# Best Way To Listen To Classical CDs?



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

With all the dynamics, it is one of the hardest genres to listen to aside from concert going. What are your favorite ways to enjoy it all at home?


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## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

While yelling at my neighbors to turn down their music....


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Definitely not in your car on the highway, I will tell you that much. You will go from total silence to deafening noise in the course of one crescendo. Huge bummer. Maybe I need a less noisy car.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

philoctetes said:


> While yelling at my neighbors to turn down their music....


lol, haha, :lol:


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## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

I had to upgrade my truck system just for classical music. Not so bad anymore, but Cal Tjader still sounds better than Webern on the road.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

flamencosketches said:


> Definitely not in your car on the highway, I will tell you that much. You will go from total silence to deafening noise in the course of one crescendo. Huge bummer. Maybe I need a less noisy car.


I find my local classical radio station is good to listen to in the car.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Driving through town is usually fine. Just high speed highway driving really screws with the dynamics of it all.


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## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

Captainnumber36 said:


> lol, haha, :lol:


Easter morning they cranked up a karaoke session at 2:45 AM, waking me up with Stealers Wheel before turning up the volume for Psycho Killer. First time I have ever called the cops on a neighbor in my life. Been pretty quiet since then.


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## Open Book (Aug 14, 2018)

I listen a lot in the car. Due to tire and engine noise this doesn't work well for all CDs. It actually depends more on the way the music was recorded than whether it is orchestral, chamber, vocal, etc. Some recordings seem very opaque and solid and hold up against background noise. Others are airier and are less audible over noise.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I play my CDs in the house, in the music room, but in the car it's mp3s all the time thru my 64GB USB stick. I don't have a problem hearing them in the car as they are played at near full volume. It's a bit loud.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

In the car, I find that older recordings, especially things transferred from 78's, work best because of their limited dynamic range. I also record radio broadcasts for the same reason.

Keyboard music, especially harpsichord, is also OK in the car.

Baroque and classical era orchestral recordings tend to have a more limited dynamic range than later works. I almost never listen to post-1800 orchestral music in the car.

At home, I either listen with headphones, or listen when neither the heating system nor the air conditioning are on, especially if I'm trying to listen to music with a wide dynamic range.


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## apricissimus (May 15, 2013)

I find it dreary and depressing that we spend so much of our lives in cars.


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## rice (Mar 23, 2017)

apricissimus said:


> I find it dreary and depressing that we spend so much of our lives in cars.


Would you prefer living in a tiny apartment in an Asian metropolitan?
Most things are within walking distance or really short trips.
But then you'll have to be outrageously rich to afford a 'music room' for your hifi


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## apricissimus (May 15, 2013)

rice said:


> Would you prefer living in a tiny apartment in an Asian metropolitan?
> Most things are within walking distance or really short trips.
> But then you'll have to be outrageously rich to afford a 'music room' for your hifi


Getting off topic, but I do think that we'd be better off as a species and a planet if we all lived in intelligently designed and efficient cities. But that ship has probably sailed.

For what it's worth, I've made it to 40 years of age without ever having owned a car. But I live in an area with pretty decent public transit. I realize most places don't have that, and that the world we've built for ourselves require most people to have a car to manage their lives.

As for your hifi room, you may have to make due with good noise-canceling headphones. There are worse things.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I live in NYC and don't have a car. On planes and public transportations, noise-cancelling headphones or noise-blocking IEMs help a lot. Even then I can't listen to large orchestral works.

I live in an apartment with reasonably tolerant neighbors. I play music at a moderate level (sufficient for the room size) up until abot 10:00. After that high quality headphones.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

flamencosketches said:


> Definitely not in your car on the highway, I will tell you that much. You will go from total silence to deafening noise in the course of one crescendo. Huge bummer. Maybe I need a less noisy car.


I love listening to music while driving. But you do need to avoid music with a big dynamic range (and a well silenced car helps, too).


