How do you listen to music?

[Z3Dreamer]

Ripped albums to our NAS. Supplement this by purchasing digital copies from Amazon or iTunes. When sitting around the house, I use Plex on my Roku or Plex on Alexa. "Hey, Alexa ask Plex to shuffle the playlist "Workout". At the gym, I listen via headphones while streaming with Plex. In the car, I have a bunch of songs (and Old Time Detectives from the 1950's) on a flash drive plugged into a USB port on my car. In her car, DW has loaded up an iPod Nano. She plugs it into the Aux port on her 2011 Rav4. She does NOT want me to put in a modern head unit. At some point, some company I was dealing with gave me rewards in the form of gift cards. One choice was Apple iTunes. So the songs I was purchasing seemed to be for free.

Our kids can't believe how archaic we are. They have subscriptions to Spotify and/or Pandora. You can make up playlists. Yes, we had a Pandora subscription years ago and it was fine. Yes, we know there are many streaming services, including Amazon we get with our Prime membership. We feel that buying the occasional song is cheaper than having a subscription.

Looking for ideas on supplementing our program. Ideas could be hardware or software. Thank you.

 

[Car-Guy]

Yes, but 99% of my time listening to music is in the car or while working in the barn. Most of that is over Sirius/Xm but I do have a bunch of my favorite stuff on USB's Sometimes I'll actually listen to the radio while working in the barn but I can only pickup one station OTA.

If I want a new song on my USB, I just pull it off utube, for free.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Thanks for replying. So you listen to FM music on a radio in the car and in the barn?

 

[Midpack]

We have over 2500 songs, most ripped from CDs* but some purchased from iTunes. We don’t listen to music as much as we used to, but play using Apple Music from iPhones, iPads, MacBook or Mac directly or thru a Bluetooth speaker. We’ve resisted subscribing to Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music et al.

We both listen to free FM music in our cars, but it’s background noise. Most stations now are just long loops without humans on air, so we hear the same songs over and over. I assume the owners update the loops at some frequency but not often.

Just watched a video noting most people don’t have any reason to buy albums (in any format) anymore when you can listen to almost anything you want with Spotify, YouTube, etc. for about $10/month or free. I remember when buying an album or CD was an event - it’s not anymore for most. I remember when stores kept inventory of vinyl then CDs - very rare now.

* Only to keep our ripped library legal, we still own well over 400 CDs, but they’re stored in a cardboard box for 10+ years. We don’t even have a CD player of any kind, haven’t for years.

 

[Car-Guy]

Thanks for replying. So you listen to FM music on a radio in the car and in the barn?

Either XM (Satellite radio) or USB(s) in the cars and one FM channel while in the barn.

 

[MichaelB]

We listen to SiriusXM in the car and over the internet at home.

 

[Livefree]

I have hundreds of mp3's that I copied to my phone. I use a free app called Shuttle, and listen to in the car via Bluetooth, and also have Bluetooth headphones for when I'm bike riding.

I use another phone I upgraded from, that I use specifically as an mp3 player, connected to an old receiver for when I'm exercising to listen to.

I have software that converts Youtube videos to mp3's

 

[Beldar]

Luddite here...

I use an old iPod with PX-100 headphones. Exclusively "70s & early '80s. We don't listen to anything in the car as it's just too distracting.

We have 2 Sirius/XM receivers that have lifetime subscriptions, but since they dumped the international broadcast channel they get little use...the compression makes voice & music sound like it's coming through a cardboard tube.

Oh, and I do occasionally listen to my 78 (especially orthophonics) and cylinder collections.

_B

 

[target2019]

I use Amazon Music and/or Spotify free, mainly for podcasts, and that is through my phone.

In the car we have FM radio playing in the background.

We are in a period where music doesn't seem as important. Not sure why.

 

[Aerides]

Sirius, mostly in the car but also thru the app as they have extra channels in there. I then have a couple of spotify lists, but don't use it enough to pay for a sub.

 

[Jerry1]

Pandora. In the car, on my computer, outside via my phone linked to a Bluetooth speaker and on the TV using an app through the Roku stick. I have Pandora well tuned into music I like by giving my thumbs up/down over the years. I’d get premium, but the commercials just aren’t that bad.

If I want to play a specific song, I will usually look it up on YouTube.

