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I find the discussions regarding music formats (digital files vs vinyl/cd/tape) and the playback components associated with each format to be quite interesting. It seems there are basically four types of (home) music listener and the choice of music format and playback reflects which category you primarily align yourself with; as follows.The dedicated listener: You sit and listen to music in front of a stereo system, dedicating time to select music from your record/cd/tape library and enjoying the retrieval of music and the ritual of playback as part of the experience. The music library may include digital music files but it isn't the primary format.
The convenience listener: You enjoy music played through a stereo system, but it has to be convenient, ready to play with a minimum of fuss. Listening may or may not be while sitting in front of the stereo, thus the need for convenience, which also requires that most of the music must be stored as digital files and/or streamed as internet "radio". The music library may include records and/or CDs but they're used infrequently.
The background listener: Music serves as a backdrop to whatever else you're engaged in. Playback does not involve a traditional stereo system, but rather, is typically a single device with a speaker (sometimes a small "stereo" system) that can be easily placed in small spaces. Music is stored as digital files or streamed, rarely CDs.
The mobile listener: Listening to music at home is just part of the daily music continuum. Playback is entirely done with a small portable device and headphones. Music is digital or streamed, obviously.
There are, of course, many subtle variations on these themes, but I think these four categories capture the modern music listener's primary means of enjoying music at home.
What do you think? Comments or critiques? Do you fit one of these categories?
Edit: I won't change the categories at this point but read my "Results so far" for ideas on how they could be improved.
Regards,
TomPS: Oh, yeah; I fall into the dedicated listener category. For now.
Edits: 05/25/15Follow Ups:
Dedicated
"Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain
Tom
Music is omnipresent in my life; all of the modes you describe are in use at some point during the day.
My mum-in-law once complained about a movie we had just seen.
Her: "Well, you know, life doesn't have a soundtrack."
Me: "Mine does."
Cerebrate!
Tom
"The Sing-Along Listener": As dedicated as any other listener, but can't stop from humming/singing/harmonizing along. Bane of the "dedicated listener", friend of the "convenience" and "background" listeners. An annoying "mobile" listener due to variable acapella skills.
Cerebrate!
Hi, RhythmDevil,
I've heard that phenomenon of off key singing when wearing headphones many times. It's funny how, for most of us, we can't carry a tune if we can't hear our own voice. Maybe someone will come up with singing DSP, or is that already called AutoTune?
Regards,
Tom
Thank you for taking the time to repy; it's been an eye-opener for me.
First off, my notions of how people listen to music at home was more narrowly defined by my own listening preferences than I'd realized. One thing that became clear is that many people don't have a preference for any particular music format and playback system and the listening experience it offers. I had assumed that people did have a preference, a favorite. Some do, many don't, and the means of playing music varies considerably; that is, primary may not be applicable.Secondly, if I were asking the question again, I'd include a somewhat different range of categories (perhaps a more acceptable or appropriate term is needed?) that tried to tease out the nuances of music format and playback but still offered some overlap. The format and playback system might simply be subcategories of the listening experience. For example, I think "dedicated" is still a useful category, but shouldn't be limited to hard copy media; subcategories that include digital or streaming may provide interesting subtleties. And perhaps "convenience" and "background" could be combined as "integrated".
And lastly, asking for people to contribute towards a fairly inane poll may be interesting and of value to some and an annoyance to others. (You're welcome, my apology.) This wasn't done to generate meaningful statistics but here are the results thus far:
(To acknowledge those that don't have a particular preference I've added a "variable" category.)
Dedicated:
68
Convenience/Background: 0
Mobile: 1
Variable:1011
Other: 1
Edits: 05/25/15 05/25/15
I too fall into many different categories depending on the circumstances. When playing vinyl, or a new recording, I do tend to be a dedicated listener. However, my system is in the center of my home and is playing music many hours of the day day via a Lumin music server or a very fine universal disc player (Modwright Truth/Oppo 105). Many discs come from my local public library, on a rotating basis. In the car, I used to have XM (Classical/Met Opera) but have dropped it in favor of my connected iPod with my favorite selections, because of the way better SQ.So, I think labels are not applicable!
