What is the proper way to consume music these days?

[Provience]

https://www.sony.com/electronics/walkman/nw-wm1z

this is too good not to share

Sony makes a "high res" audio MP3 player for their walkman line....$3,199.99

associated article, 5 best website to download high resolution audio. it speaks to the reality that we all know, mp3 is just generally not a good way to get quality sound. and that probably goes into why generally all factory CD's sound better than ripped ones and also why some studio albums sound better than others

https://www.sony.com/electronics/bes...s-hi-res-audio

not that i'm spending 5grand on all this stuff, but it is interesting


edit: https://www.cartoys.com/car-entertai...o/hi-res-audio

car-toys article on similar stuff. need to clean up and sell my truck so that i can focus on finishing van interior repairs so that i can get back to it's ultimate goal, making it a kickass retreat for quality music.

of course, the obnoxiously loud exhaust will generally drown out some of the finer details, but that is a worthwhile tradeoff :drool:


for now and for the coach though, standalone mp3 player and prime music looks like the winner, with spotify as the second go to. thank you!

 

[Mr Stubs]

Spotify... most used/best $10 value that I’ve had in forever. I hardly ever turn it off and play it on the go through my phone on a UE speaker.

 

[evernoob]

https://www.sony.com/electronics/walkman/nw-wm1z

this is too good not to share

Sony makes a "high res" audio MP3 player for their walkman line....$3,199.99

associated article, 5 best website to download high resolution audio. it speaks to the reality that we all know, mp3 is just generally not a good way to get quality sound. and that probably goes into why generally all factory CD's sound better than ripped ones and also why some studio albums sound better than others

https://www.sony.com/electronics/bes...s-hi-res-audio

not that i'm spending 5grand on all this stuff, but it is interesting


edit: https://www.cartoys.com/car-entertai...o/hi-res-audio

car-toys article on similar stuff. need to clean up and sell my truck so that i can focus on finishing van interior repairs so that i can get back to it's ultimate goal, making it a kickass retreat for quality music.

of course, the obnoxiously loud exhaust will generally drown out some of the finer details, but that is a worthwhile tradeoff :drool:


for now and for the coach though, standalone mp3 player and prime music looks like the winner, with spotify as the second go to. thank you!

I'm of the opinion that it doesn't count. Since the first Victrola, there have always been audiophiles. I don't take away from people who have hobbies, but this is scientifically settled: Humans cannot tell the difference between a 320k and 256k encoded mp3, and they can't distinguish between that and music played on another format. 'They've done tests'.

That said, does music produced to be played on LP probably sound better on LP? I am in the camp that it does. And it probably devolves right down to analog vs digital in general. I grew up listening to LZ III on a recorded 8-track , and it was in a different order. I also grew up listening to recorded LPs on audio tape. THe Zeppelin and Pink Floyd catalog DEFINITELY sound best on a high-quality turtable through a high-quality 1970s period hi-fi.

But high quality digital? I don't buy that anyone can hear it because there are scientific tests disproving it. But, people want to spend $3k on a device. We call those people Hipsters.

 

[Mr Stubs]

So I have recommended playlist radios based off what I have been listening to, Albums that are downloaded (did this the day the new Tool album dropped), and make my own personal playlists.

Cool thing is I can download the playlists and albums onto my phone. This allows me to listen to them when I am out of cell service. Inside cell service I can listen to anything my heart desires and takes the time to search

 

[Provience]

I'm of the opinion that it doesn't count. Since the first Victrola, there have always been audiophiles. I don't take away from people who have hobbies, but this is scientifically settled: Humans cannot tell the difference between a 320k and 256k encoded mp3, and they can't distinguish between that and music played on another format. 'They've done tests'.

That said, does music produced to be played on LP probably sound better on LP? I am in the camp that it does. And it probably devolves right down to analog vs digital in general. I grew up listening to LZ III on a recorded 8-track , and it was in a different order. I also grew up listening to recorded LPs on audio tape. THe Zeppelin and Pink Floyd catalog DEFINITELY sound best on a high-quality turtable through a high-quality 1970s period hi-fi.

But high quality digital? I don't buy that anyone can hear it because there are scientific tests disproving it. But, people want to spend $3k on a device. We call those people Hipsters.