I have every CD I ever bought ripped and available on my computer in a lossless format but it’s rare I actually listen to them.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I have ripped a lot of CD's to FLAC format, put on USB thumb drives. I always have a USB drive plugged into my truck. I have a USB drive plugged into my Yamaha receiver. I also listen to music from YouTube, especially if I'm looking to hear a specific song or two that I don't already have. My Yamaha receiver has streaming capabilities and I've played around with it using Amazon Prime Music and the built in internet radio function (I really need to explore this more.)

I've resisted getting Spotify because they're still stuck on lo-res 320 Kbps format (yes, I can hear the difference between mp3 and FLAC on my home stereo.) Tidal audio recently went to all high resolution audio format AND they lowered their price to $9.95 a month. If I were to get a streaming service, I'd get that one. If you want to impress your kids, sign up for Tidal and proclaim your status as a bit per second snob!

Looking for ideas on supplementing our program. Ideas could be hardware or software. Thank you.

You seem to have a music listening system that is pretty cool.

 

[Fotodog]

For my car, I have a Sirius subscription. It has enough channels to provide a decent variety of your chosen music genres. You just have to go through the yearly dance when it’s time to renew. If you let them renew automatically on your CC, which is the default, you will pay too much. You just need to call them and threaten to cancel, and you will get renewed at about the same price as the previous year, slightly over $100 if I remember correctly.

When I’m home with a WiFi connection I like to use something different for more variety. I have used several services such as Pandora over the years which allow you to choose your favorite artists or songs, and then play similar music based on those preferences. It’s great for discovering new artists. The problem for all of them (from my perspective) is that they don’t dive deep enough into different artists/songs, so you end up listening to the same songs based on the size of their music collection.

We signed up for YouTube premium last year since we both watch a lot of videos and wanted to avoid the ads. As a bonus, YT Music is included and it’s the best music streaming service I have used. I feel like they have a bigger library of music, and thus more variety. I have discovered a number of new artists that I like.

On a side note, at night I watch a lot of music videos on YT using my Bose earbuds while my wife watches television. The sound quality of these is incredible! When I watch the same videos on the television it’s nowhere close.

 

[Luvtoride]

No mention of the services I use for listening to music.

In my car (Tesla) I listen to the Tesla native music service (part of the annual $99 connectivity charge that provides traffic and other features in the car). It is actually a pretty robust music service that has proprietary "radio stations" (without DJ's talking) of almost any genre of music in addition to having sections where you can select music by type, decades, artists and other criteria. Saving your favorites to make them easy to find while driving is encouraged.

I also have a TIDAL subscription, which is also an app in the Tesla and provides an almost endless selection of music by artist, album, track or music types, along with curated personal playlists based on my listening habits.
When outside the car, I most often use the "I Heart Radio" app on my phone, playing these live local and national radio stations from anywhere in the country/ world as well as curated playlists, podcasts and other content on external bluetooth speakers around my home or on earbuds when I'm on the move. When listening on my Devialet Phantom II speaker in my home office/ music room, I mostly use TIDAL for Lossless playback of almost any recorded music I'm in the mood for. This is a great service well worth the $11 monthly fee.

 

[Jerry1]

For my car, I have a Sirius subscription. It has enough channels to provide a decent variety of your chosen music genres. You just have to go through the yearly dance when it’s time to renew. If you let them renew automatically on your CC, which is the default, you will pay too much. You just need to call them and threaten to cancel, and you will get renewed at about the same price as the previous year, slightly over $100 if I remember correctly.

Next time, push back a little harder. I got XM for $5/mo for a number of years. The only reason I quit is because I just don’t listen to it enough even at that price. Note, with taxes and fees, it comes to just under $7/mo total.

 

[pacergal]

FM car radio sometimes, or CDs
At home, old fashioned LP records on DH turn table, radio and sound surround, occasional radio through computer.

 

[Ronstar]

Apple Music on my phone, Sirius in my vehicles

 

[Trailwalker]

In order of use: Spotify Premium, Apple Podcasts, Youtube, and a community-supported FM radio station.

All the vinyl records, 8 Track tapes, cassettes, cd's, and mp3's are long gone.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Thanks for the replies.

Livefree - you hit one of my weaknesses. Most of the time, on hikes, I just want to listen to nature. Sometimes, I need Rebel Yell or Paranoid. I have not been able to find a good offline player. I will try Shuttle. Thanks.

