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In this Discussion
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How do you listen to music and other questions...
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Comments
90% hifi system/separates in the living room (nothing fancy...generally older/used, fairly entry-level stuff, e.g. NAD, Yamaha, Pioneer, an old Dual turntable)
5% in the car (little FM-streaming plug-in thingy that plays mp3 from SD cards)
5% laptop (usually inbuilt speakers, occasionally stream to the hifi via bluetooth)
2 What medium do you prefer? Vinyl, CD, streaming, MP3, etc.
Vinyl or CD mostly. Streaming/MP3 usually just for previewing/checking-out stuff before getting a physical copy. I do have a small mp3 collection on a NAS drive, mostly old or hard to source stuff...I do keep a lookout for physical copies of a lot of this material, but a lot of it is fairly rare or OOP.
3 Do you hear everything you want to hear from your replay system?
Yeah. A slightly nicer turntable might be nice, but "good enough" works for me.
4 In round figures, how much did your system cost or how much a similar system would cost today?
Probably somewhere in the £400-500 region. Most of it picked up used over the years for peanuts, so hard to say...I could probably put together a similar system from new for a bit more...maybe £750?
5 Did you ever listen to music through a good Hi-Fi system and, if so, would you be tempted to try to get a better system than the one you have?
Never really tried out a "good"/high-end system, but I can't imagine the difference would be enough to warrant a wholesale upgrade. Like I said, "good enough" is good enough for me.
6 Please add any further comments you wish on this subject
I'm a firm believer in "dedicated" listening, and prefer to actually make time to sit and listen to something, give it my attention. Do much less listening to music on the move these days.
Car - Current car plays from hard disk, or from Spotify. Previous car had a CD rack.
Around the house - ipad with IEMs, or just iPad
Kitchen - streamed in FLAC format, with Logitech DAC, and Denon amp and speakers.
Lounge - streamed through Arcam amp
Workshop - Spotify into a spare Denon setup
2 What medium do you prefer? WAV or FLAC
3 Do you hear everything you want to hear from your replay system? No, but each of them suits it’s environment. When learning a song I purposely listen to it on a range of equipment because each brings out a different aspect.
4 In round figures, how much did your system cost or how much a similar system would cost today?
Car - £25k, but that included a free secondhand car
Kitchen - £500 then, less now
Lounge - £2,500 in 2001. No current equivalent without doing some research.
Workshop - nowt. Every component was surplus to requirements elsewhere.
5 Did you ever listen to music through a good Hi-Fi system and, if so, would you be tempted to try to get a better system than the one you have?
6 Please add any further comments you wish on this subject
SONOS for background music (installed in most rooms in the house). Decent HiFi system for proper listening (McIntosh SACD player, McIntosh pre and power amps, Harbeth SHL5+ speakers, Grado headphones for late night listening when others are sleeping). Vinyl for special occasions and feelings of nostalgia (Michell Engineering Orbe turntable). Car stereo when commuting. Sennheiser wireless headphones when listening to gear demos online.
2 What medium do you prefer? Vinyl, CD, streaming, MP3, etc.
CD/SACD/Vinyl in equal measure. Ripped CDs (ALAC) via SONOS. I too like to own my music.
3 Do you hear everything you want to hear from your replay system?
Yes, from my proper HiFi. No, from SONOS or in the car.
4 In round figures, how much did your system cost or how much a similar system would cost today?
Way more than I care to acknowledge.
5 Did you ever listen to music through a good Hi-Fi system and, if so, would you be tempted to try to get a better system than the one you have?
Given the compromised nature of my listening room (my lounge), I honestly don't think I could improve on what I have. I've owned many HiFi systems and what I have now is so good it's killed off any interest in purchasing more HiFi gear. If I had a bigger house, I'd just buy bigger Harbeth speakers (i.e. the Monitor 40.2s), but that ain't going to happen unless my six numbers come up.
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
These days it's usually Spotify (on high quality) in my home studio, as most of my listening is done late at night and this way I don't disturb my Mrs, who's sleeping. My audio interface, amp and monitors are pretty decent, so it sounds great. Otherwise, the Mrs and I will use the hifi (which has a Chromecast thingy connected). I also listen to a good 20-30 minutes of Eno/Budd ambient music on my iPod/Beyer DT250 headphones whilst lying in bed, before sleeping every single night.
2 What medium do you prefer?
The majority of the music I love was recorded last century and sounds better on vinyl, likely due to better mastering. And I mean night and day better. Otherwise,I'm not really fussed.
3 Do you hear everything you want to hear from your replay system?
Pretty much, yeah. I did borrow a Roksan Xerxes TT for a while when my Pink Triangle deck was in for repair and I miss the ultra-deep bass that the Xerxes could deliver.
4 In round figures, how much did your system cost or how much a similar system would cost today?
At the time (1990s), I imagine it would have cost around £3,500 all-in. It's hard to put a price on now as it's all discontinued, but the tonearm on my turntable (Roksan Tabriz Zi) was something like £950 when it was last sold, though I bought mine quite some time ago and it wasn't anywhere near that much then!
