How do you listen to music at home?

Inside I use a turntable and some nice Bose speakers. On the patio I use one of those ihome devices.

I'm 100% digital these days. Mainly use iTunes via Apple TV. Can also airplay or bluetooth music, but only difference would be that they would actually be downloaded to the device vs. streaming via the Apple TV.

I need some new speakers inside, not 100% happy with what I have, but I have a receiver that is wi-fi and blue tooth ready. Mostly I play vinyl and the system is hooked into Bose speakers out on the patio. When I'm feeling lazy or I'm working on a task I'll play Pandora through the system on blue tooth or let the CD rack play, but mostly it's vinyl.

Stef listens to the Radio during the day rather than the blue tooth option when she's not spinning records. I'd say we're about 3x1 on playing music to having the TV on. 8 X 1 if you take out the time that a game is on tv and the stereo is playing over it.

My response to the 'What are you watching' thread would mostly be : "Nothing".

quote:

Originally posted by Stefania Wine:
I need some new speakers inside, not 100% happy with what I have, but I have a receiver that is wi-fi and blue tooth ready. Mostly I play vinyl and the system is hooked into Bose speakers out on the patio. When I'm feeling lazy or I'm working on a task I'll play Pandora through the system on blue tooth or let the CD rack play, but mostly it's vinyl.

Stef listens to the Radio during the day rather than the blue tooth option when she's not spinning records. I'd say we're about 3x1 on playing music to having the TV on. 8 X 1 if you take out the time that a game is on tv and the stereo is playing over it.

My response to the 'What are you watching' thread would mostly be : "Nothing".

"i know a guy"

i just upgraded the receiver

using an onkyo nr818 which im very very happy with. great performance for the money.

audyssey xt32 is an awesome feature

I'm running klipsch rb62s, rs42s and an rc62 for my speakers covering a nice small 500 sq ft room.

i use a first generation ps3 to play my SACDs and DVD audio disks.

For digital media, I stream from my PC via ps3 media serve.

my pc specs are
intel i7 4770k
8GB DDR3 1600 low latency ram
128GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD
3x Seagate Barracude 2TB 7200 rpm harddrives
and tying the audio to the pc is my entire house which is wired to cat 6 specs allowing gigabit + transfers. (I can stream non compressed 1080p streams with no lag/stuttering)

Listen to music in the house? My friggin kids are in bed by 6:30 and 7:00, and our house has paper thin walls. I wish!

I forget that some people have kids. It's a foreign concept.

For CDs I have an old Rotel CD player and amp (RA-860) connected to a pair of Angstrom Alpha 80 speakers. It’s an old set-up but sounds just fine to my ears. I should get a way to play things from our computer and ipad to this but I haven’t. My wife walks around with the iPad playing music sometimes and our computer in the library is hooked up to some fairly nice Bose speakers of some sort but nothing works together…

I listen to music at home much the same way as in the car, at concerts, etcetera.... Through my ears.

quote:

Originally posted by BRR:
Listen to music in the house? My friggin kids are in bed by 6:30 and 7:00, and our house has paper thin walls. I wish!

Just need to invest in a nice set of headphones.

quote:

Originally posted by Rob_Sutherland:
For CDs I have an old Rotel CD player and amp (RA-860) connected to a pair of Angstrom Alpha 80 speakers. It’s an old set-up but sounds just fine to my ears. I should get a way to play things from our computer and ipad to this but I haven’t. My wife walks around with the iPad playing music sometimes and our computer in the library is hooked up to some fairly nice Bose speakers of some sort but nothing works together…

If you have a Mac wi-fi setup, get an Airport Express unit for $99. Plug it into a power outlet near your receiver/amp and add it to the network. It has both analog and digital (fiber optic) audio outputs to connect to your receiver. Then you can stream audio wirelessly from your computer's iTunes or from an iPad/iPhone.

