Has streamer changed your listening habit?

[TheManWhoBuiltTheMoon]

For those of us that stream music from Nas or the various sites I want to ask has it changed the way you select what you listen to? Before starting streaming quite a few years ago now I was only using cd. If I put an album on I’d usually listen to most or all of it. Now with streaming I find it’s much more random, selecting tracks from different albums and making playlists that last all night. So it maybe just the laziness of having to change a cd but the art of stream has made my listening habit much more random and I don’t know if this is a good thing or not.

 

[Del monaco]

One of the things I can do with streaming is instantly listen to many versions of a work, usually classical, to compare and choose my favourite. I love this ability. It’s a bit like having your own Building a Library programme.

 

[Heckyman]

Yes, but in a good way.

The "listening habit" is controllable depending on which software you choose to use and if you have to get up out of your chair (or not) to change a track.

I deliberately use different software/services depending on whether I want to discover new stuff, play favourite albums or playlists or listen to the radio. Thus the temptation to "channel surf" is not there to the same extent compared to everything being in one app controlled exclusively from the sofa.

 

[Yomanze]

It's totally changed my listening habits, I listen to more music now.

I also don't need to worry about the HiFi bits, as the Allo DigiOne is the lowest jitter source I have owned by far. I mainly use TIDAL and BBC Sounds, using native apps on my phone & Moode on the Raspberry Pi. It has been rock-solid, no crashes or resets needed since I set it up 6 months ago.

I still buy CDs & records now and again, but I don't miss the rifling through & trying to find stuff vs. getting my phone out.

 

[gustav_errata]

Despite exclusively listening via streaming or local digital files for the past 15 or so years, I remain steadfastly committed to the album as the principal unit of music. I stridently refuse to listen to playlists. If I hear one song, I'm going to want to hear the rest of the album.

 

[Amber Audio]

I stream just like I spin LP and used to play CD, streaming has replaced CD but I still buy a lot of vinyl, for me vinyl kind of equals Hi Res, rather have the LP than buy the download.

I play the entire album. No playlists.

Streaming does make it easy to try a new album and bin it if it’s doesn’t work or consider buying if it does. It also makes it easier to flip test tracks when trying new gear.

The massive change streaming has brought for me is discovery of new artists/genres/album versions. Things like suggestions and ROON radio have led to me finding a lot of new stuff and buying a lot of LPs on the back of them.

 

[Bjork67]

It's smashing being able to so many different radio stations and hearing music from Different countries that I certainly can't get on fm or dab .

 

[JTC]

I think it has from a certain perspective, but having done back-to-back trials of Qobuz and Tidal, I'm now rediscovering my cd and vinyl collection. And - maybe I am imagining it - but I am enjoying the music more via those sources than I did via streaming (whether local NAS or online) though I am sure it's all in my head

 

[Bjork67]

Listen up there.

 

[the caretaker]

I think it has from a certain perspective, but having done back-to-back trials of Qobuz and Tidal, I'm now rediscovering my cd and vinyl collection. And - maybe I am imagining it - but I am enjoying the music more via those sources than I did via streaming (whether local NAS or online) though I am sure it's all in my head

Get the head sorted..and the body will follow

 

[marshanp]

I'm not entirely sure what a playlist is, though many people appear to think of them as a basic unit of listening... something like a mix tape? Perhaps they don't really apply to classical music.

Yes, streaming has made many versions of my favourite compositions available, and I too do the Building a Library thing regularly... but I am very careful not to wear a beloved piece of music out. I give them a rest for a while if they seem to be getting jaded. There's always plenty more to explore... and lots of fine music that I probably wouldn't have discovered without streaming.

 

[Bob McC]

I have many playlists, both classical and other.

 

[hornblower]

Yes it has changed my listening habit.

I am in an intermediate guitar class and new, unfamiliar, pieces to to learn I can just download to play on my streamer.

The most recent was 2002 by Anne-Marie

 

[Paul_Riordan]

For me the only differences are that I have more space in the listening room and I don't have to stand up and go and put the CD into the player. The great thing is that I can add things to my current queue whilst still playing music rather than just stacking CDs up ready for playback.

 

[TimF]

Streaming has not changed my listening habits much, if any at all. I still love listening to an album all the way through, and very rarely do I jump all over the place with single track listening. When I do feel like listening to random stuff, Radio Paradise fills that time nicely, and I love it.

If anything, it has enabled me to sample new music to see if I like what is on offer, and then go from there. So much music out there to find and check out, and that has been a very good thing in my book! I rarely even think about my other sources these days. Maybe I have just gotten lazy in that way, now that it is all at my finger tips! As far as sound quality, I think it sounds great and nothing for me to really bang on about, just listen!

 

[mikebirtill]

Whilst working from home, I've been listening to 6music in the morning and then from one streaming Spotify. Very enjoyable in my office system of laptop/chip amp/ old kytes. Still buying tons of vinyl, but I guess I listen to Spotify in here more than the tt in the lounge.

 

[deserter]

Without a doubt.

Good: massively increased repertoire of music I would never have discovered

Bad: rarely listen to full album, sound quality not as good

 

[david ellwood]

It’s fantastic for testing new music before purchasing on vinyl.

 

[manicatel]

Yes, in a good way.
Friends or indeed threads on here say “have you heard.....” & I can instantly give it a go.
If I like it, I will search for it on vinyl, which is still my most preferred source. So streaming has expanded the range of music I listen to.
I recognise the anti-streaming views, relating to low levels of royalty payments to the performers. A lot of my mates are pro or semi pro muso’s. But maybe that’s for a different thread.
I believe there is an argument for/against vinyl, cd & streaming as sources. They can all be “right”, it’s just a matter of whether it’s right for the individual.

 

[uncl_nigel]

I stream just like I spin LP and used to play CD, streaming has replaced CD but I still buy a lot of vinyl, for me vinyl kind of equals Hi Res, rather have the LP than buy the download.

I play the entire album. No playlists.

Streaming does make it easy to try a new album and bin it if it’s doesn’t work or consider buying if it does. It also makes it easier to flip test tracks when trying new gear.

The massive change streaming has brought for me is discovery of new artists/genres/album versions. Things like suggestions and ROON radio have led to me finding a lot of new stuff and buying a lot of LPs on the back of them.

Pretty similar here except the last point. I generally play whole albums and occasionally let Roon Radio loose on my hard discs. As i write I'm listening to a vinyl LP.

With no subscription to Tidal/Qobuz etc, I actively explore new music using Bandcamp and Youtube often after seeing something interesting on a forum thread or checking the music credits at the end of a film. When travel was a reality, I used to actively explore stuff in shops like the German Planet Saturn stores.