emmons (RIP) streaming from my work PC through an old Sony clock radio in my office. I'm already looking forward to getting into my car in a few hours for 30 minutes of uninterrupted music through its OEM radio (we have great classical, jazz, and alternative HDFM stations in Philly). Even listening to music in the car works wonders, and I arrive home already feeling great (OK, maybe just less not great...) no matter how burdensome the day was.

 

Once I get home from work, I stream something from JRMC to the tablet on my bedside table while doing my evening workout in the bedroom. We listen through our main system with a glass of wine before dinner, eat, then unwind in the den while listening through our far-from-high-end HT system (in-wall Speakercraft AIM7s, small Yamaha powered sub, Pioneer Elite receiver). Unless I really "need" a fix, I'm fine with any system.

 

I hear you but it sounds like you are describing the joys of background music. I can't even read while listening to my main rig at a reasonable volume level, it just pulls me away from whatever I am doing and drags me into the music. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy music as much as the next CA member, that's why I have 6 zones at home, but there are differences between background music, listening, and being totally immersed.

[Paul R]

I hear you but it sounds like you are describing the joys of background music. I can't even read while listening to my main rig at a reasonable volume level, it just pulls me away from whatever I am doing and drags me into the music. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy music as much as the next CA member, that's why I have 6 zones at home, but there are differences between background music, listening, and being totally immersed.

 

Sure thing - but it is to some degree or another, a learned response. When you are a musician playing in a performance, you can be totally immersed in the performance and yet be hyper aware of your own performance. Multi-tasking, of a sort I suppose.

[coot]

I totally agree with 2 posts:

1. I Don't buy music for "background". If I have music on I listen to it else don't have it on.

2. I identify with post 2. I spend way too much time reading posts about system add-ons and players, etc., etc. I've reached the conclusion just get an Aurender and be done. What I want to be assured of is that an Aurender will give better SQ than a suped-up Mac Mini.

[Paul R]

I totally agree with 2 posts:

1. I Don't buy music for "background". If I have music on I listen to it else don't have it on.

2. I identify with post 2. I spend way too much time reading posts about system add-ons and players, etc., etc. I've reached the conclusion just get an Aurender and be done. What I want to be assured of is that an Aurender will give better SQ than a suped-up Mac Mini.

 

Hard to say, but you will be hard pressed to get anything to sound a whole lot better than what you have now Coot. Different yes, but better is debatable. I would love to have those Ohms of yours.

 

-Paul

[coot]

Thanks for your comment, Paul. My point is that the music is certainly soothing, but dealing with the technicalities of getting to the listening are really frustrating. Finding out I'm not as savy as I thought.

[Jimmypowder]

Not if I'm playing Guns N Roses .

[harmonica2]

I take this topic seriously, but this video on managing anxiety (care of The Onion) really cracked me up:

[bluesman]

I hear you but it sounds like you are describing the joys of background music.

Not at all.....listening is the primary activity most of the time. For example, I check out new (to me) music much of the day while working. I stop to focus on any piece with a hook, but I do let the stuff in which I have little interest serve as background until it's over. I'm fortunate that my work these days is largely creative - I'm developing new predictive analytic models for healthcare, and I'm building collaborative businesses with innovators for my academic medical center & university. Listening to music helps me relax and clarify my thoughts. So even though I do it episodically, I work more efficiently and with less wasted time.....more thinking means less redoing. When I was in practice, I had a good system in my office and took music breaks. Now that I've retired from surgery and my office is in a university building, I find that I'm almost as happy with the sound from my old Sony clock radio. At least it has megabass!

 

As for exercising, I hate it with a passion. I've never gotten the endorphin rush people claim makes working out a thrill for them. I tried running for a few years, and I was bored out of my mind until I started dragging my Walkman with me. But I want to live, so I work out twice a day most days. I just have to put my body on autopilot and lose myself in music to get through a session without quitting after 5 situps or pushups.

[harmonica2]

There's a lot of coverage this week of a new study that found that surgery patients who listened to music felt less pain and recovered more quickly:

Sutures With A Soundtrack: Music Can Ease Pain, Anxiety Of Surgery : Shots - Health News : NPR

Imagine the results had one of us has set up the sound system!