Ripped everything to FLAC years ago. Push from my HTPC to Oppo 105 to NAD 757 to Paradigm Studio 100s.

I'm a Hi Fi nut, so it depends on the room.

All of it is old fashion two channel, but in a nod to the modern world, my son hooks up his laptop and we stream Rhapsody for parties/dancing.

quote:

Originally posted by Hoopty:
Ripped everything to FLAC years ago. Push from my HTPC to Oppo 105 to NAD 757 to Paradigm Studio 100s.

You lost me at "ripped."

quote:

Originally posted by Red guy in a blue state:

quote:

Originally posted by Hoopty:
Ripped everything to FLAC years ago. Push from my HTPC to Oppo 105 to NAD 757 to Paradigm Studio 100s.

You lost me at "ripped."

I had exactly the same reaction.

I used to be able to speak audio lingo fluently. Now it seems that I can't even read it (I do know what Oppo and Paradigm are, though).

Sorry guys. Ripped means to copy all of your CDs, albums etc. to digital albeit in a different format. FLAC is the format of choice for me. This is "lossless" in that no data is dropped. As opposed to lossy formats such as MP3 which look at the data stream and decide that "what the heck, we don't need all of this" and drop some to make the file smaller. Not something desirable if you care about the integrity of your music.

Oppo 105 is a Blu Ray player that has some pretty good audio components. Specifically a digital to analog converter allowing me to push the music from the home theater PC (HTPC) and play it thru the system.

Paradigm is a Canadian speaker company. Pretty good speakers for the money, at least in my opinion.

My laptop running Rhapsody or Windows Media > Teac A-HO1 DAC integrated amplifier > Polk RT15i bookshelf speakers.

Would love to step up to an NAD amp and cd player and a better laptop but am a bit of a nomad right now.

quote:

Originally posted by Hoopty:
Sorry guys. Ripped means to copy all of your CDs, albums etc. to digital albeit in a different format. FLAC is the format of choice for me. This is "lossless" in that no data is dropped.

I'd like to do this. I imagine there's a primer online somewhere about how. Did you use one?

I'm also interested in getting some historical recordings that have been remastered and are available in FLAC formats.

I'm guessing I really need some info to figure out how to go down this path but don't know where to start.

I have two systems.

One is a pair of Golden Tube Audio monoblocks running into a pair of floorstanding speakers of maker I don't remember driven by a rotel preamp and a simple SONY multidisc player. It sounds fine, but I don't sit in front of it to listen to music.

They used to drive a pair of Martin Logan's I still have but are now driven by a humongous Carver digital amp. I have an SFL preamp with a NAD CD player and a Bifrost outboard dac.

I did the regular upgrades for a long time before settling out on this config. Occasionally I think about getting into that again - but the temptation mostly passes.

quote:

Originally posted by aphilla:

quote:

Originally posted by Hoopty:
Sorry guys. Ripped means to copy all of your CDs, albums etc. to digital albeit in a different format. FLAC is the format of choice for me. This is "lossless" in that no data is dropped.

I'd like to do this. I imagine there's a primer online somewhere about how. Did you use one?

I'm also interested in getting some historical recordings that have been remastered and are available in FLAC formats.

I'm guessing I really need some info to figure out how to go down this path but don't know where to start.

There are a number of software apps available for ripping to FLAC format, both for Mac and Windows platforms. Some are free; others charge a modest fee. Just do a search for "ripping to FLAC" and you'll find a ton if good info.

Ripping is easy. Typically you just insert your CD and run the software. It takes care of the rest.

quote:

Originally posted by TPEwinedrinker:
I listen to music at home much the same way as in the car, at concerts, etcetera.... Through my ears.

Made me cough on my coffee.

quote:

Originally posted by aphilla:

quote:

Originally posted by Hoopty:
Sorry guys. Ripped means to copy all of your CDs, albums etc. to digital albeit in a different format. FLAC is the format of choice for me. This is "lossless" in that no data is dropped.

