# Does music sound better at night?



## ViperVin (Mar 15, 2008)

What do you think?

I feel like the music sounds more full compared to day time listening. Could it be the dense air? less background noise? less light at night so increased auditory senses?


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## clbolt (Jan 9, 2008)

There's much less ambient noise at night, it's the same reason people generally listen to TV at lower volumes the later it gets.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

it's the women and the alcohol


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## Nitin (May 28, 2008)

i agree wholeheartedly with that ambient noise comment 

i have had people who have auditioned my setup - and it never sounded as good during the day as it does at night 

maybe its a placebo - but it does feel like it does sound better at night to me as well


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## saMxp (Jun 22, 2007)

Definitely agree with the responses. I finished up my install late at night, went for a drive to have a listen and was absolutely giddy with the sound. Woke up the next morning and during my commute to work, wasn't nearly as impressed.

Music sounds better with your eyes closed. So it's less auditory interference and less visual distraction as well.


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## MuTT (Apr 4, 2007)

I think it's placebo, I noticed mine seemed to sound way better at night, but put up a sun shade during the day and my little brain thinks it sounds better.
same effect as the blind person who hears better. your senses can only do so much, while one is concentrating on light the other cant concentrate as well on sound. completely wrong of course, but hey, it's my view and I'm sticking with it.


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## benny z (Mar 17, 2008)

a$$hole said:


> it's the women and the alcohol


"dude! have you heard my system?"

"dude! have you heard my system... ...on weeeeeeeeeed?"


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## CulinaryGod (Jun 5, 2008)

benny z said:


> "dude! have you heard my system?"
> 
> "dude! have you heard my system... ...on weeeeeeeeeed?"


lol. Gotta agree on this subject, at night audio systems just sound better. Not sure why. It's why when I get enough money I want to build a sound room that's completely dark and sit in total darkness listening to music just to see if this theory holds true.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

i know mine sounds better at night. it just sounds more "full". maybe it's from the drivers not being heated up by the sun? or maybe we're all just crazy


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## benny z (Mar 17, 2008)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> or maybe we're all just crazy


psycho acoustics...


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## Ziggy (Nov 29, 2007)

Consider that tribal gatherings occurred at night as well... 
We may just be geared to expect/appreciate the drum beat from dusk till dawn...
Nocturnal animals/insects kinda have a beat of their own.... 
Early humans were probably stimulated to chime in....
Then drums...
Then instruments!


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## benny z (Mar 17, 2008)

Ziggy said:


> Consider that tribal gatherings occurred at night as well...
> We may just be geared to expect/appreciate the drum beat from dusk till dawn...
> Nocturnal animals/insects kinda have a beat of their own....
> Early humans were probably stimulated to chime in....
> ...


interesting concept.

as contronversial as it is, music is very much spiritual. spriritual stuff is more active at night (think "dead time"...)...

maybe we are just more in touch with the spiritual world at night = more in touch with music.

deep shiz, yo!


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## JediMentality (May 7, 2008)

Totally agree with everyone. I find that I sometimes I wait till nightfall just to go out on a cruise and listen. During the day, it seems like there is so much more on your mind, so not only do you have all the ambient noise muffling the music, but also all the noise in your head. At night, I'm typically more relaxed and more easily moved by the music. It's similar to closing your eyes while listening as someone else mentioned.


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

id say no, 

my bump sounds the same at night as in the day.


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## matt62485 (Jun 7, 2008)

i think my bass hits harder in the summer as oppossed to other times of the year, but i agree with the night thing as well


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## JediMentality (May 7, 2008)

matt62485 said:


> i think my bass hits harder in the summer as oppossed to other times of the year, but i agree with the night thing as well


Could windows have anything to do with that?