5 Did you ever listen to music through a good Hi-Fi system and, if so, would you be tempted to try to get a better system than the one you have?
I've heard a few very good hifi systems as well as my own. I can't imagine ever having the spare money to upgrade anything these days. If nothing else, I'd like some PMC speakers to replace the Mission 752Fs on my hifi, even though they do sound good. When we eventually move to our retirement house, a dedicated music room is one of the things we really want, definitely with some acoustic treatment (I remember how much better my home studio sounded with some fairly minimal treatment) and probably some soundproofing.
6 Please add any further comments you wish on this subject
My hifi comprises of:
Pink Triangle LPT GTi turntable/Roksan Tabriz Zi tonearm and Audio Technica AT F7 cartridge
Exposure CD Player (Mk I)
Nakamichi LX5 cassette deck
Chromecast Audio
Exposure XV amp
Mission 752 Freedom speakers
Studio:
MoTU 828 Mk III interface
Sony CDP-XE510 CD player
Audiolab 8000A amp
PMC TB-2 speakers
I said maybe.....
In the Lounge then 100% CD and a decent Hi-Fi without getting 'boutique' - Still have all my old vinyl but had no record player for 20 years or so - Need to change that
Never headphones - Never mobile phone or similar
Music on in some guise or another most of the working day
now we understand your username!
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
As some of you noted, the task of analysing the data was interesting. But I was more interested in the general opinions of the Forum members than the specifics. Such an approach is not scientific but it gives an overall impression. Which is what I wanted to get.
For those of you that are interested, this link is to the website that I posted my reply to.
https://www.tirnahifi.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4961&p=90979#p90979
Thanks again guys.
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
I've got quite a lot of vinyl - because vinyl is quite a "cool" medium - but I am always drawn back to this cartoon...
a. wired earbuds
b. wireless earbuds
c. wired on ear cans
d. wired over ear cans. closed back
e. wired over ear cans, open back
f. bone conducting headphones
g. car. Whatever system is already built in.
h. iPod dock system
i. 5.1 AV amp setup in stereo, sometimes with a sub.
j. Pair of studio monitors with PC and audio interface
k. Bluetooth battery powered speaker thingy. Waterproof and floats too.
2 What medium do you prefer? Vinyl, CD, streaming, MP3, etc.
I don't have a LP player or a tape deck anymore. Anything else is fine.
I prefer CD's but only because I like to have the physical backup and I still like liner notes & lyric sheets etc. I also like to rip them as I want rather than what a vendor wants.
3 Do you hear everything you want to hear from your replay system?
This is very much a moving goalpost.
When I'm running with bone conduction headphones all I want is something recognisable and to be able to hear the traffic.
If I want music to be on for a social occasion then the quality of the replay is not as important as it not getting in the way of the purpose of the social occasion. Similarly, if I'm doing something noisy like working or cooking then it's not about hearing every tiny detail.
If I want to just sit and listen and do nothing else, then I'll use my studio monitors. They have an amazing amount of detail. As expected really, they are designed for studio recording / mixing use and to give an accurate reproduction and not flatter the recording at all.
4 In round figures, how much did your system cost or how much a similar system would cost today?
Pair of Yamaha HS7 studio monitors are about £340 + stands about £100 + interface £150 = £590 excluding the computer.
5 Did you ever listen to music through a good Hi-Fi system and, if so, would you be tempted to try to get a better system than the one you have?
Yes. Naim / Cyrus / Marantz rigs.
No - I hear more detail in my studio monitors.
6 Please add any further comments you wish on this subject.
N/A.
https://soundcertified.com/speaker-ohms-calculator/
Rega P3/Goldring 1042
Marantz CD17
Naim Nait 2
ProAc Tablette Signatures
2. I prefer listening to vinyl for the musicality, ease of analogue sound, bass response and 3D room filling qualities but just can’t get my MacBook to play it! I find CD to be a great middle ground as I like to own the physical product as part of a collection. In the future I could see myself adding something like a Brennan to have a digital jukebox facility, perhaps in a second system.
3. MacBook sounds surpringly good through it’s onboard speakers but of course volume is limited and there is no real bass to speak of. Once my separates system is sorted I expect this to sound pretty good.
4. MacBook would be around £1,000 with the equivalent Hi-Fi system coming in at around £3,500 all in or so in today’s money. The main expense has been building up the music collections on vinyl and CD.
5. Yes - I used to own one! Been on the Hi-Fi upgrade merry-go-round for years and have become wary of throwing more ££££ at it. Want to get the best out of what I have for now.
6. When I think back to my childhood in the 1970’s my folks gave pride of place to their Hi-Fi separates system - Akai receiver and cassette deck, Rotel turntable and Wharfedale speakers and from memory they sounded good. Also had an old 1960’s Dynatron sideboard style record player, amp and speaker unit that had a unique, rather coloured, warm valve sound. Later on they moved on to a Denon Lifestyle type integrated system and KEF speakers. I was lucky enough to be given a Pioneer tower style separates system as a teenager which set me on the Hi-Fi road. One of the first things I did once I started work was to buy my own separates system, informed by the magazine reviews of the day - parts of which I still own.