I can pick out the absolute trash from halfway decent, but that is because i have been surrounded by absolute trash for so long 🤣
i've always wanted to do a high end audio setup for the car and while the home setup i have at the house isn't super high end or anything like that (cue all the real audiofiles) there is certainly a difference between my ~$800 (i dont really remember, but that sounds like all i would spend and consider expensive) yamaha receiver and dedicated speakers and the ~$150 "boom box" that has lived in the garage for 20 years. so the equipment certainly plays a role in it. at the same time, shitty downloads and transfers and such have left me with a bunch of MP3 files that were purged a while back for being so poor they were useless and the studio stuff has always sounded cleaner.

I was pretty happy to switch from tapes to CD's because it seemed like a big jump back up in quality, whereas i'm young enough that the only vinyl i've ever known was 45's and such that my grandma had. those were all done on low quality recording stuff, but at least they sounded smooth

i'd like to easily spend $3k on my van stereo stuff, but that is all far enough down the line that i can say that now and not have to hold myself to it the expensive part is finding somebody like projecttwin to do finish work/tuning because that is more than just numbers and components and design.

 

[Provience]

So I have recommended playlist radios based off what I have been listening to, Albums that are downloaded (did this the day the new Tool album dropped), and make my own personal playlists.

Cool thing is I can download the playlists and albums onto my phone. This allows me to listen to them when I am out of cell service. Inside cell service I can listen to anything my heart desires and takes the time to search

so it works similar to pandora in that sense? something i've been struggling with this year is "how to find new music"

now that i've been badgered into the youtubes, i found this dude "punk rock MBA" channel and he talks about all kinds of thinks. basically, it confirms why the radio sucks and there isn't new stuff, and the answer is that the stuff i've generally listened to didn't really give way to anything else, it is still just hanging around and dieing off. he's done several videos talking about death/rebirth of rock and why it kind of sucks these days.

 

[evernoob]

I can pick out the absolute trash from halfway decent, but that is because i have been surrounded by absolute trash for so long 🤣
i've always wanted to do a high end audio setup for the car and while the home setup i have at the house isn't super high end or anything like that (cue all the real audiofiles) there is certainly a difference between my ~$800 (i dont really remember, but that sounds like all i would spend and consider expensive) yamaha receiver and dedicated speakers and the ~$150 "boom box" that has lived in the garage for 20 years. so the equipment certainly plays a role in it. at the same time, shitty downloads and transfers and such have left me with a bunch of MP3 files that were purged a while back for being so poor they were useless and the studio stuff has always sounded cleaner.

I was pretty happy to switch from tapes to CD's because it seemed like a big jump back up in quality, whereas i'm young enough that the only vinyl i've ever known was 45's and such that my grandma had. those were all done on low quality recording stuff, but at least they sounded smooth

i'd like to easily spend $3k on my van stereo stuff, but that is all far enough down the line that i can say that now and not have to hold myself to it the expensive part is finding somebody like projecttwin to do finish work/tuning because that is more than just numbers and components and design.

The #1 active component for audio is speakers of course, but car audio is more affected by noise than anything else. Sound-deadening and a quite exhaust and quiet tires quickly become the weak fuses in a car audio setup.

I mean yeah you can throw watts and speakers at it until it's super loud, but the music I like depends a LOT on quietness to be effective. Take something like Blue Eyes Cryin in the Rain, that absolutely depends on quiet. So does Night Moves.

Lil' Wayne, not so much.

 

[Provience]

The #1 active component for audio is speakers of course, but car audio is more affected by noise than anything else. Sound-deadening and a quite exhaust and quiet tires quickly become the weak fuses in a car audio setup.

I mean yeah you can throw watts and speakers at it until it's super loud, but the music I like depends a LOT on quietness to be effective. Take something like Blue Eyes Cryin in the Rain, that absolutely depends on quiet. So does Night Moves.

Lil' Wayne, not so much.

indeed, and that is why i want to use the van to play with. aside from the absurd exhaust note, it is a pretty good canvas and i'm already going to be tearing out the floor to redo some paneling anyways, so significant deadening and thick carpet won't be out of place at all for a conversion van, as well as having the middle row captains chairs already being in a central position and the most comfortable seats in the house. I should be able to get it enjoyable in there, unless i'm getting onto the freeway or next to some other nerd with a suby or honda that thinks they have a gofast 4cyl at a stoplight

of course, it will also get raw trash shoved through it in the form of EDM or whatever the new trash randomness is

 

[Mr Stubs]

so it works similar to pandora in that sense? something i've been struggling with this year is "how to find new music"

now that i've been badgered into the youtubes, i found this dude "punk rock MBA" channel and he talks about all kinds of thinks. basically, it confirms why the radio sucks and there isn't new stuff, and the answer is that the stuff i've generally listened to didn't really give way to anything else, it is still just hanging around and dieing off. he's done several videos talking about death/rebirth of rock and why it kind of sucks these days.