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## EricP72 (Mar 23, 2008)

I actually think, and please don't laugh as i had to really think about this one  , But i think as humans, who by nature are hunters, at night we tend to be more alert. It seems that like other animals our senses just becomes more atuned to our enviroment. Have you noticed how most predators feed at night, their senses are more sensitive when there is less light. Humans being hunters and at times prey have become adapted to being more keen at night. kinda like how new mothers usally become light sleepers when they have a newborn. that with the fact that there is less noise at night may help with that. I also think light may decrease our other sense slightly as we now are using more visual information in our brains than at night. just my 2cents

edit: i found this...
http://www.edu.pe.ca/gray/class_pag...21/15sound/applets/RefractionofSoundWaves.htm


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## dirthog (Jun 21, 2007)

matt62485 said:


> i think my bass hits harder in the summer as oppossed to other times of the year, but i agree with the night thing as well


It does, there was a thread explaining why a while back.


I love driving around at night listening to some tunes! I think it does sound better.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

I say yes. Less distraction and more ability to listen to the music. 

Same reason competitors put carpet, etc over their windows when being judged.


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## DS-21 (Apr 16, 2005)

At home, I think music does sound better when it's dark. I think it's entirely psychoacoustic, because concerts are usually dark and at night.

In the car, music often "sounds" better in broad daylight with the top down!


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## matt62485 (Jun 7, 2008)

JediMentality said:


> Could windows have anything to do with that?


 no as the winters here dont get too terribly cold in the daytime i sometimes still ride with my windows down and a little heat on. as its comfortable to me.


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## michaelsil1 (May 24, 2007)

benny z said:


> interesting concept.
> 
> as contronversial as it is, music is very much spiritual. spriritual stuff is more active at night (think "dead time"...)...
> 
> ...


The Spiritual world is twenty four hours a day every day; just be more attuned to it. 

I would say music sounds better when we are less distracted by any of our other senses.


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## tcguy85 (Oct 29, 2007)

i enjoy mine more at night. sometimes during the day it'll sound a tad harsh, then wait till it gets dark then play the same song at the same volume and it'll sound much better. i do all my tuning at night when its dark and as quiet outside as can be.


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## dunnounme (Jul 30, 2008)

Does heat play a part in affecting the music or rather sound waves? I find it generally sounds nicer at night too. Our day here is around 91-93F. At night it's about 80F. Is that a myth?


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## tcguy85 (Oct 29, 2007)

dunnounme said:


> Does heat play a part in affecting the music or rather sound waves? I find it generally sounds nicer at night too. Our day here is around 91-93F. At night it's about 80F. Is that a myth?


heat does change certain T/S specs on the speakers themselves. some speakers get severely affected in the cold. that i can vouch for.

but i think the biggest reason things seem to sound better at night is simply light.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Heat/humidity generally messes with the speed of sound, IMHO it also alters "throw" which has NOTHING to do with the interior of a car.

I think it's mostly in the mind, your state. At night you are more relaxed and tolerant, you ears have also been thru more by that time. 

I feel more sensitive to dynamics at mid-high freqs in the morning.

One thing about judgment and tuning is to know yourself and spend a life with a rig.

Makes you wonder if you want to be judged early or late at an SQ comp eh?

How tolerant is the judge? How consistent?

Why I disagree with a SQ comp, after a while....... well... you know......


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## dunnounme (Jul 30, 2008)

tcguy85 said:


> but i think the biggest reason things seem to sound better at night is simply light.


The reason being light affects the sound waves or our brain waves, ie, embience, etc?


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## tcguy85 (Oct 29, 2007)

dunnounme said:


> The reason being light affects the sound waves or our brain waves, ie, embience, etc?


just our/maybe just my brain. its all in our heads.


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## Nass027 (Oct 25, 2006)

DS-21 said:


> At home, I think music does sound better when it's dark. I think it's entirely psychoacoustic, because concerts are usually dark and at night.
> 
> In the car, music often "sounds" better in broad daylight with the top down!


In home audio many "line conditioner"sellers and others use the old "there is less demand on the electrical grids", whether lights in every house,air con., dishwashers,washer/dryers etc.When the lights go out the grids are less taxed and should deliver more ??????(current aah....)I know for myself working nights that on days off and it's 1 a.m.,(in the basement sound room)my music never sounds that good in the daylight.Just a thought/opinion that was presented to me.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Nass027 said:


> In home audio many "line conditioner"sellers and others use the old "there is less demand on the electrical grids", whether lights in every house,air con., dishwashers,washer/dryers etc.When the lights go out the grids are less taxed and should deliver more ??????(current aah....)I know for myself working nights that on days off and it's 1 a.m.,(in the basement sound room)my music never sounds that good in the daylight.Just a thought/opinion that was presented to me.


