youtube as a viable source, my views.

[bluebrazil]

ive got the flu hence a lot of spare time and possible delusion

i am finding that listening to music on youtube, (if its well recorded obviously), is more involving than on cd. i am comparing listening to cds on my cyrus cd6s against youtube on a nexus 7 with audio bluetoothed to chord dac. cd used is paloma faith and tracks just be and picking up the pieces. please note i am not saying the sq is better although there is not as much in it as i would have thought.

so apart from the incredible convenience of listening this way i am thinking that its the visual experience that is making the music more involving. this makes sense although i can watch and listen to music tv through my system and i dont feel the same way about that, the only difference i can see is that i get to choose what i listen to. maybe the tactility of watching and browsing on a tablet but hearing music from the other side of the room with a deep soundstage is what is enveloping me but i have used the dac for over 4 years with my laptop, (and i think it sounds better through usb), and im still not feeling the same connection. it is an old lappy tho and the fan is noisy.

now since music is all about enjoying the experience and where it can lead you on an emotional journey i am beginning to think youtube is one of the best sources available and considering its free whats not to like. i have all my music on the cloud on google play but if i can find any track with half decent sound and picture quality i find myself going back to youtube.

i would be interested to see if anybody else listens like this or through an i pad and airplay etc. and if they have similar views on this.

 

[Overdose]

In some cases the sound is better, certainly better than some CDs. I have a Joe Bonamassa, Live At The Albert Hall CD and the track 'Mountain Time' to me, sounds better on Youtube, picture on or off.

 

[bluebrazil]

wow, great guitaring in the intro, only bettered by his world class gurning.

strange though that something uploaded is better than the official cd. you would think the dvd and cd would be identical. maybe there was a difference in how it was miked for multi-channel and this still gives better sound when down mixed to stereo through a pc.

 

[Overdose]

Definitely in the mastering. The DVD is supposed to be poor too.

I got the CD minly for that rendition of India/Mountain Time, I Love it.

 

[steve_1979]

I listen to lots of music on Youtube. It's very addictive and is a great way of discovering new music. :type: 8)

I find that I enjoy the music more when listening/watching on YouTube even though the sound quality isn't as good as it is on Spotify or with CD rips.

 

[Superaintit]

I love Youtube. Mainly for trying out something new or replay an old song i just encountered and had forgotten about. It's just another source to me, just like radio was before. Sound quality is good enough. i think i just got to the point where i feel i couldn't improve much more, which makes me les bothered about the quality difference between a budget dac, a highend dac or youtube. it's all enjoyable.

 

[Craig M.]

Youtube is the devil! I try to limit myself or before I know it it's 3 in the morning and I have to be up in 4 hours. Great fun digging out all the old faves though. :rockout:

 

[ksoundwerx]

Youtube streaming (through Bluetooth too!) sounds 'better' than CDs?

Nowhere close, and I love finding music on the 'Tube, but only so I can source it on CD.

 

[byakuya83]

Had some great times hopping around on Youtube. Three old friends, alcohol and taking turns trying to impress each other with ever increasing levels of poor musical choices. Youtube is a great source, it can be fun and useful.

It might be in a lossy format but I struggle to audibly detect the noise and distortion in most cases. What I hear is enjoyable.

 

[bluebrazil]

Youtube streaming (through Bluetooth too!) sounds 'better' than CDs?

Nowhere close, and I love finding music on the 'Tube, but only so I can source it on CD.

not better sq as i had previously said.

its the involvement, maybe akin to putting on a record and dropping the needle, or its the visual stimulus thats wetting my appetite. dont get me wrong i love my cd's for serious listening its just that streaming can take you somewhere else.

i include spotify in that, think of a tom tom adventure

 

[chebby]

The last 137 years of the existence of equipment to reproduce recorded music has been a very brief disconnect with the preceding couple of million years of human musical development where (with a few exceptions like hidden choirs in temples) music had always been experienced visually as well as audibly.

I would hazard that it's buried in our psyche (or instinct or whatever) as social beings to find watching the performers an integral part of the enjoyment of music. (Even if it is via a monitor or TV or tablet.)

I know that I enjoy classical music - in particular - far more when I can watch the performers as well (like during the BBC Proms season).

Just a thought.

 

[MeanandGreen]

I find watching music videos on you tube streamed via my ipad/smart tv with the sound going through my system to be very enjoyable, almost addictive! At times I swear it sounds better this way and I've only got a cheap DAC connecting my smart tv to my amp, but I think it's the visual stimulation combined with the listening. Your brain is processing more information. When you listen to the CD you are relying on just your hearing for stimulation, which probably means you are analising what you are hearing more so you pick up on any flaws.