I was in the same boat trying to find new music. I use Shazam coupled with Spotify and it’s great. I Shazamed the music at the end of a episode on season three of Westworld not long ago...



Now I just fall down music rabbit holes...

Its great.

 

[Eric]

As of 3 months ago I was still buying CD's and burning them onto my iPod. I felt as though I needed to "own" the music. A friend convinced me to give a (paid) Pandora subscription a chance. I'm still kicking myself for not jumping aboard years ago.

 

[SomeGuy]

Spotify user here...the "download" part just means it saves a copy locally but you still use the spotify app (and only the spotify app) to play it. Premium is worth the money though, I'm rocking the family plan and if you are sneaky with the address/validation can share it amongst friends/family.

 

[Provience]

As of 3 months ago I was still buying CD's and burning them onto my iPod. I felt as though I needed to "own" the music. A friend convinced me to give a (paid) Pandora subscription a chance. I'm still kicking myself for not jumping aboard years ago.

without record stores, i haven't been real confident in buying CD's unless it is direct from some micro-band. they can be pretty hit and miss

 

[Boss]

yeah, but i'm growing more and more to really hate radio stations.

if anybody makes political music anymore, it sure doesn't get air time and mix-a-lot went off the air a year or two ago, so the local morning show has turned into typical DJ trash

We have a station here that has no DJ or commercials. They are on the web as well 105.5 the moon. A huge variety, even some classical. I hate radio commercials and dj's so it's all I listen to.

 

[Sceep]

What is the proper way to consume music these days?

Use your ears.

 

[ev13wt]

Tidal (the cooler spotifi by JayZ) has a premium plan - uncompressed.

But really, unless you are listing in the perfect stereo triangle with some high-end speakers - you can listen to "compressed" and will never know the difference.

 

[rockdog57]

I’ve had a premium Spotify account for years. Best ten bucks a month I’ve ever spent! I listen to it in the garage on a Bose Bluetooth speaker constantly. They allow you to download albums to your phone so when you don’t have cell service you can still play them. On our recent trip in the hills I could play them on the kickass surround sound system I installed in our fifth wheel. My only complaint is they only allow you to put a certain amount of music on your phone. It kicks off other stuff you have stored when you reach that limit. I’m to electronic retarded to figure out how to store more on another device. Could someone explain in easy to understand instructions how to do that?

 

[Ryno]

I'm still buying new albums on CD, I like having the physical item. My cell plan includes a Spotify subscription so that's cool too, downloading playlists is simple as can be.

 

[ev13wt]

I'm of the opinion that it doesn't count. Since the first Victrola, there have always been audiophiles. I don't take away from people who have hobbies, but this is scientifically settled: Humans cannot tell the difference between a 320k and 256k encoded mp3, and they can't distinguish between that and music played on another format. 'They've done tests'.

That said, does music produced to be played on LP probably sound better on LP? I am in the camp that it does. And it probably devolves right down to analog vs digital in general. I grew up listening to LZ III on a recorded 8-track , and it was in a different order. I also grew up listening to recorded LPs on audio tape. THe Zeppelin and Pink Floyd catalog DEFINITELY sound best on a high-quality turtable through a high-quality 1970s period hi-fi.

But high quality digital? I don't buy that anyone can hear it because there are scientific tests disproving it. But, people want to spend $3k on a device. We call those people Hipsters.

Hi-Res is mathematical BULLSHIT and snake oil. High end ... makes me get pissed off. But hey, people can spend money on whatever.
If you really want to understand digital:


If you record that Pink Floyd from a decent player with a decent cart -> vinyl to digital. and play it back: 1:1 copy of that "analog" sound. Including all the distortion on the inner tracks of the LP.


Good sound: recording and mastering quality -> speakers -> room. The rest is: buy what looks good, makes no difference really.

 

[dnsfailure]

Friend of mine had a nice vinyl setup with tube amps and such, I remember blasting Kansas pretty darn loud, sounded great! But to be honest, I can't really tell much difference between that and an MP3 on decent speakers. I guess I'm the cheap date of sound quality. I'm fine with that.