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Captainnumber36 said:


> With all the dynamics, it is one of the hardest genres to listen to aside from concert going. What are your favorite ways to enjoy it all at home?


While cooking.

Kncxn n xmn


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## rice (Mar 23, 2017)

apricissimus said:


> Getting off topic, but I do think that we'd be better off as a species and a planet if we all lived in intelligently designed and efficient cities. But that ship has probably sailed.
> 
> For what it's worth, I've made it to 40 years of age without ever having owned a car. But I live in an area with pretty decent public transit. I realize most places don't have that, and that the world we've built for ourselves require most people to have a car to manage their lives.
> 
> As for your hifi room, you may have to make due with good noise-canceling headphones. There are worse things.


Well I think many people do enjoy living in less urban area because of the ample space and freedom.
They may sigh about time wasted in travelling but I bet not many of them are willing to live one wall apart from their neighbours given the choice.

Back on topic, I have a pretty decent (to my standard) headphone system for classical music.
It's a genre very hard to reproduce on audio systems but a nice headphone system is the most economical way to do it.
I don't listen outside my home. Just too much noise out there to enjoy any classical music. No noise isolation can help it.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Noise canceling headphones really help with the dynamic range issue. Quiet passages are much easier to hear when otuside interference is blocked and the speakers are millimeters away from the ears.

I use Sony MDR-1000x cans for most of my listening. I occasionally listen over speakers while cooking, but not for real close listening.


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

jegreenwood said:


> I live in NYC and don't have a car. On planes and public transportations, noise-cancelling headphones or noise-blocking IEMs help a lot. Even then I can't listen to large orchestral works.
> 
> I live in an apartment with reasonably tolerant neighbors. I play music at a moderate level (sufficient for the room size) up until abot 10:00. After that high quality headphones.


Ditto here except I don't attempt to listen on the subway, a true exercise in futility. I read instead, and yes from a book made out of paper.


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## apricissimus (May 15, 2013)

D Smith said:


> Ditto here except I don't attempt to listen on the subway, a true exercise in futility. I read instead, and yes from a book made out of paper.


My Bose noise-canceling headphones do a halfway decent job of reducing the noise from the subway. Not perfect, but pretty good. And I feel less ridiculous wearing these big, bulky, over-the-ear headphones on the subway now since it seems more and more people are doing the same thing these days.

I mean, still far from an optimal experience, but not terrible.


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## MozartsGhost (May 9, 2014)

Listen to CD's a lot at work from my computer with headphones, on my home stereo system through speakers, and, dare I say it, in the bathroom when bathing (boombox).


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

D Smith said:


> Ditto here except I don't attempt to listen on the subway, a true exercise in futility. I read instead, and yes from a book made out of paper.


I must admit on subways (which I don't need to ride daily) or the street, I'll listen most often to popular music. In trains, buses and planes. I'll listen to pre 1800 classical. And jazz.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

I have not tried the Bose headphones. But with the Sonys, I can definitely listen on the bus or subway (in Chicago).


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Optimal listening for me is evening, armchair, Sony CD player and amp, venerable Mordaunt-Short speakers. 
And a large malt whisky.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

That's because you don't drive a Mazda Miata. Open the lid, put a Beethoven symphony in the player and head down the open road. Magic! Like this:


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

mbhaub said:


> That's because you don't drive a Mazda Miata. Open the lid, put a Beethoven symphony in the player and head down the open road. Magic! Like this:
> View attachment 118830


I own a Cutlass Supreme convertible  I even put a custom sound system in it. Music sounds so good in my car, just not classical music (especially on CD... I don't have the same problem with MP3). Due to the dynamic range being so intense according to the mastering standards of these CDs, I typically can hardly hear a pianissimo part of an orchestral work even at full volume over the noise of the road.

This is one of the big tragedies I've experienced since getting into classical music (fairly recently), as listening to music in the car is one of my all time favorite pleasures in life.