Buy an amp with power factor correction 

The line conditioner crowd ain't wrong, but their ways of dealing with it certainly ARE. 

Correct the phase angle and you are set, show me a proven line conditioner that does this 

PFC is a REALLY big deal and one of the downfalls of the US energy "crisis."


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## dunnounme (Jul 30, 2008)

chad said:


> Makes you wonder if you want to be judged early or late at an SQ comp eh?
> 
> How tolerant is the judge? How consistent?
> 
> Why I disagree with a SQ comp, after a while....... well... you know......


There's a saying over here that the 1st car to be judged in a SQ competition never wins. Maybe a myth, maybe not. But true enough, we've not seen a winning 1st car so far, as long as I can remember. Maybe I'm wrong


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## Nass027 (Oct 25, 2006)

chad said:


> Buy an amp with power factor correction
> 
> The line conditioner crowd ain't wrong, but their ways of dealing with it certainly ARE.
> 
> ...


Aaah,i'll have to look on the old Sonic Frontiers and see if it has that switch. What is PFC,he said while waiting for an asswhoopin'?


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

dunnounme said:


> There's a saying over here that the 1st car to be judged in a SQ competition never wins. Maybe a myth, maybe not. But true enough, we've not seen a winning 1st car so far, as long as I can remember.


I tune Professional Audio gear..I NEVER tune in the morning! I'll tune 3 in the 10AM- afternoon and wear myself out and do wiring and strike in the morning but a morning tune never sounds right, it's our nature, Kinda like the primal days  There's a reason hunters prefer mornings, and it ain't because there are more rabbits and pheasants in the morning  We hear "better" then to survive.

Everything for that matter, ever notice less accidents on the freeway in the morning than in the afternoon? ****, I get off at 3:30 and see WAY less int he morning, includig trucks that ditched it overnight!


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Nass027 said:


> Aaah,i'll have to look on the old Sonic Frontiers and see if it has that switch. What is PFC,he said while waiting for an asswhoopin'?


What sonic frontiers  Did some tube amp repair for them, in fact my brother has one of their preamps!

Power factor, we derive our "power" from voltage and current, the phase angle of these TWO sine waves (single phase) should be EXACTLY 180 degrees out of phase. Now, look at the space between two of these sine waves.. that's the maximum power potential. Inductive loads cause the current and voltage sine waves to deviate from each other and become less or more "out of phase' when this happens the waves shift causing the area between these waves to decrease thus decreasing available power!

Voltage may look fine, but it will sag like a *****, bad power factor 

Europe actually taxes heavy industry on power factor destruction, it's caused bu loads such as motors, Electromagnetic ballasts, etc. 

There's a bigger picture than looking at your voltage, the phase angle between voltage and current is a BIG deal


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## Nass027 (Oct 25, 2006)

chad said:


> What sonic frontiers  Did some tube amp repair for them, in fact my brother has one of their preamps!
> 
> Yes Sonic Frontiers,a Line SE+ Pre.(modded by CJ) and a Power 2. I love 'em but no switch! Thanks for the explanation,i understand it.(i can't believe i said that but i do) You definitely are endless source of knowledge. Thanks for the lessons.Cheers.


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## Fatbloke (Jul 23, 2008)

DS-21 said:


> At home, I think music does sound better when it's dark. I think it's entirely psychoacoustic, because concerts are usually dark and at night.
> 
> In the car, music often "sounds" better in broad daylight with the top down!


Concerts are at night because the people who pay to go need to work in the day




benny z said:


> psycho acoustics...


