Sound quality is an important part of the music listening experience. A great example of this, in my opinion, is the underappreciation of orchestral music. I firmly believe the reason a lot of people can’t get into this timeless genre is due to the horrible sound quality they’ve heard it in. They may actually like it on a system that reveals more of the intricacies and melodies in the compositions. Simply put, better sound quality allows one to hear more music and less murky garbage. This means that the more complex the musical arrangements—the more that’s going on in this music—the more the listener will benefit from hearing the music played through better—more revealing—sound, which will make better sense of it than bad sound will. 

But while sound quality is an important aspect of the music-listening experience, it’s not the only aspect. Good sound quality does not necessarily equal listening experience quality. As important as good sound is, it’s still just one of the determining factors of how good the overall listening experience will be. Believing they are the same thing and behaving accordingly is a trap many audiophiles set for themselves, because they see good sound as a panacea to all that ails their listening experiences, a belief that can foment a constant urge to upgrade. This is not an effective approach to the ultimate goal of this hobby, which is to improve our listening experiences. It is unbalanced, and ultimately ineffective, because it doesn’t look at the bigger picture.

It’s like audiophiles who obsess with the choice of speakers, but not much else. I’ve heard systems where 90% of the system budget went into buying expensive speakers, only to have them incorrectly placed and connected to inadequate gear that made them underperform. Such a lopsided system never sounds as good as one with more modestly-priced speakers carefully placed and installed, driven by quality electronics. Our hobby, as in life in general, is about achieving balance between the different elements that influence the whole. In other words, our hobby is based on the premise that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, which implies that all the parts should be in sync and work well together to achieve our goal.

So what elements affect the quality of the overall listening experience? Aside from the gear, there’s the room, and, well, us. The principles of balance don’t apply just to external forces, but to us, the participants in the listening experience. That means that, to achieve an optimal listening experience, we should pay attention to aspects of our life that invariably carry over into our listening sessions. One of them, for example, is our physical well-being.

Remember the adage that if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything? Well, that applies to audio, too, when our appreciation of what we listen to rests on our ability to enjoy it without disruption, including from our own selves.

Case in point: I have an audio system, built over many years of trial and error, that, to my ears, sounds nothing short of amazing. It contributes to the quality of my listening experience and the quality of my life.

But when I had a serious lower back issue two months ago, my enjoyment of music nose-dived, despite my system’s marvelous sound quality. The pain and discomfort prevented me from appreciating it. It turned out that the solidity of my system’s bass or soundstage could not compensate for the lack of solidity in my lower back. As the pain subsided, my enjoyment of listening to my system went up.

Other factors affecting the music listening experience? You name it: mental health, the status of our relationships, our financial (in)stability, our tiredness, our job, and, in my personal experience, the diversity of my other activities. I’ve found that engaging in other hobbies or leisure activities, such as reading books (not just audio reviews and forum posts), doing exercise, spending time with friends, etc., enhances my musical listening experience. How? By instilling a sense of balance and order to my life, which seems to produce the universal effect of making everything better.

Some leisure activities directly affect my music listening experiences. Meditation has trained me to better appreciate the moment—the here and now—so that I can better focus on the music. Exercising has given me strength, stamina, and less aches and pains. If you, like me, sometimes spend too much time sitting in a chair in front of a screen, then watch your back. It’s hard to enjoy listening to music to its fullest when your brain is being hit by pain spasms. In such cases, stretching exercises can improve your listening experiences!

Other activities that can enhance the music listening experience can be more one-off type things that elicit a powerful, temporary effect on our music listening experience, like when I surprised my wife with a bouquet of flowers. Her reaction supercharged my mood and improved my listening experiences for a week after that.

When it comes to our overall music listening experience, having great sound is great. But having a balanced approach is everything.