Maximizing goosebump factor from Hi-Fi systems?
- Thread starter TechieHub
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For goose bumps. Start from making room ambient noise spooky quiet. Super low system noise floor is also in the menu. The rest @MikeL could be so kind to give the essentials. Following his advices and one day the wife see the bill, that will definitely get you the greatest goose bumps. 
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yourself. and no, the wife part does not cause goose bumps. OTOH maybe an occasional bruise or two. for sure a very serious eye roll.
honestly there are many paths to goosebumps from HiFi. i read about visitors to certain rooms at Munich mentioning that, particularly the Western Electric Classic Speakers with Silbatone Valve Amplifiers. maybe listening with others causes a collective experience that amps up the goose-bump threshold. i know in my own room there is that extra emotion with visitors all tuned into the same special moments. you can feel the sparks fly in the vibe.
i think we all have own own private goose bump moments when the moons align and barriers get broken down.
maybe we have gear and certain recordings that on a good day where our minds are right we can predictably reach 'goose-bump' levels. when i had the ML3's in my room there was a different sort of discovery of what that might be.
hey, it might be Peter and ddk on some ridgeline in Utah, freezing their asses off, and dreaming a little. what might be could trigger goose bumps.
For me, it's all about harmonics. There's a reason we love harmonies in music because IMHO it taps into our emotions. In hifi land, this isn't just about the played harmonics, but the harmonics thrown off by instruments in addition to the played note. The more a hifi system can capture this (and who knows - maybe even add to it), the more it's likely to get me having goosebumps. A good example would be Freddie Hubbard's cornet playing on Herbie Hancock's Cantaloupe Island - on the right system it blooms with harmonic structure and really makes the spine tingle!
I had only too few times goose bumps in concerts.
the ones I remember :
- Itzhah Perlman : that day I discovered my ears had such capabilities. 800 people stopped breathing. Never heard anything similar, even with other great violinists. Was probably the combination of a unique moment and my own condition. Also I was on the 5th row. Was hearing everything, nuances and energy.
- 10% of the operas I saw. All happened when I was very close to the scene. 1st row or 1st balcony. The energy of the singers combined with the full range of the orchestra were magical.
- never got goose bumps when I was sitting too far and missing the energy.
- I really enjoyed plenty of concerts, that did not goosen me ...
Never had goose bumps in hifi. Almost bumps only.
For me, this physical effect does come with a combination of musical emotions and physical energy.
Has to play fantastic records, loud, full range, full dynamics, very balanced. Harmonics and details, as mentioned, are very possibly required as well, but not sufficient, I fear.
the ones I remember :
- Itzhah Perlman : that day I discovered my ears had such capabilities. 800 people stopped breathing. Never heard anything similar, even with other great violinists. Was probably the combination of a unique moment and my own condition. Also I was on the 5th row. Was hearing everything, nuances and energy.
- 10% of the operas I saw. All happened when I was very close to the scene. 1st row or 1st balcony. The energy of the singers combined with the full range of the orchestra were magical.
- never got goose bumps when I was sitting too far and missing the energy.
- I really enjoyed plenty of concerts, that did not goosen me ...
Never had goose bumps in hifi. Almost bumps only.
For me, this physical effect does come with a combination of musical emotions and physical energy.
Has to play fantastic records, loud, full range, full dynamics, very balanced. Harmonics and details, as mentioned, are very possibly required as well, but not sufficient, I fear.
Elliot G.
Industry Expert
I get goosebumps all the time when my system is WARM ( over 50C on the M1.1) and the musical performance is right. It happens all the time or at least it did till I started tearing the system down to make room for the new gear LOL
and no, the wife part does not cause goose bumps. OTOH maybe an occasional bruise or two. for sure a very serious eye roll.
honestly there are many paths to goosebumps from HiFi. i read about visitors to certain rooms at Munich mentioning that, particularly the Western Electric Classic Speakers with Silbatone Valve Amplifiers. maybe listening with others causes a collective experience that amps up the goose-bump threshold. i know in my own room there is that extra emotion with visitors all tuned into the same special moments. you can feel the sparks fly in the vibe.
i think we all have own own private goose bump moments when the moons align and barriers get broken down.
maybe we have gear and certain recordings that on a good day where our minds are right we can predictably reach 'goose-bump' levels. when i had the ML3's in my room there was a different sort of discovery of what that might be.
hey, it might be Peter and ddk on some ridgeline in Utah, freezing their asses off, and dreaming a little. what might be could trigger goose bumps.
It happens too infrequently these days. In addition to a proper frame of mind, I think it's more the piece of music rather than the system.
Often it's pretty schmaltzy stuff. My latest goosebump episode came from Cecilia Bartoli's voice on "Pianissimo" from Andrea Bocelli's Believe album. Just transcendent for me. It'd probably be too much to ask others what their "goosebump" tracks might be?
Often it's pretty schmaltzy stuff. My latest goosebump episode came from Cecilia Bartoli's voice on "Pianissimo" from Andrea Bocelli's Believe album. Just transcendent for me. It'd probably be too much to ask others what their "goosebump" tracks might be?
A system that provides emotional connection and involvement with the music regardless of the gear.
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You can always start an new thread on this
There are already threads asking for other criteria so why not open one for your demand
Thanks for the encouragementYou can always start an new thread on this
There are already threads asking for other criteria so why not open one for your demand
. My threads here seem to lack legs but perhaps I'll give it a try cuz I'm always interested in new music thatmight do some thing for me....
Yes, definitely plus it is a kind of state of mind. You can have goosebumps from a "sound" of a system if it is something you were looking for, or it can happen because of the music and its emotional content. It used to happen to me sometimes when I was driving my car late at night and I was listening to a live radio broadcast on our national classic music radio channel.
First and foremost, I'd suggest focusing on growing one's ability to discern / interpret what they hear.
The last thing I would think anybody would wanna' do is get goosebumps over things one ought not get goosebumps over.
As they say, it's all downhill from there.
The last thing I would think anybody would wanna' do is get goosebumps over things one ought not get goosebumps over.
As they say, it's all downhill from there.
For goosebumps lower the room temperature to 60 degrees F
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