reason why

[khenegar]

years ago i was diagnose with pulmonary fibrosis and heart failure and recently i have lost my interest in listening to music on my system consisting of martin logan summits, audio research components, vpi turntable. i cant explain why and i was just hoping someone could tell me why? i know u might feel this is not audio related. but maybe u can tell how to get back into listening to my system. with my situation it’s hard for me to get around and i’m on oxygen 24 hrs a day. thank u

 

[Robert D]

I have heart failure with an EF of about 25%. March 3rd I have a big surgery at Cleveland Clinic to have a bad lead for my defibrillator removed. It's a scary procedure that most doctors don't do. I'm guessing you have a defibrillator too?

Did you ever take amiodarone? That can cause lung fibrosis. I take Mexiletine instead.

Is your system part of a home theater too? How about watching some live concerts on your system? I bet the video stimulation to your eyes will spark more interest. Find some good bands you really love.

 

[Len44]

I think Robert may be on to something with his advice. Also, if it is Very Easy to listen to a variety of music you really enjoy that might be helpful as well. Probably -- and unfortunately -- less use of your VPI turntable. Just a thought... And, of course, best of luck getting back to all you enjoy.

And Robert, Best of Luck for a Terrific Outcome with your upcoming procedure.

 

[Robert D]

Another thing I notice about listening to music.If you do something you enjoy doing like browsing on the internet, reading, a puzzle, etc; then time really flies when you listen to your favorite music. If you come to a song you really like, you can stop what you're doing and really concentrate on just that song. So try doing a fun activity and have the music on at the same time.

One way I discover new songs is to listen to a radio channel on Apple music. You can enter the artist name you like then go to stations. The station then plays various artists' music that is of the same genre. I do that on my Sonos. Hearing new music that you like is something you can do that will greatly increase your music listening time.

 

[Lightloopy]

Living with a serious chronic illness is difficult on so many levels. Robert makes some great points.
I would only add to let your doc know how your feeling , as loss of interest in things you love doing could be sign of depression which is treatable. When treating complicated medical conditions, we sometimes overlook this aspect of well being.

Wish you both the best.

 

[user 10615]

years ago i was diagnose with pulmonary fibrosis and heart failure and recently i have lost my interest in listening to music on my system consisting of martin logan summits, audio research components, vpi turntable. i cant explain why and i was just hoping someone could tell me why? i know u might feel this is not audio related. but maybe u can tell how to get back into listening to my system. with my situation it’s hard for me to get around and i’m on oxygen 24 hrs a day. thank u

Hi Khenegar, sometimes I find I have no interest and music hard work (had depression a long while). However there are a couple of things that work. So if your only source is vinyl this may not help, when I'm off me music sometimes the thought of picking, opening and launching an album puts me off, however sometimes I manage the effort. This usually consists of this, that and the other album until one if lucky sparks me up again, and sets me on a path of listening, boy does it lift my spirits so Tenacity works. Luckily, I have all my CD's on a drive and now a good streamer (had one but not a very good user interface) so its easier much easier to listen to all sorts til something something clicks. Annnnd just in case you have something like Spotify listening to suggested mixes of tracks, or styles of music triggers the spark. Hope some of this helps waffle over! If all else fails there is a shop in my town that refurbishes and sells duke boxes ;-D

 

[Leporello]

Living with a serious illness can indeed be challenging. My little health problems are trivial compared to yours. But my experience is, music is one of the great joys of life, that makes it worth living. I hope you find your way back somehow. It doesn't have to be with a fancy high end system. Maybe you should forget about the nice stuff in your system and concentrate on the essence. Vendors and reviewers of high end audio equipment like to tell you that this or that component will squeeze the last little bit of emotion from the music for you (while repeating the mantra "it's all about the music") but it's actually not true. The emotion is always there, and available to anyone who opens his or her ears and soul. Perhaps something less challenging for you to use--even a phone and ear buds or headphones--could get you there.

