Do you remove your glasses when listening to either live or recorded music?

GaryProtein · Oct 11, 2016

.

If you wear glasses, do you remove them when listening to either live or recorded music ?

Do you find glasses affects your listening to music in any way?

What effects if any do you experience?

es347 · Oct 11, 2016

..that may sound like a dumb question to some but yeah, I take off my glasses when listening but more often than not I'm perusing amazon for new music so the glasses must stay on..

GaryProtein · Oct 11, 2016

I'll give my impression after several people chime in.

dan31 · Oct 11, 2016

glasses off allows me to focus on listening easily due to diminished visual acuity. It's an interesting effect.

NorthStar · Oct 11, 2016

For live music I always keep them on. Live music is an aural and visual experience, to me as a spectator, and as a performer too.

@ home for strictly music listening I never wear them on. ...And neither when playing musical instruments myself.
...With other people (music listeners or/and musicians)...@ home, it depends.

bonzo75 · Oct 12, 2016

I don't have glasses so I don't remove them, if that helps. But I do sometimes close my eyes to see if I perceive perceive differently

Rodney Gold · Oct 12, 2016

Considering Im working on a laptop or using roon to browse at my listening position for maybe 3-4 hrs a day and I need reading glasses , I tend to listen with glasses on when listening to recorde music not so with live tho
The ones I favour now gives me better bass with them than without them
I make sure the glasses I do use have no effect and do not modify the ear shape ..ie thin arms
I dont find the laptop or glasses affect imaging and soundstaging for me at all

Ronm1 · Oct 12, 2016

Live! I tend to keep them on, especially if I'm any distance from you player(s).
Recorded! Only if I'm reading something.

Barry2013 · Oct 12, 2016

I am fortunate in only needing reading glasses and they tend to come off if I am listening and reading and something sounds very good. If I am just listening glasses always off as they get in the way of enjoying the music.

treitz3 · Oct 12, 2016

Critical listening - Off
Most any other listening - On

Tom

Sammy T · Oct 12, 2016

Most of the time my glasses are sitting up on top of my head while listening to music. I flip them down only to see across the room or change a record. Need them for live music performances .

slowGEEZR · Oct 12, 2016

Mostly, I leave them on. Whenever I take them off and critically listen, I hear no difference.

Fiddle Faddle · Oct 12, 2016

Well I pretty much need them now for everything (multifocals - I am short sighted, long sighted due to age and have astigmatism) and I do like to read the notes / record covers / audio magazines when listening. So they stay on. I do not hear any difference however, with them on or off and if anything for some strange psychological reason, I feel I need to preserve my proper distance vision even when I am just listening to music. Don't ask me why! Years ago I always felt I had to listen in total darkness too. These days I don't care!

es347 · Oct 12, 2016

..enough with the glasses, how about your undershorts?

Rodney Gold · Oct 12, 2016

You mean you don't go commando ? Much more swing that way....

DonH50 · Oct 12, 2016

I wear them to see the performers live. Generally not when listening because I get tired of having them on my face. When performing, I actually wear contacts and low-power reading glasses so I can see the music clearly and at least make out the weird guy at the front of the band/orchestra waving his hands.

Old eyes, old ears...

NorthStar · Oct 12, 2016

An important point in the equation that Gary didn't mention is this: http://www.readers.com/blog/glasses/eyeglass-prescriptions/

Nearsighted vs. Farsighted

Nearsighted
Nearsightedness can occur if the cornea is curved too much or if the eyeball is too long. Nearsighted individuals have difficulty seeing far-away objects. Picture it like this: A child who is nearsighted is able to read a book well but has difficulty reading the chalkboard. Nearsighted prescriptions are signified with a minus sign and they increase at intervals (diopters) of 0.25.

Farsighted
People who are farsighted can see far-away objects with no problem, while close-up objects are blurry. Farsightedness occurs when light that enters the eye focuses behind the retina instead of on it. A prescription for farsightedness always has a plus sign.

Many farsighted individuals only wear glasses while reading or doing something up close. For this reason, reading glasses offer a practical solution for people who spend a lot of time concentrating on close-up material.
_______

I'm farsighted; passed approximately two feet I see blurry. But within two feet I see excellence.
So it is also very dependent of each type of vision from each individual. ...And between Live music @ a concert hall and @ Home from the audio reproduction music system chain.
Plus, what we do in addition to listening to music @ home...between active and passive.

So the answer is not simple as black and white. And there are also contact lenses.

GaryProtein · Oct 12, 2016

When I listen at a live performance, sometimes I wear my glasses if there is something specific I want to see clearly, but most of the time I do not wear glasses at a concert.

When I am listening at home, I listen in moderate room lighting. I find my glasses to be a complete distraction. I don't read while I listen to music, so I don't need my glasses. They don't affect imaging, frequency response or anything else, I just don't like wearing them when listening to music.

If I had contact lenses, I would keep them in. It's the frame and outline of the lenses that I find distracting. I have tried contacts, but don't like the feel of them.

NorthStar · Oct 12, 2016

I wear titanium "Silhouette" eyeglasses. The lenses are scratch-resistant made of ultra light plastic.
They are supra extra light...only few grams; you don't even feel them after a while.
I only wear them to drive, to go out, to watch live music concerts and movies.
I have a pair of 3D active glasses that are also very light, and they fit nicely on top of my titanium frame.

For music listening @ home I never wear them. I cannot wear contact lenses, I had an accident many years ago to my right eye, and it is permanently damaged and wouldn't accept any type of contact lenses...it keeps dropping tears. The iris, right in the middle is scratched.
______

I know a guy, with perfect 20/20 vision, and when listening to music he wears glasses, pitch dark black that you can't see through...they make him go totally blind. He's an audiophile, he looks like a rock star on tour. I asked him about the weight; if it bothers him after a while he simply uses a black scarf. :b

GaryProtein · Oct 12, 2016

NorthStar said:
I know a guy, with perfect 20/20 vision, and when listening to music he wears glasses, pitch dark black that you can't see through...they make him go totally blind. He's an audiophile, he looks like a rock star on tour. I asked him about the weight; if it bothers him after a while he simply uses a black scarf. :b

If I was inclined to wear a black scarf, I would just wear a fleece lined black leather blindfold. At least then, the distraction of something around my head would be replaced by some excitement!

Your glasses look interesting. I'll check them out.

Do you remove your glasses when listening to either live or recorded music?

VIP/Donor

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member

VIP/Donor

Well-Known Member

Member

Member Sponsor

Member

Member Sponsor

VIP/Donor

Super Moderator

Well-Known Member

Member Sponsor

Member

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member

Member

Member Sponsor & WBF Technical Expert

Member

VIP/Donor

Member

VIP/Donor

Similar threads