I'd like to do this. I imagine there's a primer online somewhere about how. Did you use one?

I'm also interested in getting some historical recordings that have been remastered and are available in FLAC formats.

I'm guessing I really need some info to figure out how to go down this path but don't know where to start.

Aphilla, not much to it really. Get Exact Audio Copy. It's free. Pretty easy to learn to use. It will download album, artist, title etc. from several free sources and fill in the blanks for you. Feel free to reach out. I'd be happy to assist. john at john leclair dot com.

preferably lying in the bathtub

I simply use an ipod jacked into a Pioneer receiver, the receiver has six ceiling speakers throughout the house that are split into two channels that I can select. If I want to listen in the living room and kitchen, I select that channel. If I want the music in any of my other locations, I select the other channel. if I want it everywhere, I select 'all'. Not optimal for sound quality, but pretty good for working, cooking, or just kicking around the house.

Only problem is my wife HATES listening to music unless she is working out. I need to get her some earplugs.

quote:

Originally posted by WineTrooper:
Only problem is my wife HATES listening to music unless she is working out. I need to get her some earplugs.

Holy crap - that is a deal breaker in our house. Granted, I hate listening to some of the stuff my wife likes, but that is a different story...

Yeah, I like alternative rock and she prefers.....pop. That's almost like a marriage between a devout Muslim and a devout Baptist.

quote:

Originally posted by Stefania Wine:
I need some new speakers inside, not 100% happy with what I have, but I have a receiver that is wi-fi and blue tooth ready. Mostly I play vinyl and the system is hooked into Bose speakers out on the patio.

I saw your thread from last summer re: speakers. So no upgrade yet?

I just picked up a pair of KEF 103.2 from my father. I've been using bookshelf speakers for so long (good bookshelf - Tannoy, with a Mission sub - but bookshelf nonetheless) that the KEF were somewhat of a revelation. They don't have the deepest bass (60 Hz cutoff apparently) but they are very smooth and natural through the rest of the range. I could listen to them all day (which I did today) without getting ear fatigue.

quote:

Originally posted by Hoopty:
Ripped everything to FLAC years ago. Push from my HTPC to Oppo 105 to NAD 757 to Paradigm Studio 100s.

Ditto on the all-digital playback from FLAC. In my case I'm using Logitech software running on an HP N40L MicroServer streaming to a Squeezebox Touch device. That feeds an Onkyo TX-NR809 receiver, which in turn feeds my Paradigm Studio 20 speakers.

Most music at home goes through a pair Audio-Technica ATH-M50x headphones. I prefer them to any speaker setup I've owned.

I used to listen to vinyl a lot, but gave it up when we moved. I just did not trust the movers with my Linn. I had it on a fine Mana glass table mounted to the wall and had it tuned by a tympanist from the Chicago Symphony. Man, did it sound nice.

Now, I listen to digital, played through an Arcam CD player. Also have a Cambridge Audio player, which I like better for rock. Plinius amp (great New Zealand product!) and fantastic French speakers (Cabasse) which unfortunately are not made anymore. I think cables make a big difference and have toyed around with them a lot. At the risk of offending the wonderful people here, I am not a fan of Bose and frankly don't know why their so popular. The OP referred to Tannoy speakers, which I quite like. They're not that well known on the US side of the pond, but their higher end speakers do have some nice redeeming qualities.

I know that, in another thread, Stefania was asking about speakers. I can help with that, but I highly recommend listening to some at audio stores (bring your own CDs and vinyl). Another suggestion is that many cities have audio clubs that meet weekly or monthly. Members will bring new gear to audition. I learned a lot by joining just a group in Chicago. I didn't stay in the group for long; just long enough to find out what I wanted to know and to realize how odd some of these serious audiophiles are!

Ok...enough!

I stream my digital music via my home network or bluetooth to my Parrot Philippe Starck Zikmu speakers. Honestly networked wireless speakers are the way to go for urban living.