What sources do you listen to?

[Waxy]

LPs, MP3s @384kbps and Internet radio

 

[steve_1979]

LPs, MP3s @384kbps and Internet radio

?

I thought that MP3's only went up to 320kbps.

 

[Glacialpath]

I like that you stumbled across a Jazz station that you now like by just using the backlit dial. I miss those and the sound you get between stations or when you can't quite tune one in.

I us CD mostly. So in answer to your question "Is CD dying?" well in some ways I'd say yes but if I was earning money right now and had enough to spare I would probably be keeping the CD market afloat.

I do stream Spotify from my Samsung Galaxy S3 via Bluetooth to my Pioneer AVR but my CD Hi-Fi s currently my better sounding system. The idea is with all the new/old music I have found on Spotify, that I buy the albums on CD as I really like my collection.

I do have roughly 3 tracks from each CD on my PC. Mostly a 192khz but anything I load on there now I do as lossles WAV. When I finally get to put all my AV and Hi-Fi kit together the PC has a coaxial out and a 7.1 audio card in it. I can then either play songs from the PC, Stream from Spotify or play a good ol' CD.

I have a selection of live music DVD and BD too.

 

[mond]

The only source in my main system (i.e not in the bedroom) is a Linn Sneaky DS. I do however still buy cds to rip to my pc as the sound is still generally better than downloading via Amazon etc which is low rez mp3. I also listen to internet radio via the sneaky.

 

[Waxy]

LPs, MP3s @384kbps and Internet radio

?

I thought that MP3's only went up to 320kbps.

All my CDs have been ripped to a Brennan JB7 at 320 Kbps. No idea where I got the 384 from. I'm better off sticking to vinyl... *crazy*

 

[Tomas]

I mostly listen CD's but recently I have subscribed to Spotify premium played through Neox Mini X8H controled by Smartphone and it is ideal to discover new albums.

 

[ID.]

Mostly listen to ripped CDs. Either playing from my Mac Mini into a DAC in my office or streaming to an ATV in the living room.

In my bedroom I mainly use an iPod Classic 160gb full of lossless files feeding a DAC/headphone amp as well as my main amp. I occasionally play CDs there as well.

Keen to try out online streaming services, but Spotify, etc. aren't available here. I occasionally get some stuff from Soundcloud or downloads from Bandcamp. I mainly buy CDs because it is usually the easiest way to get music at that quality, but getting more and more downloads as they become available at CD or higher quality.

 

[The_Lhc]

Sonos features heavily in my house (guh!), a Connect attached to my main amp in the living room, where I also have an upgraded Pro-ject Debut II Phono SB Turntable.

The Dining room has a Connect:Amp mounted inside a 1960 Ferguson radiogram driving some Roth OLI2s hidden in the original speaker enclosures, bit bassy but it's a work in progress (read stalled), there's also a 70s Garrard GT20 TT connected to the Connect:Amp (set to autoplay line-in when it detects a signal, very useful) for the missus to play her more "cherished" (read largely knackered) vinyl that I don't like risking on the main system (this is playing slightly slowly though so may get replaced if I can't fix it).

The Pool (table) room is where I do most of my listening though which is currently just a Play:1 (another one for stereo will be coming at some point), along with another Pro-ject Debut II, a Sony TC-K590 tape deck and an early Samsung DVD-709 which I keep around for CD duties if I come across any CDs I haven't got round to ripping yet, it's also region free so I'll keep hold of it on the off-chance I ever feel like watching any of my old Region 0 DVDs. These play though a pair of Logitech Gigaworks T-20 PC speakers, which are surprisingly good (it's a pretty small room, it really doesn't require anything much more than that). I use this setup when I'm playing pool, so it's mainly background music, rather than "critical listening".

The Sonos listening is mainly FLAC rips of my CDs, with the occasional bit of radio. The only online service I've added is Soundcloud for the odd thing I discover online.

 

[MeanandGreen]

I like that you stumbled across a Jazz station that you now like by just using the backlit dial. I miss those and the sound you get between stations or when you can't quite tune one in.

I us CD mostly. So in answer to your question "Is CD dying?" well in some ways I'd say yes but if I was earning money right now and had enough to spare I would probably be keeping the CD market afloat.

I do stream Spotify from my Samsung Galaxy S3 via Bluetooth to my Pioneer AVR but my CD Hi-Fi s currently my better sounding system. The idea is with all the new/old music I have found on Spotify, that I buy the albums on CD as I really like my collection.

I do have roughly 3 tracks from each CD on my PC. Mostly a 192khz but anything I load on there now I do as lossles WAV. When I finally get to put all my AV and Hi-Fi kit together the PC has a coaxial out and a 7.1 audio card in it. I can then either play songs from the PC, Stream from Spotify or play a good ol' CD.

I have a selection of live music DVD and BD too.

I later discovered that it was BBC Radio 3. They play Jazz late on Staurday nights. I only discovered it because of scrolling around on my vintage tuner. I think occasions like that where you stumble across something are largely lost now with DAB and streaming. You don't have to physically tune through other things to find stuff.