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

My experience is that the better cars will screen out road noise and I would make sure it was quiet enough inside any car I bought. I owned a Mercedes and a Volvo and they were good listening cars for music and conversation inside the cabin. Sometimes buying a used luxury car can be a great investment with many aesthetic advantages. Some of you will remember this the next time you buy a car and test how quiet the cabin is against road noise or for conversation and music. With some cars, you can hear virtually everything without interference, and I never enjoyed trying to have a conversation over road noise. Some cars are very quiet inside the cabin.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

> Best Way To Listen To Classical CDs?


At home, my own chair, my own stereo. Don't drive that much anymore so the radio will do.


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

Rogerx said:


> At home, my own chair, my own stereo. Don't drive that much anymore so the radio will do.


Couldn't agree more!  Will only add that it has to be my rocking chair.

I do live a tiny apartment in an Asian metropolitan. In order to accommodate the stereo and the rocking chair, I tore down all the rooms to make space. :lol:


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I enjoy home stereo and Classical Radio in the car..


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

MatthewWeflen said:


> I have not tried the Bose headphones. But with the Sonys, I can definitely listen on the bus or subway (in Chicago).


I have the Sonys. 1000 MK2s. I think one reason I listen to popular music on the street and subway, is that many excursions are brief. And I can't pay enough attention to the music in those contexts to appreciate classical.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I don't drive anyway but in general I don't like listening to music while out and about. I play my music only at home, through headphones and always when no one else is around - which is thankfully nearly all of the time.


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## sbmonty (Jan 11, 2014)

Fortunately, my morning commute is about 2 mins in duration. I listen almost exclusively through headphones. Lately, I've been attempting more comparative listening as I grow more familiar with pieces. I've actually started listening to more classical at the gym, which I never thought I'd do, growing up on rock music.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Over the years, it's been in the house, particularly while cleaning or while playing Scrabble. 

It was great cleaning the bath or a stove to music - a lot more gets done, and painlessly. 

Playing Scrabble - Taggart used to love that, because I'd focus on the music and miss some opportunities. We were evenly matched, so if we had music on, he would win. But we haven't played for years, really since joining this site.  

Now it's listening while driving in our car, though we have the cds on a memory stick to suit our new car's technology. 

I do listen attentively, but I do it best while something else is going on - if I sit down 'just to listen', my restive thoughts gallop away till I realise that I just wasn't following it at all. 

If I'm listening to music in the house, these days, I do it best while drawing, or making notes on my reactions. It keeps my mind focused.


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

I always listen to music through floorspeakers sitting in a comfortable chair and concentrating fully upon the music. Background music is not my business. Headphones can only be used when you want to analyze the sound, e.g. does a given organist use a Larigot or not.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I'm actually finding the best way to listen to music is to stream it via a a provider like Pandora. Good sound quality!


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## DBLee (Jan 8, 2018)

Captainnumber36 said:


> I'm actually finding the best way to listen to music is to stream it via a a provider like Pandora. Good sound quality!


Better sound quality than a CD through a good home stereo system? How are you listening to what you stream?


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

DBLee said:


> Better sound quality than a CD through a good home stereo system? How are you listening to what you stream?


The mp3s offered on the site, I think, help the dynamics of Classical.


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

Sometimes I find is easy to considerate on the music if I look at pictures/artworks that have to do with the music...other then that, it's just earphones or stereo in my room...


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Ingélou said:


> , particularly while cleaning.


Yes I know a BBC reviewer, he's done some Building a Library and things like that, who listens to review CDs while doing the hoover,



Ingélou said:


> - if I sit down 'just to listen', my restive thoughts gallop away till I realise that I just wasn't following it at all.


I don't have this problem, but I have noticed that people in concerts are often using their mobile phones while the musician is playing. If you go way high in the Festival Hall, I think it's called the Grand Tier, cheapest seats but outstanding acoustics, there's always a lot of people doing this, they may not be able to get away with it in the stalls.

At first I was shocked, sort of morally outraged! It seemed disrespectful to music and to performer. But that's just a silly reaction really. Homo sum, et humani nihil a me alienum puto.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Captainnumber36 said:


> I'm actually finding the best way to listen to music is to stream it via a a provider like Pandora. Good sound quality!