 

[evernoob]

yeah, but i'm growing more and more to really hate radio stations.

if anybody makes political music anymore, it sure doesn't get air time and mix-a-lot went off the air a year or two ago, so the local morning show has turned into typical DJ trash

The death of local Radio and local Newspapers made a huge impact on American life. It's all Clear Channel and Advance Media now.

 

[Austin]

I'm on the computer all day so I'm either listening to podcasts or Amazon. We have the Prime Family account which opens it up to a shit-ton more songs and lets you have multiple accounts, unlimited skips etc etc .....

 

[Roc Doc]

I'm of the opinion that it doesn't count. Since the first Victrola, there have always been audiophiles. I don't take away from people who have hobbies, but this is scientifically settled: Humans cannot tell the difference between a 320k and 256k encoded mp3, and they can't distinguish between that and music played on another format. 'They've done tests'.

That's like saying people can't tell the difference between 5w-30 and 10w-30. All MP3's are lossy. I can easily tell the difference between a 320k MP3 and a FLAC or other lossless type file. Now it is pretty well established that people can't tell the difference between a 16/44.1 and a 24/96 file, I myself took part in a study and even with the high resolution system I have including a DAC that will resolve 21bits of dynamic range, I couldn't tell the difference reliably. Maybe when I was 16, but not now in my 50's after many, many live shows, drag races, and shooting. I can still hear to 14k, but nothing beyond that.

 

[Roc Doc]

without record stores, i haven't been real confident in buying CD's unless it is direct from some micro-band. they can be pretty hit and miss

You do know that you can preview most tracks on most albums from most music sellers, including Amazon, right?

 

[Provience]

You do know that you can preview most tracks on most albums from most music sellers, including Amazon, right?

I guess, just something I need to put a touch more effort into

 

[PAE]

All I have from back in the day are 8 track tapes.

Pandora $5 bucks a month, Are cassette tapes worth anything?

 

[woods]

Spotify family plan here. We enjoy it. Always have something going on.

 

[Roc Doc]

I guess, just something I need to put a touch more effort into

Tidal also offers MQA, (Master Quality Audio), in it's streaming service, but the benefit is questionable, and in a mobile setting a waste of money.

Me? I have Sirius XM in my truck, and can stream it in my office or listen to any of the 300GB of hi-res files or 200GB of ripped CD's, (all lossless of course). I use Pandora on the patio via the Yamaha MusicCast wi-fi system, I can also access my music on the NAS with that system.

 

[Provience]

Tidal also offers MQA, (Master Quality Audio), in it's streaming service, but the benefit is questionable, and in a mobile setting a waste of money.

Me? I have Sirius XM in my truck, and can stream it in my office or listen to any of the 300GB of hi-res files or 200GB of ripped CD's, (all lossless of course). I use Pandora on the patio via the Yamaha MusicCast wi-fi system, I can also access my music on the NAS with that system.

for the streaming, is there a noticeable difference when it comes to streaming high quality? I know that on the TV side of things, some stuff streamed in high def is pretty damned amazing, but it still seems to trail, generally, high def physical media. I guess it is probably similar in being hit and miss, I just haven't warned up to the idea that wireless transmissions can rival wired

 

[Roc Doc]

for the streaming, is there a noticeable difference when it comes to streaming high quality? I know that on the TV side of things, some stuff streamed in high def is pretty damned amazing, but it still seems to trail, generally, high def physical media. I guess it is probably similar in being hit and miss, I just haven't warned up to the idea that wireless transmissions can rival wired

It's all about the codecs, and the modern compression methods. They can compress the packets for transmission regardless of the wired or wireless method, and then decode them in full lossless resolution. Same with TV and/or streaming services you can get full 5.1 or 7.1 or even Atmos 4k movies via streaming services, the review mags still use BRD's for their evaluations, but most agree the difference is minuscule. I'm on a WISP and reliably get 33meg on the download and it's plenty fast for anything I do.

I've had all manner of iPods, but with a 512gb micro card in my LG V30 it's kind of pointless to try and keep multiple devices charged, and I can stream Pandora or SiriusXM with the phonet as well. I'm not doing Car Play which some people say is the balls, but I don't see a need for it in my case.

 

[crisbee1]

Pandora free vs subscibed there may be a noticeable improvement in sound quality. My tinitus from decades of loud turbine engines and whiny hydraulic pumps is slowly subsiding, not sure I can appreciate it.
The rocket fish bluetooth converter thingus let's me use my old Denon for Pandora in the house.
I have way to much time in building my Pandora stations to start over without being forced to.