I like listening to music at night with lights off, less distractions. I Like using just my ears and of course with a nice glass of red close by.
The Farad Super3 LED is a bit bright, I must do something about that one.
Anyone else enjoy this?
Images below shows what I see with the lights off and what it looks like in daylight.
An alternative is using one of the sleeping masks that also give a bit of accupressure the the eyes and keep them shut without effort. Completely dark, and it is an interesting way to listen without even turning off the lights.
I like to use small white button felts that you buy to place under items like lamps to protect from marking up coffee/end tables. The smallest ones stick over bright LED bulbs and still allow a bit of diffused light to pass through, so you get a bit of a glow instead of a headlamp-in-your-eyes. And the adhesive is usually mild and doesn’t stick to your gear when removed.
my typical serious listening approach.....about 40% of the time......anytime of the day or year. my eyes resting but not shut tight. allows my mind to reach the 'zen' place. i'm relaxed and in a comfort zone. and this works if i have visitors too, they can navigate in the room, but find their own state of comfort.
if i'm digital 'only' (close to bed time) then those LED lamps above the tt's and RTR decks are off. and those LED's are not as bright as the camera is picking up here. unless i have a light colored pressing that gets reflective.
i don't care for pitch black listening, too distracting. your mind gets a bit defensive about what you don't know. it's the way we are all hard wired.
I like to use small white button felts that you buy to place under items like lamps to protect from marking up coffee/end tables. The smallest ones stick over bright LED bulbs and still allow a bit of diffused light to pass through, so you get a bit of a glow instead of a headlamp-in-your-eyes. And the adhesive is usually mild and doesn’t stick to your gear when removed.
I used a hole punch on some photographers blackout tape to make very small black tape circles which I used to cover some of my lights, but the rack is off to the side so I don’t really see them anyway.
I used to have cardboard sheets inserted into my amplifiers faceplate to cover the big Pass Labs oculus meter. Now with my new speaker positions, the speakers are in front of the amps so there’s just a slight glow in the front of the room and I do not see the lights directly. The amps illuminate the back of my speakers creating a soft glow.
LOL! I have many components back asswards now, so it is easy to swap cables and reach buttons. It also places the lights towards the wall where they provide soft, diffuse accents instead of pointed lasers. i think light amber is the best audio light. I put dark orange-amber LEDs into my Yamaha B2 and they really were the most relaxing types. I hate direct blue lights the most, but when shone onto the wall, they are OK.
IIrc the backlight on the McIntosh meters can be switched off.
But then again, when someone buys McIntosh gear, the pale blue light is probably a big part of the appeal