 

[Leporello]

Living with a serious chronic illness is difficult on so many levels. Robert makes some great points.
I would only add to let your doc know how your feeling , as loss of interest in things you love doing could be sign of depression which is treatable. When treating complicated medical conditions, we sometimes overlook this aspect of well being.

Wish you both the best.

I've never, to my knowledge, been clinically depressed, but I've sometimes felt blue. When I have, on many occasions, music has uplifted me. The main thing is not to confuse a lack of interest in the hardware that brings you the music--ESL's, DAC's, phono cartridges, etc.--with the actual music. Hobbies come and go, but music gets to the essence of the human soul.

 

[INROCK]

years ago i was diagnose with pulmonary fibrosis and heart failure and recently i have lost my interest in listening to music on my system consisting of martin logan summits, audio research components, vpi turntable. i cant explain why and i was just hoping someone could tell me why? i know u might feel this is not audio related. but maybe u can tell how to get back into listening to my system. with my situation it’s hard for me to get around and i’m on oxygen 24 hrs a day. thank u

Do not despair. Your love, appreciation, and enjoyment of music will return. No one can know precisely how you feel. Over the past few years, I have been diagnosed with PF and undergone surgeries for recurring undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma of the scalp. I have gone through periods where malaise and a sense of loss impacted my enthusiasm for music listening and lifelong hobbies. I begrudgingly am learning that shortness of breath and head pain is now an integral part of my life. While I lament restrictions relating to marathon sessions of cleaning, rewiring and reconfiguring audio systems – and being compelled to limit headphone use – my library of vinyl LPs and CDs often serve as a source for solace, escapism, and inspiration.

I wish to suggest one approach that may serve you well in reinvigorating your music listening enjoyment. Have you considered writing or recording a biography that captures your life-long journey and how music and audio may have made an impact? I had never considered my life to be worthy of documenting, until one day where a nephew noted he had no insight into Uncle Dan’s life as a child, early adulthood, and 33 year government career working on space and missile systems. As I began to reflect upon and record my life experiences, it stimulated brain cells and emotions precipitated by my obsession with listening to music, attending concerts, and the artists creating songs spanning the 1960s through present. Do you remember the first single or album you purchased? What did you play it on? Do you still have it? How long has it been since you put it on your VPI turntable and listened to it on your ML speakers? What emotions did the record generate when you bought it, and how does the song or album resonate with you now?

I wish you love, peace, and contentment.

 

[Robert D]

I've never, to my knowledge, been clinically depressed, but I've sometimes felt blue. When I have, on many occasions, music has uplifted me. The main thing is not to confuse a lack of interest in the hardware that brings you the music--ESL's, DAC's, phono cartridges, etc.--with the actual music. Hobbies come and go, but music gets to the essence of the human soul.

Going to a good concert with family and friends gets me going. I've felt pretty down after my bad heart attack in 08. You're right, music is deep inside me and it's always there waiting.

The suggestion of just using a decent set of headphones and a phone to listen may be good enough to light the spark. After that listening to the main system with records will become desirable.

 

[roberto]

Hola Khenegar,

The music is well known as a healer. Play the music of Mozart, and Beethoven piano works, play minuets and small works. Play Vivaldi and romantic classical music. If you are feeling depressed, this type of music heals your spirit. Your state of been is totally normal. Feeling yourself with that sickness is making you to be apathetic, lethargic. Just accepting the sickness, you must enter in the healing state, and it is a very long process.

Here are some music for you my friend:








It is well that you are aware of your lacking the interest for the music. Just do your best... And just enjoy those wonderful tunes. Do not listen if your system is sounding OK. Just enjoy the music and the marvellous musicians playing for you. Do it as a therapy.

A big hug from Costa Rica, dear friend!
Bobby.

 

[Russr]

Hi K!
I'm not sure how you're doing from a mobility perspective (both ambulatory and vehicular), but here are some ideas:

Disclaimer(!) : I think the pursuit of perfection here could definitely be the enemy of pretty-damn-good-enough! Don't over-do things...

