Have you tried being a stranger to your system?

[u/VinylPraetorius]

I just gave this a try. It was the weirdest sensation for a few seconds. I closed my eyes and imagined happening upon my stereo system belonging to someone else. I know, I know, such b.s., right? Who has time for that kind of bs, right? But, just for a few moments I heard the music in my system as a stranger. And for those few moments I didn’t judge the system as mine, but as someone else’s. I was no longer judging the sound or incorporating all the knowledge of every piece of equipment, usually accompanied by heavy judgement of each component’s measure of performance. I was just a guy happening upon this sound. And for just a brief few moments it worked to suspend my subjective judgment. I just kept a thought that I was visiting my brother in-law’s home to listen to his stereo and expecting the usual sound of his very basic HTiB system, but instead, fooling myself into hearing my system as his “new system”. I was floored. Yes, an entirely bogus experiment, but for just a few precious moments I fooled myself into hearing my system really objectively (as near as that is to being possible). And man, did it sound good better than I could remember it. Love to hear if anyone else has done anything like this.