Hi, TWB2,
I agree that labels shouldn't be applied to people; the contents keep changing. :-)
Your comment that you tend to be more of a dedicated listener when playing vinyl is somewhat telling. I've read that people are turning to vinyl for just that reason; in a way it forces you to slow down and pay attention to the music because of the act of playing a record.
A music server or bridge for our living room stereo (a small, out-of-the-way setup) is something I've been considering for the past year or so. Something to fill in for FM radio.
Regards,
Tom
...category?Music lover.
I sit in front of the big system most weeknights for at least an hour listening to CDs - dedicated.
We had a bunch of people over for dinner last night and about 6 of us ended up in there listening for a couple of hours.
In the family room/kitchen and outside patio I play my iPod (6300 songs in Lossless) through the 7.1 receiver mainly used for the TV - it's convenient and background.
Also sitting in the family room reading and listening to Comcast Blues channel.
I also listen to the iPod at the gym, in the car on road trips and on an airplane - mobile.
Edits: 05/24/15
Hi, mkuller,
I'm impressed that you had guests that wanted to sit and listen to music. Typically I'll have maybe one or two friends or family that actually like to listen to music as the main activity. Most of the people I know consider music as a background accompaniment to conversation so the music is more like a ceiling fan; heard but not noticed.
Regards,
Tom
...not everyone stayed.
9 guests came to dinner - 3 stayed to listen to music.
I have a few music loving friends - not audiophiles - who I invite over for rock and roll night a few times a year.
I have a few long time friends that still "listen to the stereo" but they live far from me so we rarely get to spend time listening anymore. Most of my newer friends aren't interested in dedicated stereo systems and consider me a bit of an eccentric. But at least there are still a few of us around.
...maybe look to your friends who like to go to concerts instead of the ones with stereos.
They are the ones I listen to music with.
That's just what happens. I go to concerts or local taverns to listen to music with friends and family. It's great, don't get me wrong, but it's not the same as the old days when you got together with friends and listened to records. I have to admit that I miss that.
Times change and so must we.
Regards,
Tom
All of the above, depends on my mood and circumstances.
Hi, hahax,
"All of the above" is starting to look like the modal preference. It would have been interesting to see how the responses might have been different (and from a different crowd) had the question been asked at Digital vs Vinyl vs Vintage, etc.
Regards,
Tom
Our household is a weird one-
I am a total Dedicated Listener, taking an hour or two as many nights per week as things allow to turn on the system, put on something (usually Vinyl, but sometimes CD/DVD-A), turn out the lights, and sit down in the "hot seat". It is only then that I get totally immersed in the music.
The other side of the coin is that my wife and I habitually will crank up one of our favorite DVR/PVR'd Network crime dramas. Does that still qualify us as Dedicated Listener, or is that now something else?
Dman
Analog Junkie
Something else.
Hi, Dman,
I have similar listening habits and try to reserve at least one night a week for extended listening sessions, when I'll play five or six (or more) albums.
"Dedicated Crime Dramas" wasn't a category I'd considered but what the heck.
Regards,
Tom
Sit in the sweetspot most of the time.
Hi, Dave,
The Squeezebox has quite a following from what I've read. Makes you wonder what Logitech was thinking when they dropped it?
Regards,
Tom
" The dedicated listener: You sit and listen to music in front of a stereo system, dedicating time to select music from your record/cd/tape library and enjoying the retrieval of music and the ritual of playback as part of the experience. The music library may include digital music files but it isn't the primary format."
I only do this when "audiophile friends" visit.... Which is not too often......
" The convenience listener: You enjoy music played through a stereo system, but it has to be convenient, ready to play with a minimum of fuss. Listening may or may not be while sitting in front of the stereo, thus the need for convenience, which also requires that most of the music must be stored as digital files and/or streamed as internet "radio". The music library may include records and/or CDs but they're used infrequently."