This is likely, psychology will have a definite impact on how we hear things. Also energy levels (or more accurately tiredness) will affect how effectively things are processed. At night there is invariably less to process, less light, less visual stimulation and less background noise. Given that the human brain can only proess so much information at a given quality, reducing the amount of information you're trying to process that isn't relevant to what you're doing can only help.



dunnounme said:


> There's a saying over here that the 1st car to be judged in a SQ competition never wins. Maybe a myth, maybe not. But true enough, we've not seen a winning 1st car so far, as long as I can remember. Maybe I'm wrong


Over here going first in any judged contest is considered the hardest place to win from. Frequently because the judges may still be settling into the standard for the day, often because the marks require a certain level of 'what if the next ones are all better?' and partly because the concentration levels of the judge may not be what you would hope for.


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

does the tonality of your system change when you shut your eyes?

i doubt it

/ thread


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## dirthog (Jun 21, 2007)

It's a lot easier for me to picture the stage at night. Day time just has too many distractions more cars on the road, construction zones and thinking about a hundred things to get done before night comes.

Night is better.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

60ndown said:


> does the tonality of your system change when you shut your eyes?
> 
> i doubt it
> 
> / thread


I concur.



dirthog said:


> It's a lot easier for me to picture the stage at night. Day time just has too many distractions more cars on the road, construction zones and thinking about a hundred things to get done before night comes.
> 
> Night is better.


I do prefer the dark because it disables one sense and allows another to compensate, I'll even put a chunk of cardboard over the headunit when I'm parked in the garage.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

try this, Take some Viagra ... why ?

because the side effects are screws up your vision , blood pressure drops [ kind of a no-brainer there ].

temporarily heigthens your senses  

upside = all the women are better if you can't see as well


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## michaelsil1 (May 24, 2007)

a$$hole said:


> try this, Take some Viagra ... why ?



A great system should alleviate the need for Viagra.


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## grampi (Jun 29, 2007)

ViperVin said:


> What do you think?
> 
> I feel like the music sounds more full compared to day time listening. Could it be the dense air? less background noise? less light at night so increased auditory senses?


I don't know, but it most definitely sounds better when you're high.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

grampi said:


> I don't know, but it most definitely sounds better when you're high.


park on a hill FTW


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## michaelsil1 (May 24, 2007)

grampi said:


> I don't know, but it most definitely sounds better when you're high.






a$$hole said:


> park on a hill FTW


Good comeback!


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## Mark Eldridge (Jul 23, 2008)

Hey guys,

The fact is that we all hear things somewhat differently throughout the day. Your audio system doesn't change its sonic performance much, if at all, throughout the day. Humidity, temperature, etc, may have a very slight effect, but the human hearing system's sensitivity to sound changes much more over the course of a day.

Call it listening fatigue, frequency threshold shift, or any other number of terms... It all adds up to our hearing system sensitivity to different stimuli changing over time.

You may like listening ot a system more at night, likely because your ears have been exposed to sound all day long, and you have a frequency threshold shift that causes some aural masking, and you're not as sensitive to some aspects of the sound. When you listen in the morning, and your ears are fresh, you can hear everything better, even the "problem areas."

I've made the mistake on a number of occasions of tuning a car audio system late at night when I'm tired. I get the system sounding "good" for the evening, but the next morning, I give it a listen, and think "What the heck was I thinking last night???"

Just ask Manville and Ellen Smith about the 2002 IASCA Finals. I had been up for three days working on new front stage system in the 4Runner, and tuned it to sound "good" the night before the show. They listened to it after it had been judged, and got out with their eye lids peeled back because it was so bright (and Manville like it a little bright to begin with...). After getting some sleep, I heard exactly what they had heard, and it wasn't pleasant.

Hey, I enjoy listening to a system at night too. It can be a great way to unwind after a long day installing the system. But, my personal preference is to do critical tuning by ear earlier in the day. The results are more reliable and repeatable. I don't mind doing acoustical measurements with an analyzer later on, as the analyzer's response doesn't change over time. 

You can find some good articles on the web on this subject too. Search for listening fatigue, frequency threshold shift, aural masking, etc.

Mark Eldridge
Mobile Soundstage Engineering


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## demon2091tb (May 30, 2005)

Well i know at night in my car, less i can see more i can focus on the sound, ie better, and deeper, layers. Daytime everything around, including other cars and ****, are just distracting even sitting still in my driveway, less i see more i can put towards examining the sound.