Qs Laptop. Kudos for trying to figure out your internet receiver. I have an Onkyo that has many capabilities. Mine has the USB port on the back and DW has everything perfectly placed. If I were to pull it out...bad things would happen to me. Also, I can't see how I would use any of its streaming capabilities, given that my Roku Ultra is 6 inches away from my Onkyo. Roku has all the streaming channels. But Qs Laptop, I urge you to figure it out and post it here. And the Plex app really, really wants me to use Tidal. Glad to know it is a good product.

Many of you are happy with Sirius. I had it back in 2012, when DW bought a new car. It was great, but I only listen when I am in the car, alone, which is not much. But Fotodog hit on the real issue. I choose to reduce stress and not go through that renewal hassle.

Fotodog - Using various streaming programs to find new artists. I want to learn new things and not be some old dude stuck in the mud. But I am so content with music from the late 50's to the mid 80's, with an occasional rare bleed over. Chris Stapleton's redo of Etta James "I'd rather go blind" (Tennessee Whiskey) and Imagine Dragons (Believer) are two. So, how do you find new artists that you would like?

 

[Car-Guy]

Next time, push back a little harder. I got XM for $5/mo for a number of years. The only reason I quit is because I just don’t listen to it enough even at that price. Note, with taxes and fees, it comes to just under $7/mo total.

They must have plenty of folks that pay full price in order to justify keeping all the customer service people available for negotiating these "deals". However, it's still a real PIA to have multiple cars to dance with them 2 or 3 times a year.

 

[Fotodog]

Fotodog - Using various streaming programs to find new artists. I want to learn new things and not be some old dude stuck in the mud. But I am so content with music from the late 50's to the mid 80's, with an occasional rare bleed over. Chris Stapleton's redo of Etta James "I'd rather go blind" (Tennessee Whiskey) and Imagine Dragons (Believer) are two. So, how do you find new artists that you would like?

With YT music, you start by searching for an artist you like. You will then get songs by that artist, as well as similar ones. When a new song or artist plays, you can give it a thumbs up or down, and your preferences are learned over time. I think other services have this same ability, so in the end the variety of music comes down to the algorithm used and the size of the music library.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Thanks for the replies.

Qs Laptop. Kudos for trying to figure out your internet receiver. I have an Onkyo that has many capabilities. Mine has the USB port on the back and DW has everything perfectly placed. If I were to pull it out...bad things would happen to me. Also, I can't see how I would use any of its streaming capabilities, given that my Roku Ultra is 6 inches away from my Onkyo. Roku has all the streaming channels. But Qs Laptop, I urge you to figure it out and post it here. And the Plex app really, really wants me to use Tidal. Glad to know it is a good product.

When I mention the streaming capabilities of my stereo receiver I mean the built-in apps for Amazon Prime Music, Tidal, Spotify, Pandora, etc. You can access these music services via the receiver's remote, but a better way is to use your phone to run the app for your receiver. I also have a Roku Ultra and it can get Spotify and Pandora, but not Tidal. In any event, I would not use Roku for streaming music because then I would need to turn on my TV. With the Yamaha app (i.e. MusicCast) on the phone controlling the receiver I don't need to use the TV.

As to the internet radio function, it's a button on the Yamaha remote and it gives you access to 100's, probably 1,000's of internet radio stations, US based and foreign, via wifi. I did a search on genre and country of origin and got some interesting results. The problem is there are so many choices I couldn't find a winner. Some had commercials and some did not. It's a real crapshoot. But there is content up the wazoo.

 

[Qs Laptop]

On a side note, at night I watch a lot of music videos on YT using my Bose earbuds while my wife watches television. The sound quality of these is incredible! When I watch the same videos on the television it’s nowhere close.

I've noticed that YouTube music videos played through my home theater sound outstanding! This applies to just about any song from the mid-1980's forward. I suppose that's because that's when CD quality sound become prevalent.

Still, some of the songs sound so good, I often wonder what kind of sound processing voodoo they are using to make them sound that good.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Luvtoride - I may acquire a used Tesla, in a few months. I assume the features you describe are in all models. Right?

And you have a high end single speaker system. In our living room, where we watch TV, I have a receiver and a bunch of speakers. Mostly purchased with guidance from the folks at Crutchfield. My purpose was to enhance TV listening. Could you tell me more about your thought process in buying the system you are happy with?

 

[ShokWaveRider]

We rarely do listen to music, when we do it is nostalgic 80's. Our NAS has 500gb of Ripped CDs.