Watching and listening takes your mind away from just the sound.

 

[MrReaper182]

Youtube is great for discovering new music. What I don't like about youtube and think should be banned is people being aloud to post full albums. All someone has to do do is get a video to MP3 converter and then use that to download the album and they have the album for free. I know it is not just youtube's problem and it's the internet as a whole but still youtube shoud ban people who do post full albums.

 

[radiorog]

YouTube is an absolute bulls**t of a system for listening to music....imo! Lol. I just hate the way you can't do anything else on your computer/device whilst listening. As soon as you try to do anything else,the music stops. When I first got my tablet and Bluetooth receiver the idea was to use YouTube, but I have not used it in the whole year as since I started using the tablet. Its a shame because there are some good albums on there that aren't on Spotify or google all access (such as the Merlin's magic series). I could listen to these albums whilst doing nothing else, but they don't have videos,just a piece of artwork, and I'm concerned with bleaching my display if I leave it up for 45 minutes.

 

[chebby]

I just hate the way you can't do anything else on your computer/device whilst listening. As soon as you try to do anything else,the music stops.

Really? That's weird unless you have a really slow internet connection. We regularly have more than one computer / iThing in the house streaming YouTube or BBC iPlayer with no drops, stutters or freeze ups.

I will often open two Firefox sessions and have YouTube or BBC iPlayer on one session - in one corner of the screen - and do something else on the second one while i'm watching / listening.

We've only got 20mbps (Virgin cable) but it supports everything we need with no problems. (Being upgraded to 50mbps free of charge soon.)

 

[radiorog]

Hey chebby, yeah its definitely not a connection issue,its the fact that as soon a syou remove youtube from the screen the music stops.maybe ha ing it in the corner is a good work around,but on a tablet its not possible. Even if i switch tabs on the browser from youtube it switches off. t

 

[cheeseboy]

YouTube is an absolute bulls**t of a system for listening to music....imo! Lol. I just hate the way you can't do anything else on your computer/device whilst listening. As soon as you try to do anything else,the music stops. When I first got my tablet and Bluetooth receiver the idea was to use YouTube, but I have not used it in the whole year as since I started using the tablet. Its a shame because there are some good albums on there that aren't on Spotify or google all access (such as the Merlin's magic series). I could listen to these albums whilst doing nothing else, but they don't have videos,just a piece of artwork, and I'm concerned with bleaching my display if I leave it up for 45 minutes.

pvstar is an app allows you to listen to music (or anything for that matter) on youtube whilst sitting in the background so you can do other stuff, and also gives you the ability to turn the screen off and still have the music playing. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.asbit.pvstar&hl=en

 

[radiorog]

Thanks cheeseboy! Great news...wish id asked earlier now. Merlins magic tonight then...I can smell the lavendar already!

then

 

[BigH]

Hey chebby, yeah its definitely not a connection issue,its the fact that as soon a syou remove youtube from the screen the music stops.maybe ha ing it in the corner is a good work around,but on a tablet its not possible. Even if i switch tabs on the browser from youtube it switches off. t

Must be your computer or set up Im typing this with youtube playing on hifi? You have Windows or Mac.

 

[radiorog]

I'm using my nexus, but it also does it with my phone and laptop. There is quite a lot of historical discussion on tinterweb about this problem, with a lot of people waiting for a fix that never seems to be coming. When you are typing bigh is YouTube in the corner or totally off the screen?

 

[toyota man]

I read this thread this morning and I thought I would give it a go searched for a group called Hookfoot and found the tracks I wanted to listen to sound quality was ok after listening to these tracks I searched for Caro Emerald and had a listen I think as a way of finding new music and perhaps listening to music you would'nt normally listen to U Tube is brilliant

 

[radiorog]

OK, so downloaded pvstar and have been using it for thirty mins now. Absolutely brilliant! I can now listen to all the things I wanted whilst either having the tablet asleep,or typing, like now And I feel much more compelled to watch pop promo vids now. And all sounds great through my system. Happy days indeed!

 

[Leeps]

Hadn't really thought of YouTube as a 'source'.

Will now though. How 'bout this for starters:

Coeur de Pirate- Wood & Wires Session.

The room's echoey acoustics are just sublime.

 

[Leeps]

Try "Deezer Sessions" in the YouTube search field. Some beautiful pared down productions to enjoy.

 

[BigH]

I'm using my nexus, but it also does it with my phone and laptop. There is quite a lot of historical discussion on tinterweb about this problem, with a lot of people waiting for a fix that never seems to be coming. When you are typing bigh is YouTube in the corner or totally off the screen?

im using win7, YouTube is not on the screen, totally off the screen, but there are tabs at top of page, you just click on which one you want to view.