In the home, at night the power is more leveled off and cleaner iirc in reading, depends on where your at though i think. Havn't heard any differences in my apt but did back at my parents house. IE small town compared to big city.

But yea night has alot to do with sound in my expereince....psychoacoustics = brain/ears/eyes.


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## michaelsil1 (May 24, 2007)

Mark Eldridge said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> The fact is that we all hear things somewhat differently throughout the day. Your audio system doesn't change its sonic performance much, if at all, throughout the day. Humidity, temperature, etc, may have a very slight effect, but the human hearing system's sensitivity to sound changes much more over the course of a day.
> 
> ...



Thank you.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

Mark Eldridge
Mobile Soundstage Engineering

Thanks !!


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## kimokalihi (May 27, 2007)

I think mostly it's just the fact that your mind is less distracted on all the things you can see while you're driving. There's less traffic but really I can't hear the traffic on my commute because it's 50mph road all the way to my work so the cars aren't close enough to hear.

On my way home from work I usually have my music playing pretty quiet or off. I enjoy the quiet time in the dark as I drive home. It's very relaxing and peaceful. You can just drive and think.


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## Mark Eldridge (Jul 23, 2008)

Visual cues can often be the major influence on what you hear. Even when you close your eyes, if you saw some things in and around the area that the soundstage is apparently located just before closing them, they can greatly affect what you "hear" for some time. It takes some time and practice to be able to listen without visual simuli affecting what you hear. 

Several competitors in years past would intentionally place small objects, flashing LEDs, gauges, or what ever, in locations where they wanted the judges to hear the images and the soundstage. This actually worked sometimes, especially with inexperienced critical listeners and judges. Problem is that most judging discs have many different recordings; some large expansive spaces, some very small and intimate, and everything in between. The apparent stage location will vary somewhat, and if the "visual cues" don't closely approximate the aural cues, the scores can become worse than they should be.

The really good judges however, have the ability to simply close their eyes and clear their minds quickly of any external visual cues. If you see someone listening to a system, and see their eyes closed, and they turn their head from left to right several times, they are likely eliminating those visual distractions from their memory so they can listen clean.

In my last post, I was refering only to actual aural cues from the audio system... Nothing visual, and disregarding external sonic distractions also. 

I definitely prefer a quiet, air-conditioned garage for critical listening to a car audio system over a traffic jammed 5 lane freeway, especially when I close my eyes to listen...

Mark Eldridge
Mobile Soundstage Engineering


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## fcarpio (Apr 29, 2008)

At night and when the cold AC has been running for a while. I guess low backgroung noise and denser air help move the sound along. I thought it was just me.


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## fcarpio (Apr 29, 2008)

dunnounme said:


> Does heat play a part in affecting the music or rather sound waves? I find it generally sounds nicer at night too. Our day here is around 91-93F. At night it's about 80F. Is that a myth?


I think you are correct. Heat changes the air density and sound waves travel through air. Blast the A/C and the air inside your car will become denser. Changing the medium in which sounds travel (air) will change the sound. That is why sounds travel further under water.


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## DaleCarter (Jan 3, 2008)

I still haven't heard any music sound better than Journey with my grilfriend in high school. I knew what happened every time "Open Arms" started woo hoo!!!


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

fcarpio said:


> I think you are correct. Heat changes the air density and sound waves travel through air. Blast the A/C and the air inside your car will become denser. Changing the medium in which sounds travel (air) will change the sound. That is why sounds travel further under water.


Ummm, it's more of a humidity thing, and the sole purpose of A/C in the sense in a car is to REMOVE humidity  Keep in mind A/C in the desert ADDS humidity as it cools via evaporation.

You gotta know you humidity, especially here when the dew sets at 75 degrees on an August summer night 

Chad


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

If you are riding in a well deadened car the outside interference can be negated in a park with shade


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## WLDock (Sep 27, 2005)

Nothing like listening in the car late at night with the car in the garage. Best possible in-car listening setting.