It's good to see others who are still avid CD users. I do actually love my CD player it was possibly one of Sony's best and is a bit of a classic. I still buy new and used CD's regularly. I intend to use the format indefinitely, although I do rip tracks to my computer for iPod use when I want playlists or portability, I still prefer listening to albums on the disc.

Live music on DVD and Bluray is something I've only very recently started enjoying properly. Now that my Audio and Video gear is all linked together since updating a lot of my kit, I really enjoy watching a concert on TV with great Hi Fi sound to go with it. I must say that Garbage One Mile High on Bluray sounds incredible.

 

[SteveR750]

Having spent best part of half a day in a demo room using a Caspian M2 CDP, I realised I miss the ease and convenience. Having all your mucis on a laptop is great, but it's a pain to back up files, it's a pain when your wi fi network has a wobbly so thre gizmo remote app doesn't work, it's a pain when the driver updates didn't install correctly blah blah.

Looking at the current trend of source grouping, what I need is a DAC preamp with an onboard CD reader*. Ready to feed straight into a pair of active ATC SCM40s!

*sits back and waits for Cno to tell me that the Linn DS does just that already 🙂

 

[chebby]

I have just bought a new AirPlay 'source' in the shape of a 128GB iPad Mini 3 (white / gold, wi-fi only) to replace an older 1st gen 32GB iPad Mini.

I can now sync my entire documentary/comedy/drama/history/spoken voice library to one device without having to make selections. (And have plenty of spare room for adding a lot more.)

A fortnight spent in hospital back in November - December convinced me to do this because neither my 32GB iPhone nor 32GB iPad Mini had enough room for everything I wanted to listen to. The experience also re-acquainted me with using earphones and headphones so expect some questions on (sensibly priced) upgrades from my favourite Sennheiser PX 100 MkIIs and Apple earbuds.

Back to my new iPad Mini 3, I love it!! It cost a small fortune from John Lewis (including £85 extra for the 3 year 'added care' to get accidental damage cover) but I am enjoying it more than many a new turntable or CD player in the past. (I couldn't unplug those and take them out with me when I am going out for a coffee or work - or whatever - and they wouldn't have let me surf the internet or watch movies or listen to almost any radio station on Earth!)

 

[MeanandGreen]

I have just bought a new AirPlay 'source' in the shape of a 128GB iPad Mini 3 (white / gold, wi-fi only) to replace an older 1st gen 32GB iPad Mini.

I can now sync my entire documentary/comedy/drama/history/spoken voice library to one device without having to make selections. (And have plenty of spare room for adding a lot more.)

A fortnight spent in hospital back in November - December convinced me to do this because neither my 32GB iPhone nor 32GB iPad Mini had enough room for everything I wanted to listen to. The experience also re-acquainted me with using earphones and headphones so expect some questions on (sensibly priced) upgrades from my favourite Sennheiser PX 100 MkIIs and Apple earbuds.

Back to my new iPad Mini 3, I love it!!

Funny you should mention this, I've just changed from a 32gb iPod touch to a 64gb iPod touch. I was running out of space too. Still got my 32gb iPad, but I don't really use it for media storage.

Speaking of headphones and earphones. The Beyerdynamic DTX range are very good for in ears. Also the Beyerdynamic DT 770 range for headphones. I think I've been converted to becoming a Beyer fan after being a loyal Sennheiser user for over 17 years.

 

[chebby]

Funny you should mention this, I've just changed from a 32gb iPod touch to a 64gb iPod touch. I was running out of space too. Still got my 32gb iPad, but I don't really use it for media storage.

Speaking of headphones and earphones. The Beyerdynamic DTX range are very good for in ears. Also the Beyerdynamic DT 770 range for headphones. I think I've been converted to becoming a Beyer fan after being a loyal Sennheiser user for over 17 years.

Thanks. If there were a 128GB iPod Touch i'd have bought it, but 64GB was not quite big enough and wouldn't have left me any room for growth.

I'm not using the iPad Mini 3 for media storage. That's the job of my host Mac Mini system with it's 500GB HDD and the - soon to be purchased - 2nd Mac Mini with a 1TB HDD.

It is simply more convenient to have everything I want 'mirrored' on the iPad rather than making selections.

Example:- I am listening to the 100 podcasts of Neil McGregor's "History Of The World In 100 Objects" that are downloaded on my iTunes and synced to the iPad. However, I like to see high quality images of the 100 'objects' (all in one location with an index) when listening, so I purchased the Kindle version of the book for just over £6. This means I can listen to the programmes and browse the high quality art, photos, maps etc. at the same time, on the same device, whether through the hi-fi, or when out-and-about.

I consume content in a variety of ways and not just ... "download album, listen to album, stop or repeat" ... and very little of my listening is music.

Thanks for the headphone / earphone suggestions. Looking at B&W P3s right now.

 

[ellisdj]

HTPC for downloading new music from torrent sites and then uploading to Google Music.

Should you be highlighting that?

 

[Reijer]

Most of the time radio via fiber optic. Or cd or via NAS with music stored as flac. Since a few days I have also a spotify premium account. Thinking of buying a gramofon (https://gramofon.com) so that I can stream the music via my iPhone to the amp.