I heard once from a hi-end Hi-Fi dealer that he had a household name musician interested in buying a complete system. Instead of going for the all-out, Linn/Naim system of the day he ended up taking home a complete Arcam system (perfectly good but unexiciting kit in the big scheme of things). The dealer felt that musicians were able to use their musical imagination to hear what they needed to hear.
As an oldie, I have several systems that I've bought over the years and have around 1,500 LP's, over 2,000 CD's, some SACD's and DVA's and about 100 12" singles from the early 80's.
My main playback system in my music room is a Linn Sondek, Ittok Arm and Sumikp Blue Point cartridge, Carver Tube CD player, McIntosh Receiver, Dynaco Stereo 70 amp and Energy speakers.
My other system is in my office and is a Thorens TD150/Linn Ittok and Dynavector cartridge, Denon universal DVD player (plays SACD's and CD's too), Quad 34/405 and B&W Rock Solid speakers.
I've also got the playback system in my studio, which consists of JBL 4412's driven by a Carver A780 amp and JBL 12" subwoofers driven my a pair of Carver TFM15s.
I also listen in my car and on my phone when travelling, but have ripped all my CD's and some LP's and select things from that to listen to.
2 What medium do you prefer? Vinyl, CD, streaming, MP3, etc.
I prefer vinyl but don't mind CD's. I don't listen to streaming services, I still buy CD's and records.
3 Do you hear everything you want to hear from your replay system?
Yes, all the systems at home give me the sound I want. The car and phone have some compromises, but given the background noise in them, they are fine.
4 In round figures, how much did your system cost or how much a similar system would cost today?
To be honest, I have no idea, not having bought anything in hi-fi for years.
5 Did you ever listen to music through a good Hi-Fi system and, if so, would you be tempted to try to get a better system than the one you have?
All the time. At some point I will upgrade the Energy speakers to a set of B&W's.
6 Please add any further comments you wish on this subject.
I spent a lot of time getting my system together and have a good friend who used to work in the Hi-Fi industry at Sound By Singer in NYC. I've heard systems that get into 6 figures there, but he actually admitted that the sound from my main system was pretty good and it would take a lot of money to upgrade it (though my speakers were Joseph Audio at that point and I had Quicksilver monoblocs, both of which were destroyed by the flood from Hurricane Sandy). Since I've bought records most of my life, I think that's why I still prefer them. I was a very early adopter of CD's and still have my Sony CDP-101, so have gone through the convenience vs overall sound thoughts lots of times. For some music, I do like CD's, but playback a well mastered LP on a good system and you still feel more connection to the artist (imho)
1 How do you listen to music? Earbuds, stereo system, in car, etc.
All digitally. I buy albums and they get uploaded to my PCloud account. In the bedroom I have a PC running an SPL Crimson audio interface, a Denon stereo acting as a power amp, and a pair of Silver 5L closefield monitors. Due to CV19 this computer is in use by the other adult four or five days a week with work so currently the majority of my big speakers listening is through the laptop on the kitchen table running a Native Instruments KA2 interface hooked up to a pair of JBL LSR305 Mk 2 speakers. AT-M50X headphones are available for this.
Mobile listening: Fiio M7 player with either a second pair of M50X phones (usually longer trips) or a pair of Venture Electronics Monk Plus earphones. The Monks are one of the few earphones that actually stay in my ears and do perfectly as a light always carry option in the bag.
2 What medium do you prefer?
Digital.
3 Do you hear everything you want to hear from your replay system?
Yep
4 In round figures, how much did your system cost or how much a similar system would cost today?
Silvers and stereo: £350
JBL LSR305: £200.
5 Did you ever listen to music through a good Hi-Fi system and, if so, would you be tempted to try to get a better system than the one you have?
I've had 'better' gear. Had the Silvers for 15 years now and I love their sound. Happy with them.
6 Please add any further comments you wish on this subject
I've had my current stuff for decades, love how it sounds, it's had an unbelievable amount of music through it, zero intention of changing anything, despite being regularly informed by the cognoscenti that those £1000 interconnects will open up the .... ( fill your own words in here) And the £3000 this and that will let me hear things on albums that I've been listening to for 40 years, blissfully ignorant that i've missed most of the magic...
Er, OK.
Marantz CD63 ki signature, Mission 780 se, Technics A900 mk2, Sennheiser Hd25-1's ( original pair from the late 80's - had em from new!! ) Project Debut turntable. Lovely gear in it's day, lovely gear to-day...
Oh, and the music...millions of tracks.
i have a cheap Chinese mp3 I can play through the ghettoblaster too. I enjoy playing my vinyl though , got one by an 80s AOR ish band on at moment called Device ,