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## drocpsu (May 3, 2005)

Sure...it sounds better at night. I also have a special acoustic-enhancing power stone that you set on the middle of your dash. It's proven to enhance midrange and tighten up your midbass!!


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## tspence73 (Oct 14, 2008)

I too find my system sounds better at night. I have often thought that it has to do with inner-ear pressure and even resistance to fatigue. 

I've found listening to music in the morning is annoying and nothing sounds good, period. As the day moves on and my fatigue level rises, my ears seem to accept noises with less irritation. 

I've found that while driving around, as elevation changes and so does inner ear pressure. That has a dramatic effect on the perception of sound.


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## CAPO (Apr 12, 2008)

I think its because less people are out making noise. Trash Man, Cars Bumping sets pass the House, Car running exc


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## TREETOP (Feb 11, 2009)

dunnounme said:


> There's a saying over here that the 1st car to be judged in a SQ competition never wins. Maybe a myth, maybe not. But true enough, we've not seen a winning 1st car so far, as long as I can remember. Maybe I'm wrong



This is sad but true.

I judged IASCA Sound Quality in the early '90s, we were actually instructed to judge the first car "light" to use as a reference for the following vehicles. So there was no possible way for the first car judged to get close to a perfect score.


I hear differently at night than I do in the daytime like many of you, it's sometimes difficult to choose which hearing pattern to tune for.


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## straightpiez (Feb 4, 2009)

a$$hole said:


> it's the women and the alcohol


3 pages and sure to get longer and the answer was in the 3rd post.


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## fififirocks (Jan 22, 2009)

Well thanks to this thread its 4 am and I have to go for a cruise now just to appreciate the music... I definitely think it sounds better at night


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## ibanzil (Jun 29, 2008)

i completely go with the idea of vision contributing to it. How else could stevie wonder sing so badass? lol it is a fact that when you take away a sense, others get heightened. When im REALLY listening to music, ill put on my headphones and no matter what, unless I close my eyes, I am missing out on some detail of the song. 

- By the way...getcha some AKG K701's. if something sounds too sharp or im questioning the tone on a song im hearing in my car....i put those bad boys on and get my answer pronto.


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## VP Electricity (Apr 11, 2009)

Heat softens up the door speaker cone if you have a poly cone.


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## Vega-LE (Feb 22, 2009)

It could be cold during the day, but my system stills sounds better at night. It has to be a brain thing. I notice the nicer the weather (@ night) the better it sounds. Summer nights always make-it sound the best. It's a brain thing.


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## Bobby32 (Jun 7, 2009)

Way more quit and subtle at night, so yeah bumpin at night is way better


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## alexbass311 (May 28, 2009)

I'm sure background distractions have a lot to do with it, but I really think denser air could contribute as well. Sound will travel faster and theoretically preserve the wave form better through a denser medium, however a sealed box would need more power to achieve the same volume level.


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## gijoe (Mar 25, 2008)

Majik said:


> I've thought about this on many occasions...and my theory, which I have explained to others when I have to tell them exactly why I want to wait until it's "dark" for when I have them 'truly' listen to a particular song or track in my car.
> 
> My theory is this:
> 
> Think of a blind man. He has an acquired sense of hearing that is much more sensitive than you...a person that can see. We naturally rely on our strongest sense...the one that we can gather the most information from in the fastest way possible. When it is dark, we are much less visually stimulated and our auditory sense automatically adjusts and becomes more sensitive. It's an inert reaction of the human function which compensates for the lack of visual information received so we are more aware of our surroundings.


Everyone has there theory, my problem with this one is that; If it has to do with our sense of hearing being heightened at night, wouldn't we also hear the imperfections more clearly, therefore making it sound worse? We'd hear all of the little problems with our settings and that would make for a worse sounding car. 

I think it's more a sense of comfort. At night, in nice weather, our minds are more at peace. Without the noise and distractions of the day, we are more relaxed and therefor more easily influenced in a positive way. During the blazing heat of the day, with the noise and stress and speed of life, we are much more likely to be irritable. At night we can just enjoy the music. 

That's my theory. I don't know that temp/humidity really play a significant role in this. I think it's just the state of mind that comes with being off of work, with nothing to do but enjoy the music.