In my experience, the better the sound system the more involving the music will be. The best hi fi will sieze your attention and retain it. Like real music in fact. It's not primarily a question of inputs - CD or stream: amplification, speakers and room matter even more.

Of course you have to have performers who know how to articulate the music in a way which makes it sound like it matters . . .


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Mandryka said:


> Yes I know a BBC reviewer, he's done some Building a Library and things like that, who listens to review CDs while doing the hoover,


They often sound like they know what they want and choose it when they find it. This would help to explain why I get the feeling they haven't actually listened to the performances to hear if they can convince.


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## Guest (May 25, 2019)

^^^
For many years I have made a habit of listening to "CD Review" (now called Record Review) on BBC's Radio 3, and have seldom failed to acquire their "Building A Library" choice if I don't already have a copy. The last section of the programme, "Record of the Week", is another good source of advice, which I often follow up.

As for listening to the music, I do so in a quiet room at the rear of my home overlooking a decent sized lawn and beyond that woodland, with no other property in sight.

i have a decent hi-fi set up comprising a "Cyrus" pre and power amp, Spendor floorstander speakers. I don't use a CD player any more but instead play files through a laptop/external DAC. It all sounds pretty good, very transparent and detailed, and it's quite easy to pick out individual instruments in the orchestra. The really big difference to sound quality is due to the speakers. [I've long been a big fan of Spendor.]


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Best Way To Listen To Classical CDs?

Has anybody sarcastically replied "On a CD player" yet? If not my work is done.


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## Open Book (Aug 14, 2018)

Mandryka said:


> I have noticed that people in concerts are often using their mobile phones while the musician is playing. If you go way high in the Festival Hall, I think it's called the Grand Tier, cheapest seats but outstanding acoustics, there's always a lot of people doing this, they may not be able to get away with it in the stalls.
> 
> At first I was shocked, sort of morally outraged! It seemed disrespectful to music and to performer. But that's just a silly reaction really. Homo sum, et humani nihil a me alienum puto.


It used to be you had to turn phones off and put them away during performances. Now it seems that it's often allowed as long as you turn the sound off, leaving it up to the individual to be responsible about this. I prefer not to sit next to people using their phones. I'm just waiting for that phone to emit an errant sound. And I don't like to see a distracting lit screen out of the corner of my eye.

It does seem disrespectful to the music as well as to other listeners. I wonder why people need another distraction during music, whether it's playing games on their phones or eating (common at Met cinema broadcasts). Who am I to say what you do at home, but in public, I'd rather see things less relaxed.


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## DBLee (Jan 8, 2018)

Captainnumber36 said:


> The mp3s offered on the site, I think, help the dynamics of Classical.


I'm still not sure I understand. Are the files compressed, and that eliminates the fortissimos and the pianissimos, is that what you're saying?


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Mandryka said:


> In my experience, the better the sound system the more involving the music will be. The best hi fi will sieze your attention and retain it. Like real music in fact. It's not primarily a question of inputs - CD or stream: amplification, speakers and room matter even more.
> 
> Of course you have to have performers who know how to articulate the music in a way which makes it sound like it matters . . .


But, the files on streaming sites, for Classical, might be mixed a certain way to even out the dynamics.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

DBLee said:


> I'm still not sure I understand. Are the files compressed, and that eliminates the fortissimos and the pianissimos, is that what you're saying?


Something like that is what I'm presuming is happening.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Captainnumber36 said:


> But, the files on streaming sites, for Classical, might be mixed a certain way to even out the dynamics.


Yes you're right, on spotify the sound is too poor for me. What I meant was, your DAC and streamer matter less than speakers and room and IMO amp too. The streaming service is something which, as you suggest, is like a fresh mix of the recording. And what happens at the mixing stage, whether it be in the recording studio or in Spotify's labs, is very important.

My feeling, by the way, is that spotify boost the quiet music to make the overall sound louder, this may make it sound more thrilling when played through phones.