So, a while back when I was forced to be out of work for a while, I was hating everything that normally gave me joy. Listening to CDs (I started collecting music just as CDs were becoming the norm, so I sold my Thorens TD120 & SME MkII/ortofon, and bought a CD player), pottering around in the garage, playing with car audio components, etc.

One day, as I turned the corner in my living room to climb the stairs, I thought "man, I'm passing my sound system every time I go upstairs.. what if I started RIP'ing all my CDs to hard drive?" At the time I had a "HTPC" (Home Theater PC), but any computer with a CD/DVD player would do. Remember the "Perfection being the enemy"... you COULD go nuts on a high-end DAC/ADC and set up a "real system" to capture your vinyl tunes... but we're looking for quick and easy "wins" here, right?! Imagine the sheer horro of (shudder) using one of those el-cheapo turntables with USB out?! Maybe experiment with one of those if you're wanting to try this with your vinyl collection, too.

I set the PC up to automatically RIP CDs to Hard Drive any time a new disk was inserted, and as I passed the system to go up/downstairs, I would change the disk out. I only had a few hundred CDs... so after a week or so of doing this, I had converted my entire library to Lossless music files. BTW - the PC automagically reached out on the interweb & downloaded thumbnails of the jacket artwork, song lists, etc.

THEN I had a hard drive full of all the music I once loved. I duplicated onto recordable DVDs so I could play my entire library in my car (before vehicles had USB connectors!), and more recently, copied to USB thumb drives, my phone, etc. Now I just plug the USB drive into whatever device I am using as a DAC, and I can go through my music list by Artist, or Genre, or whatever I want. I have my library in my car, my HT system, my bedroom system, ... it's with me wherever I am on my phone, etc. and YES, you could go nuts with online services, but it doesn't involve you as much as "re-rolling your own"!

After a few years of being "off" my music, now I love it again... if I hear a snippet of a song somewhere, or find myself "singing" in the shower (insurance problem right there... I crack tiles!), I can do a quick search, pull it right up, and listen on my system. It really has brought some of the joy of listening back.

Now, a bit about the whole "perfection being the enemy of "nice" enough"..."
Yes, there is space to get wrapped around the axle about every... single... detail in this process. What CD drive does the PC have, what CODEC to use, what USB drive(?!-don't get me started) to use, what DAC to play it back on, what cables to connect to your system....

For now, my advice would be "don't sweat the small stuff". Asides from the significant medical challenges you have, part of the loss of interest COULD be due to "the process" you associate with listen to your music so it's "just right". My whole-hearted, best intended advice is to let a little of that go, make it easy to participate in one of the true joys of life... then when you get your mojo back, sit back and critique your makeshift "Digital Jukebox".

I sincerely wish you all the very best as you work on getting "on the road again"/"back in the saddle", ...

Russ

 

[Len44]

Russ, I just have to say -- I think your advice is spot-on. Before I got my CDs into an easy way to access them, remote and all, listening to music was a bit of a chore. Now it is terrific, and I must confess to spending periods of 3-4 hours sometimes just getting lost in the music, and the wide variety of genres that we can easily shift through.

It has made a very significant difference for us.

K, wishing you the very best in all you do.

 

[Brad225]

years ago i was diagnose with pulmonary fibrosis and heart failure and recently i have lost my interest in listening to music on my system consisting of martin logan summits, audio research components, vpi turntable. i cant explain why and i was just hoping someone could tell me why? i know u might feel this is not audio related. but maybe u can tell how to get back into listening to my system. with my situation it’s hard for me to get around and i’m on oxygen 24 hrs a day. thank u

khenegar, I am so sorry to hear about your health issues. This is clear that the relaxation of, listing to music on the system you love would be a very good thing for you.