I do this with a high-end system.... My tuner source is now a JVC KT-HDP1 HD radio.... Which beats any conventional FM tuner I've heard, from a sonic and especially noise standpoint. (It also sounds better than any Sirius XM or internet radio I've tried. No subscription necessary.)
My CD source is a (modified) 5-disc carousel changer.... Not because it's convenient, but because it turned out to be the best sounding reasonably-priced digital audio source I've come across. But I often throw five discs in the changer and press "shuffle".....
Who says high-end systems must not be convenient?
" The background listener: Music serves as a backdrop to whatever else you're engaged in. Playback does not involve a traditional stereo system, but rather, is typically a single device with a speaker (sometimes a small "stereo" system) that can be easily placed in small spaces. Music is stored as digital files or streamed, rarely CDs."
Once again, I do this too... But with a full-blown high-end system......
I think a good system should be enjoyed whether you're seated in the sweet spot or doing something in the next room.....
" The mobile listener: Listening to music at home is just part of the daily music continuum. Playback is entirely done with a small portable device and headphones. Music is digital or streamed, obviously."
Unless if it's a portable (analog) cassette player, I haven't gotten much music satisfaction from portable players.... They sound OK analytically, but for some reason, I'm just not connected to the music.
I guess trying to categorize how I listen to music would be like trying to nail jello to a wall....
Hi, Todd,
You're one of many that have a wide range of listening preferences and I really should have included an "All of the above" category.
That JVC radio sounds like a great way to listen to FM. Unfortunately I don't have access to much in the way of FM broadcasting. Maybe five or six stations that come in clean enough to bother with (and I'm using a decent FM antenna) but they're mainly formula stations so they get boring/annoying fairly quickly. There are a few great stations to the north of me but they're just out of signal range.
Now, about that jello problem; just freeze it. You can even pre-set the nails!
Regards,
Tom
Sometimes I play air guitar or air bass in front of the system...........
E
T
Hi, Awe-d-o-phile,
Air guitar, eh? I wonder if that would be convenience playing or mobile?
Regards,
Tom
Why not a dedicated listener who enjoys the convenience of modern technology for dedicated listening sessions, viewing sessions, background music, and music while mobile?iPad remote controls all media on the Mac Mini including CD quality and higher resolution music files
iPad remote controls my music collection
iPad remote controls my music videos, some purchased, some DIY ripped from DVD
iPad remote controls my movie library
iPhone provides several music sources in the car. Digital signal from iPhone is coupled to the car's audio system DAC completely bypassing the DAC and analog output section within the iPhone.
Edits: 05/23/15
Nice! pics -Abe.
Hi, Abe,
I will accept that I'm old school but I'm not a luddite. I used to listen to music from when I woke up (used to have a stereo hooked up to a timer) to when I fell asleep, but I found that I was missing out on news, talk forums, radio journals, and just listening to the world around me. So now I tend to make listening to music a more dedicated activity in my day.
I was curious to see how others incorporate music into their daily routine, at home specifically. And I see now that I should have posed a more open-ended question.
Regards,
Tom
PS: I haven't made the leap into digital downloads or ripping CDs to a bridge, but I can definitely see the advantages.
If I had the space, I'd still spin the occasional vinyl mainly because I enjoy the record cleaning ritual and equipment tweaking. But in terms of just enjoying the music, I'm fine with the 'all digital' setup.
Nt
Hi, Geoff,
The improvements in the quality of mobile music is impressive. I've been wanting to demo gear just to hear for myself but I don't have access to a retailer and I'd prefer to try before I buy. Next time I'm in a city with a stereo shop I'm hoping to pay a visit.
Regards,
Tom
Stereo shops are selling portable players these days? Cool!;-)
Edits: 05/24/15
Satisfied and tickled too.
Applies to my listening experiences much more accurately than your limited options.
I mean, you don't even offer getting up and dancing!
There are MANY variations!
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
Hi, musetap,
Based on some of the replies, there are people who do it all and everything inbetween. So, if that's taken into consideration the number of options (given the four categories I proposed plus the suggested fifth category for dedicated digital) there could be as many as 120 options. That's not a bad selection to choose from.