Tidal and Qobuz are better.


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## DBLee (Jan 8, 2018)

DBLee said:


> I'm still not sure I understand. Are the files compressed, and that eliminates the fortissimos and the pianissimos, is that what you're saying?





Captainnumber36 said:


> Something like that is what I'm presuming is happening.


Okay, I see. Most people wouldn't consider that better sound quality, per se. Most people would view compressed audio as _inferior_ sound quality. But I can see why that would be preferable in certain listening settings.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

DBLee said:


> Okay, I see. Most people wouldn't consider that better sound quality, per se. Most people would view compressed audio as _inferior_ sound quality. But I can see why that would be preferable in certain listening settings.


It makes listening more enjoyable for me. I never really said "better sound quality", what I meant when I said "good sound quality" was that the EQ was evened out.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Merl said:


> Best Way To Listen To Classical CDs?
> 
> Has anybody sarcastically replied "On a CD player" yet? If not my work is done.


How delightfully retro! 

I would guess that 95% of my music was acquired via CD. But then I rip it to my music player as FLAC files. So am I "listening to a CD?"


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## 13hm13 (Oct 31, 2016)

Ripped to my PC ... as FLAC or WAV files ready to played in iTunes or Foobar or in my portable device (such as phone or dedicated DAP). 
I mostly listen on high-quality headphones or in-ear-monitors (IEM earphones). 







DAP + IEM combo, while bicycling on a beach bike path is an awesome "classical" milieu.


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

I mostly listen to Cds through headphones on a cheapie portable cd player. I have a Fiio Amp for it and my koss PortaPro headphones pair well with it.


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

Merl said:


> I play my CDs in the house, in the music room, but in the car it's mp3s all the time thru my 64GB USB stick. I don't have a problem hearing them in the car as they are played at near full volume. It's a bit loud.


My music room would be the garage.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Oldhoosierdude said:


> My music room would be the garage.


When I say 'Music Room' it's just my spare room, tbh, but it houses my amp and guitars plus all my CDs and even the ironing board and a pile of ironing. Lol


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

I find the concept of actively "listening" to music whilst driving strange. 
I drive a lot as part of my work, frequently 200 miles in a day - I never "listen" to music, it may be on in the background but to me listening means concentrating on the sound, if I was doing that I couldn't possibly be concentrating on my driving.

At home 90% plus of my listening is done through two systems depending which room is available, and occasionally I will use spotify to sample something of interest. 

I still prefer the fun of selecting a physical disc removing it from its case and placing it in the player. Selecting something from a list of file names on a screen does not hold the same pleasure for me.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

MatthewWeflen said:


> How delightfully retro!
> 
> I would guess that 95% of my music was acquired via CD. But then I rip it to my music player as FLAC files. So am I "listening to a CD?"


Conversely if I download a file I burn it to a disc and print the cover off - if I lose the files I still have the disc, and before anyone comments - I know i'm weird!!!


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Malx said:


> Conversely if I download a file I burn it to a disc and print the cover off - if I lose the files I still have the disc, and before anyone comments - I know i'm weird!!!


That makes two of us. Well, apart from the cover printing thing. That's just weird.


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## Guest (May 26, 2019)

When I buy a CD, which is very rare these days, I always rip it using _Exact Audio Copy_ and keep one copy as a Wav file and another as MP3 320 kbps. More often, however I download MP3 320 files. Sometimes I use Spotify premium service (also at MP3 320 kbps). I always do that (as many as three on separate disks) as it is the only sensible thing to do.

I have often tried to detect a difference between the Wav and MP3 versions but have never been able to do so, regardless of material tested. I'm not disputing that some people reckon they can do so, but I would have thought that unless they have super hearing, own a very expensive hi-fi set up housed in a very good acoustic setting, they would often have to struggle to be sure they can detect a difference on most types of material. It's surprising how one's hearing typically deteriorates after the mid-20's in terms of being able to identify very high frequencies. Do a test and I would guess that some people may be quite horrified, if they're a lot older than this.