 

[Brad225]

Living with a serious chronic illness is difficult on so many levels. Robert makes some great points.
I would only add to let your doc know how your feeling , as loss of interest in things you love doing could be sign of depression which is treatable. When treating complicated medical conditions, we sometimes overlook this aspect of well being.

Wish you both the best.

Great suggestion. Definitely inform your Dr. It can also be side effects of the meds you are on.

 

[Leporello]

Going to a good concert with family and friends gets me going.

Absolutely, but from what OP said, that may be difficult for him. Though I do remember a time having a fractured cervical vertebra after a bad bicycle accident and being confined to a collar for the rest of the summer. My girlfriend drove me to an outdoor jazz concert, we took a picnic, and to this day it's one of the better memories of my life.

 

[roberto]

Khen, try not to bet an audiophile. Just enjoy those magnificent tunes played by the best musicians of the world. Play the music at a moderated level, and let yourself to immerse into the music. It is not time for adjusting the system, it is time for you to take pleasure in and have a little fun. Let yourself go... let yourself to be charged with the wonderful energy provided with the music.

Talk to your Doctor about it too. Music is the nourishment for our soul. Let it be!

We are here for your help too.

Happy listening!

 

[Robert D]

Absolutely, but from what OP said, that may be difficult for him. Though I do remember a time having a fractured cervical vertebra after a bad bicycle accident and being confined to a collar for the rest of the summer. My girlfriend drove me to an outdoor jazz concert, we took a picnic, and to this day it's one of the better memories of my life.

Yeah, it could be a challenge. I've seen people with portable oxygen at outdoor concerts, but I'm sure it's a PITA. I guess I'm lucky that I only depend on a pacemaker/defibrillator, and that's a small device implanted in my chest. The only problem for me going to a concert is that I can't go through metal detectors. I have to be a special case and get patted down old fashioned style.

 

[Bernard]

years ago i was diagnose with pulmonary fibrosis and heart failure and recently i have lost my interest in listening to music on my system consisting of martin logan summits, audio research components, vpi turntable. i cant explain why and i was just hoping someone could tell me why? i know u might feel this is not audio related. but maybe u can tell how to get back into listening to my system. with my situation it’s hard for me to get around and i’m on oxygen 24 hrs a day. thank u

Khenegar, I know EXACTLY what you’re going through. In 2008 I was diagnosed with a rare, incurable autoimmune muscle disease, and almost died. I later found out that my doctor expected me to be dead in one year; I’m still around, thanks to good drugs.

Then in 2017 the muscle problem hit my heart (a muscle), and again I almost died; saved by good drugs again.

Last August I had a “mild” heart attack that was misdiagnosed at the time. I’m now waiting to see the cardiologist.

I’ve been to the ER at least a dozen times, the OR as many times (lost count), and have a host of other problems (some caused by the “good” drugs).

I was advised by an occupational therapist to continue doing what I enjoy doing. In my case it’s listening to music, cooking, and baking. BTW, I’m down 1/4 of my weight compared to when the disease first hit (and I’ve always been slim). I sometimes have to push myself to listen to music, but I know it’s best for me.

Listen to the wise words of my old friend Roberto. I’ve visited him twice since I got sick; that in itself was therapeutic. Beethoven really does it for me. You and I have a right to be angry; get it out by conducting Beethoven with your fist! You will feel better. If you are down, Ludwig will end by comforting you. Listen to the third movement of his Ninth Symphony.



I was listening to music while typing the first part of this, then there was a scratchy sound and the system (both channels) went dead. Now to debug the damn thing. Hopefully it‘s the preamp. I don’t want to haul those darn tube monoblocks from their places.

 

[Bernard]

Update: The problem yesterday with my sound system dying was the balance control acting up. I rotated it a few times, and all‘s well now.

I replaced the volume control with a stepped attenuator many years ago, and got a huge improvement in sound. I reported that on an Internet forum and in response got a snarky comment from an armchair general who sneered at my “Golden ears” (his comment).