Sound quality and air temperature....

[earwaxxer]

I figured, that I couldn't do much worse than Greg's lame tar thread, so, I'm sitting here listening to some old Chicago, very much enjoying it, and I says to myself, "self - Its time to start a thread - I'm suffering here, and I need a distraction". You may wonder, "suffering", why? Did the poor boy run out of his trusty medications? No, plenty of meds, beer, etc. The cause for my recent run in with physical and psychic discomfort comes from the sudden ceasing of said central air conditioning unit, without warning.

So, sitting here, as still as possible with fans on max, the temperature has slowly risen (inside) to almost 90 deg. My kit is very well heat sinked so at moderate volume there is nary a worry. Even the monstrous Emotiva at 500wpc is barely breaking a sweat. Of course the Q is cool as a cucumber.

Now on to the topic at hand. Is the sound 'better' due to the decreased air density OR is the psychological desire to "check out" from the physical to live in the 'mind'. And, yes there are, and have been over time, beer(s) involved in said variables, but no more than usual. Of course there may be other audiophile type variables that I have not considered (as ambient temperature approaches body temperature there is minimal phase shift due to temperature gradient frontal boundaries as displaced by the formula PV=nRT). Feel free to interject, but be prepared to present your white paper to the group. - Talk amongst yourself -

[Mike B]

Alcohol always makes music sound better.

Music always sounds better when your day is done.

And, in your case, it takes your mind off how miserably hot your room is -

[mpeg2]

Theoretically, music should sound worse as temperature goes up (lower density means that speakers won't move the air as well). My AC has been out for a while (new system going in on Monday) - the main issue that I found with listening is that the fans get in the way of the music.

I also found it necessary to put a fan on my cable modem & router - both overheated and stopped functioning until I figured it out...

Hope your system gets fixed (the one that does the cooling)...

[earwaxxer]

Thanks for the kind thoughts! - I hadnt thought about the cable modem, wifi etc. I will ck. that. We will be getting new AC on Tuesday. - True - lower density at higher temperatures, sound needs air to propagate. All makes sense. My brain definitely does not work as good when I'm hot. At least thats my personal experience. Could be an additive effect with the booze.

[azrockitman]

I was going to offer up the comment that since your AC is out, your house is quieter, thus allowing you to hear subtle sounds that are missed when the AC fan is detracting from the pure music.  But with a desk fan(s) turned on, so much for my theory.   
Stay cool.  I would definitely avoid listening to Canned Heat or Blood, Sweat and Tears.

Maybe you could listen to some:
Frigid Pink
ice T
or Creedence Clearwater Revival. 
 

[STURMJ]

speed of sound should be about 30ft/sec faster at 90 ( vs. 60) .  But that whole less dense air at the speaker thing blows that theory away (assuming you belived the speed of sound thing making any difference)

must be the beer.

[2wo]

Well, the air is thinner. On hot days Baseballs fly out of the park and planes are harder to get off the ground...John

[Paul Birkeland]

I have also heard anecdotally that a system's SPL will increase at lower elevations (greater air density).

-PB

[4krow]

 You moron...if you would have used the foam I was talking about in the first place, your home would have stayed cooler longer, but NOooOO(John Belushi) you didn't do it, and now my friend, you will pay. Oh btw, your addditionally a moron for turning on all those unneccesary appliances...geeez.

[earwaxxer]

I knew Greg would have some "constructive" insight into the topic! I still think the foam thing is pretty lame... I mean, the smell has to be bad. It probably never goes away!

[ironbut]

Slightly off topic;
Any of you guys found a fan that's quieter than the run of the mill?
I have a window air conditioner in the living room but the room that I have my little project studio is in a side room that gets pretty hot. I use a fan to redirect some of the cool air into the studio and it works pretty well but the noise can be a bummer.
BTW, I don't want to spend a bunch of cash so no Dyson suggestions please.

[earwaxxer]

Vornado's are pretty quiet and move a lot of air..

[4krow]

I had 'Vornado' insurance once.....but seriously, is that the one from Dyson? Seems that it would be absolutely quiet.

[2wo]

How about ceiling fans, goog ones are pretty quite...John

[Grainger49]

Yes, somehow Dyson got a patent on the air horn, been around for about 100 years.  The Dyson is both quiet and expensive.  Oh, BTW, it does have blades they are in the base.