Dancing is an option any time there's music.
Regards,
Tom
the "Dedicated Listener" category basically excludes those who have and listen to large digital libraries? Just because I switched from vinyl to digital - for many, many reasons - this does not diminish my enjoyment of the music I own.
In many ways, digital playback enhances my enjoyment and provides me with listening environments not even available on vinyl - like 5.1, Quad, SACD, DVD-Audio, etc. And not having to break my concentration every 22 minutes because the side ran out is a HUGE bonus of digital playback...
-RW-
Hi, RW,
I was amiss in not including dedicated listeners with a library of quality digital music. John Elison pointed that out as well. Perhaps "Dedicated Listener" could be differenciated into two subcategories: hard copy media and digital files? I think it's an important distinction because part of the enjoyment of listening (for me anyway) is the act of selecting and playing records and CDs.
I'm realizing, though, that people don't like being categorized and/or don't have a primary listening experience so this exercise may be one of futility. It is the asylum after all.
Regards,
Tom
I think there are four kinds of people in the world:
1) those who try to categorize people according to various criteria
2) those who find such categorization somewhat interesting but then quickly get distracted by something else, like the fact that you want a sandwich
3) Those who don't believe such categories exist at all
4) Those who wonder why anyone would waste their time coming up with such categories
Hi, Kirk,
You left out a category:
5) People who categorically deny any of the above. [Insert smiley face here if so inclined.]
After reading yet another discussion of the merits of the various music formats and the associated gear, I was curious to see how other asylum lunatics enjoy music at home. My inane attempt at coming up with categories was just an impulse. Nothing more, a lot less.
Regards,
Tom
...and the unrighteous- and the righteous do the dividing. (LOL)
Mark in NC
"The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains" -Paul Simon
I'm a dedicated listener, but I don't enjoy the retrieval of music and the ritual of playback. I find it very difficult to play vinyl records and I haven't wanted to play one in months, perhaps years. Furthermore, I much prefer the sound quality of DSD to that of vinyl or PCM. All my favorite music is stored on USB hard drives and flash drives for utmost convenience.
I am a mobile listener only in my car. I have a USB flash drive containing all my favorite music and my car stereo randomly selects individual songs as I drive. I haven't listened to a car radio in many years. I listen exclusively to my favorite music as I drive.
Best regards,
John Elison
Hi, John,
I did consider the theme of dedicated listener but primarily listening to digital files, especially now that the selection of quality downloads is growing rapidly and the ability to derive excellent quality sound from CDs has become fairly easy.
I didn't include listening outside the home or live music since I was thinking about people's primary listening experience at home, using a device or stereo of some sort.
The reason why I added "For now." in my post is that I can see a day in my future when I won't want to bother with albums and CDs and will down-size the stereo, using digital files or streaming only. But for now, I do still enjoy the hard copy media.
Regards,
Tom
Truth be told, these days I derive most of my musical enjoyment while cooking. Only problem is that when I go to a concert, I get this tremendous urge to sauté shallots.
Tom
/
.
tom
... Which is fine.
I am not going to pigeon-hole myself into one of 'your' categories as none fit my preferences.
My routines change all the time as do my preferences. As I don't 'align' myself with your criteria your 'primary' question is moot.
What do I think? Navel gazing at its best, is what I think.
d:o)
Smile
Sox
Hi, Three sox,
I am biased but not prejudiced. And you're right about the categories not applying to people that often change their routine or take part in most or all aspects of the listening experience.
As for navel gazing, I posted my thoughts because I've noticed that many people (but not all, as you have pointed out) seem to align themselves with certain themes of listening/component preference. I was curious what others thought about that notion.
Enjoy the music!
Regards,
Tom
Dedicated Listener.
Hi, Fantja,
Dedicated listeners (using my biased approach) are the minority by a large margin when compared to society as a whole, but I'm curious about the percentages here at the asylum.
Regards,
Tom
all of those and more....
Hi, SgreenP,
I should have included a theme for "Generalist" or "All Inclusive".
Regards,
Tom
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