For listening to CDs, I cannot be bothered with a CD player. Mine has been packed away in a box somewhere for several years. At home, I far prefer to use _Foobar_, which I find to be the best and most reliable player available. Playing music files in this way is so much better in all respects, especially with a very large collection, as it's so much easier to find music that's been indexed in a certain way (e.g. all "piano trios"), to compare alternative various recordings of the same work, and to control the listening volume without having to tinker around with volume knobs and the like on amplifiers and other such wear and tear items.


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## Guest (May 26, 2019)

On the matter of "loudness" compression, I gather that Spotify say they use a "-14 dB integrated LUFS standard". As far as I understand this, it does seem to involve some compression of the original material that's on the CD - i.e. it flattens somewhat the dynamic range from soft to loud passages. Before today, I was vaguely aware that Spotify do compress their music to some extent, but it hadn't bothered me, as I assumed it was minor. I noticed some comments earlier in this thread suggesting that this compression, if it takes place, may be detrimental to classical music.

To test this, I have carried out a simple test on a single piece of music. I used the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, Carlos Kleiber/Vienna Phil Orchestra recorded on DG in 1974. I used _Exact Audio Copy_ to obtain a high quality WAV copy. I then compared this with the same movement from Spotify at 320 kbps. Comparing the two Wav files using _ Audacity_, it is immediately apparent from a visual inspection of the high and low points on the waveform chart that the Spotify file is compressed compared with the sound that is on the original CD.

To see how noticeable this apparent difference was in practice in terms of the sound actually produced, I first adjusted one file against the other to achieve the same peak loudness (which has zero effect on compression) and then I then played the two files, repeatedly, on my hi-fi sytem, which a pretty good set-up. After a few listens I reckon I could tell which of the two files was subjected to compression. I'm not sure, though, that the differences are big enough for me to worry about.

As for other aspects of the sound quality, the Spotify MP3 file sounded indistinguishable from the Wav file from the CD. Other people may wish to carry out a similar exercise for themselves, using whatever source material they think appropriate. I would be interested to hear their views.


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## TheGazzardian (Nov 24, 2018)

I used to collect CDs but I'm 100% digital now, mostly using Apple Music for streaming but occasionally buying. I listen mostly at the computer while working or writing, or on my Bose Bluetooth speakers while around the house. I get more out of the music while sitting at the computer using my headphones, as I have 3 pets, a wife, and 2 kids in my house, so when I'm about the house I rarely have the silence to truly appreciate the music I'm listening to (on top of the focus factor).

I'm not super concerned about sound quality, every time I"ve stressed about it and worried if one format is better than another, I spend more effort listening for the differences than to the music. Apple Music's quality is above the baseline where I notice the difference in normal listening, so I'm satisfied with it.

As I have access to unfathomable amounts of music via Apple Music, I've got in the habit of adding music to my library whenever it interests me. I eventually reached the point where I had 200 hours of music I hadn't listened to yet and knew I needed to be a bit more methodical about it, especially because listening to music once only isn't really enough to make any lasting memories of the music.

So I've built an Apple Script that is capable of splitting music up by work (rather than album, as I have a lot of complete-set albums), then randomly picks works from my 'backlog', and plays them in rotating groups of 3s, so that I hear each of the works it picks 3 times with a gap in between. I also have a playlist to 'explore further', and I select a random work from that playlist and play it after each group of 3 works. When I hear something I like, I put it in my 'explore further' playlist, so it will come up again later.

So in short, the generated playlist looks like:

New work 1
New work 2
New work 3
Favorite work 1
New work 2
New work 3
New work 4
Favorite work 2 
...
New work 8
New work 1
New work 2
Favorite work 8

I have found this works quite well for me and I'm to hear a lot of new music without being overly concerned that I am hearing it once and forgetting it. As it's usually two different composers back to back, I find the music stands our more than if I, for example, listened to all Beethoven's Piano Sonatas in one go.


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