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## chozar (Feb 14, 2008)

Everything sounds better when there is less noise out.

One other thing I've found is that your level of stress can really effect your ears. At the end of the day, you may be less stressed but more alert. Noise in the early morning, and late at night, can be much more stressful.


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## suitcase (Apr 4, 2009)

chozar said:


> Everything sounds better when there is less noise out.
> 
> One other thing I've found is that your level of stress can really effect your ears. At the end of the day, you may be less stressed but more alert. Noise in the early morning, and late at night, can be much more stressful.


I agree, it's probably more psychological and physiological than just the environment itself.

There's lots of research that proves that external stimulus affects the way that we perceive sound.


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## chozar (Feb 14, 2008)

I'm also concerned for long term hearing. When you listen to 3 hours of music, things start to sound bad near the end. I limit myself to one album length of music a day.


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## Deton Nation (Jul 3, 2009)

YEs. And I believe the reason is less visual stimulation. When I am at home doing serious listening I like to be in the dark. hehe.. So at night there are less visual distractions in the car and you can focus better on the sound. Less processing to the eyes, more to the ears. And that might be instinctual too.. as the previous poster suggested, because we have to be aware and since your eyes dont work so good, the ears are enhanced.


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## GlasSman (Nov 14, 2006)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> i know mine sounds better at night. it just sounds more "full". maybe it's from the drivers not being heated up by the sun? or maybe we're all just crazy



Placebo effect....and lack of sensory overload.


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## benahn (Apr 24, 2009)

have you ever noticed that some nights you can hear the trafic on a road thats a half mile away just prefectly and other nights you cant. the two bigest factors are less overall niose late at night and barometric pressure. if you can hear the trucks on the highway real well it is getting ready to rain or you have very low barometric pressure. humidity plays a small role too.


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## darkfenix101 (Mar 22, 2009)

mos def


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## fischman (Jan 3, 2007)

benahn said:


> have you ever noticed that some nights you can hear the trafic on a road thats a half mile away just prefectly and other nights you cant. the two bigest factors are less overall niose late at night and barometric pressure. if you can hear the trucks on the highway real well it is getting ready to rain or you have very low barometric pressure. humidity plays a small role too.


I agree with this. I've noticed music sounds best at night and on rainy days. I've always thought it had something to do with the barometric pressure, but wonder about the true phyics of it. Very interesting conversation though.

Josh


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## Wheres The Butta (Jun 6, 2009)

FYI it's not physics, it's our expectations 
as someone said already psychoacoustics accounts for most of it

are there differences between day and night? sure
do they matter in a sound-deadened car with the windows up and the air conditioning and radio on? not really.


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## ixi (Jul 26, 2009)

Would you rather see your favorite band during the day or at night? Of course it sounds better at night. With less distraction to other senses it makes it easier for music to paint a picture in our minds. Easier to focus.


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## fischman (Jan 3, 2007)

I can see the point of less distractions and less noise. However I don't think that can explain it all. I've gone out into the country here in Iowa where you can lose yourself completely, parked and closed my eyes to listen to music and focus and it just doesn't seem the same as when I'm cruising at night or hanging out at a buddies at night with the stereo hitting. It just seems like even with distractions at night, like a bunch of friends hanging out and talking, the music still sounds better. Who knows, psychoacoustiscs is an interesting field. 

Josh


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## ehorn (Sep 3, 2009)

Typically the ambient noise level is lower in the evenings and low light tends to heighten our sense of hearing.


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## Wheres The Butta (Jun 6, 2009)

ehorn said:


> Typically the ambient noise level is lower in the evenings and low light tends to heighten our sense of hearing.


this is part of it

however, go to an outdoor party at night.

there can be tons of lights and ambient noise, and the music will still sound better than daytime

it might just have to do with circadian rhythm, but I also think alot of it has to do with our mental and emotional state at that time of day.

the way you guys are analyzing this with physics and such completely misses the point - it's like asking why a symphony is beautiful and then trying to explain it with charts and graphs.


