August 2025

Enjoying Music As A Happy Escape
The more you listen, the better the experience.
Editorial By Alan Sircom

  Of all the reasons I've heard for buying a good audio system, this one seems the most honest. The world, it seems, is falling apart. War, famine, political turmoil, an unpredictable climate, fear of crime... all fuelled by an out-of-control social media and our never-ending desire to doom-scroll through it. Audio is the great escape from that all-pervading sense of dread.

A friend, not in the audio business, has a small but relatively nice little audio system. And he has one rule when playing it; phones off. Really 'off', not 'silent'. That means no Shazaming tracks - if you want to know what it is, you ask. That means no sudden wiki-expert knowledge of a band. And it means no loss of focus mid-way through the track as you are drawn to 'InstaGoogleTweetFace.'

This resonates with the 'no phones' request made in Classic Album Sundays sessions, where you listen to an entire album in one sitting. Phones are banned there for the same reason.

It's strange just how far we've come that the simple demand to turn your phone off is met with looks of sheer horror. We seem to think that if we are out of the social media loop for more than an hour, people will think we died, and if we don't check those feeds regularly, we'll miss the impending apocalypse, or miss the latest celeb gossip.

The more you notice just how bonded to our phones we are, the more you understand just how big an 'ask' switching them off has become. Go to a restaurant and everyone has their phone on the table. Go to a bar and the same happens. I've even sat in a cinema and watched people tweet to one another... while sitting together!

Yes, I get the 'streaming' excuse. You need some kind of phone or tablet to navigate streamed or locally stored content. But, think of it like queuing up an album, and then leaving it to play. Turn it off (or into Flight Safe mode) for the duration of the recording. Then, if you are sharing that musical experience with someone (who has also adopted the 'no phones' rule) talk about the music. It's odd that this sounds odd, but try it a few times and suddenly you start to relearn the art of face-to-face conversation.

This 'no phones' rule sounds curmudgeonly at first, but the more time you spend just listening, instead of being distracted by your phone while listening, the better the experience. That being said, your kids will think you have gone insane!

hi-fi+ was saddened to learn of the passing of UK audio industry luminary Andy Giles at the end of June this year. While not a public figure, Andy was a driving force behind the success of many brands including NAD, KEF and Meridian. His charm, bonhomie and remarkable ability to tell a tall tale will be sorely missed.

Alan Sircom, Editor hi-fi+

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