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## meelo (Jul 2, 2007)

maybe it's when i'm half-asleep when i turn on my system when i go to work and when i go home i'm fullly awake so i can concentrate better....who knows....but it does SOUND and feel better at night


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## SoundChaser (Apr 3, 2009)

It does sound better better at night. Maybe smoking at night has something to do with it?


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## DanMan (Jul 18, 2008)

ixi said:


> Would you rather see your favorite band during the day or at night? Of course it sounds better at night. With less distraction to other senses it makes it easier for music to paint a picture in our minds. Easier to focus.



I saw the Grateful Dead in the Phoenix desert 20 years ago. I had seen them many times for years previous, but never in broad daylight. While enjoyable, it paled in comparison musically.

Then again acid was better at night, too.


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

To all those that think that music sounds better at night due to listening's fatigue... What if you had a nighttime job, would music sound better in the morning? 

Great way to bring a thread back to life... Thanks Kelvin (not)


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## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

I don't know about night vs day but temperature for sure. Mine sounds better when it's warm without a doubt.


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## huggy54 (Apr 13, 2012)

subwoofery said:


> To all those that think that music sounds better at night due to listening's fatigue... What if you had a nighttime job, would music sound better in the morning?
> *
> Great way to bring a thread back to life.*.. Thanks Kelvin (not)


Talk about blast from the past, lol. And IMO music always sounds better at night


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## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

Simphony always plays with lights on, why do you think is that?


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## co_leonard (Aug 14, 2009)

This actually makes it tough to tune vehicles for SQ competitions. 

Most of my buddies who join have day jobs, so tuning is done in the evening. But the competition is usually held during the day. 

Here where I live, it is very hot and humid during the day. So we do basic RTA and fine-tuning at night, then additional adjustments at the event just before judging.


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## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> i know mine sounds better at night. it just sounds more "full". maybe it's from the drivers not being heated up by the sun? or maybe we're all just crazy


you all definitely are, Ever being in symphony, I guess not as classical music always played with lights on.





Psycho acoustics has nothing to do with it, human vision is about 80% of surrounding information, if turned off your brain forced to substitute visual information input with audio, learn to listen and you will never notice lights on or off. Try listening to thishttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4N5-OALObk 
greatest American conductor of all times, Leonard Bernstein. 
or this



 I always test my sound system with classical, preferably piano music, slight distortions easily detectable on piano music. The Best of Chopin - YouTube
Every jazz festival I`ve been on played with lights on as well.

Listen to thisPL833C997FAFDD79BE, best violinist ever on the very best violin Niccolo Paganini used to play Giuseppe Guarneri`s Il Cannone Guarnerius violin, that instrument valued at $4 millions today.


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## Earzbleed (Feb 10, 2013)

Bit of a late reply but I found this thread while googling, due to an experience I had yesterday. Finally got the T.A. just right (to my ears anyway) so I was paying careful attention to the clarity of the music on my drive. I started off in the late afternoon and it was dark by the time I was half way home. Damned if the music didn't get just a tad clearer once it got darker. I thought I'd noticed this before over the years but it's hard to tell for sure when you spend the drive fiddling with the eq. This time everyhting was right so I didn't change anything during the drive.


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## fcarpio (Apr 29, 2008)

How about this? Could it be air density? For the most part it gets colder at night and the air becomes more dense. This will make it better at transfering sound. You know, water which is a lot denser than air transfers sound way better. 

In Florida during the summer it gets pretty hot and humid, and I do believe my car sounds better when I have the A/C at its minimum temperature (just not blasting). 

Not scientifically based, just a though (with a sprinkle of placebo).


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## Libertyguy20 (Jun 6, 2012)

Its always cooler at night here in FL 

Speaker characteristics change with change in temperature. Additionally, sound travels faster at higher temperatures and slows down at lower temperatures. While these variations may be very slight, it still alters the arrival times of sound waves at your ears thereby changing the TA of each driver (despite the same settings), thereby altering phase, which can then alter FR let alone sound stage characteristics (i.e. imaging). its all interconnected

I had asked this question about temperature in a previous post. See my thread below....great links and resources were given by others:

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...mperature-sound-waves-measurement-if-any.html


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