Ian Austen
pfm Member
I'm another regular Radio Paradise listener. A nice feature when listening to it in Roon is when something is playing you're interested in, you can just click on the hyperlink and the artist/album appears in Qobuz/Tidal.
Has streamer changed your listening habit?
- Thread starter TheManWhoBuiltTheMoon
- Start date
My streaming set up has made me buy more vinyl. I explore digitally and then buy, very useful.
I find I can’t totally relax with digital and start to jump around tracks.
I have Qobuz and Roon subscriptions, and they have enriched my musical life and experience enormously. I still nearly always listen to complete albums or works, and the choice that Qobuz give me is wonderful. To be able to listen to several performances of a work is something I would never have done with CDs or vinyl - I didn’t have the kind of money that meant I could buy ten versions of a work, but with Qobuz I can and it is ear-opening. And I can easily listen to music I wouldn’t have considered buying, which is good too. Still buy the odd download, from the likes of Hyperion, but rarely. And I was going to a lot more concerts before the lergy struck, so musicians probably got more of my money than when I spent it on CDs. If anyone has any doubts, do get yourself a free trial of Qobuz or Tidal and Roon. It takes a bit before the penny drops, and you liberate yourself from listening to the same old same old, but after that it’s Christmas every day. For buttons.
Del monaco
Del Monaco
I find it intriguing that not listening through a whole album is seen as a problem,like it’s some form of deficiency. Even as a vinyl listener there aren’t many albums that I want to listen to right through, even concept albums. And for some albums I may wish to hear one particular work or even one particular side.(Bowie’s Low springs to mind).
The ability to edit these albums is an advantage in my book. Creating playlists is great as well for those times when you’re not actively listening but just enjoying the music as you work etc. Though I compare parts of symphony/opera recordings and am able to decide whether I like them or not by listening to strategic excerpts, I can also sit and listen through whole works when I wish. It’s the instant access and flexibility as well as high quality sound that make streaming valuable. And though I like all of my formats, I find I use the streamer much more often.
The ability to edit these albums is an advantage in my book. Creating playlists is great as well for those times when you’re not actively listening but just enjoying the music as you work etc. Though I compare parts of symphony/opera recordings and am able to decide whether I like them or not by listening to strategic excerpts, I can also sit and listen through whole works when I wish. It’s the instant access and flexibility as well as high quality sound that make streaming valuable. And though I like all of my formats, I find I use the streamer much more often.
I did have multiple versions of things I love - not that I'm rich, just rather, er, focussed? Two dozen CDs of Bruckner's 8th 
...some of which I probably won't play again...
...and there are still oooh, loads more on Qobuz! I'll never hear them all, because if I did I would risk getting fed up with what I now regard as the Everest of symphonic music. Can't take that chance.
I have discovered wonderful music that I wouldn't have bought on CD because the budget wouldn't stretch (or sometimes because what I wanted to hear was coupled with things I was less bothered about, so the recording fell back in the queue). Examples: the exotic symphonic poem by Jean-Louis Florentz, Qsar Ghilane... and the equally exciting Amazonia by Miguel Kertsman - both on Qobuz and both wonderfully colourful, evocative works.
(My third recent discovery, Peru Negro by Jimmy Lopez, is absent from the Harmonia Mundi recording of his music as offered by Qobuz, an occasional annoyance - but was played on R3 yesterday afternoon).
...some of which I probably won't play again......and there are still oooh, loads more on Qobuz! I'll never hear them all, because if I did I would risk getting fed up with what I now regard as the Everest of symphonic music. Can't take that chance.
I have discovered wonderful music that I wouldn't have bought on CD because the budget wouldn't stretch (or sometimes because what I wanted to hear was coupled with things I was less bothered about, so the recording fell back in the queue). Examples: the exotic symphonic poem by Jean-Louis Florentz, Qsar Ghilane... and the equally exciting Amazonia by Miguel Kertsman - both on Qobuz and both wonderfully colourful, evocative works.
(My third recent discovery, Peru Negro by Jimmy Lopez, is absent from the Harmonia Mundi recording of his music as offered by Qobuz, an occasional annoyance - but was played on R3 yesterday afternoon).
And that reminds me that we shouldn't forget on-demand radio. BBC Sounds is a very useful adjunct to a streaming service - keep an eye on the schedules and there are lots of programmes that you are likely to identify as probably enjoyable, and can then hear at a time to suit yourself. If we had never been offered streaming this would seem like a pretty satisfactory substitute...
Del monaco
Del Monaco
BBC Sounds is great.Been running it for a few weeks through LMS now.
evand
Just press play
For the most part no. If I'm actively sitting down (or lying down with cans on) to listen it's album listening about 9/10 times. Very occasionally I'll build up a playlist of old favourites I'd like to hear and let that see me through a night's listening.
If I'm not actively listening then I let Roon Radio take over.
I used to believe that the music collection was near complete (300 CDs) and I just had to optimise the kit/room to enjoy it more. That probably had some truth but having stepped into streaming about 12 years ago it opened my ears to many more tracks, more albums worthy of a full listen, random stuff like Swedish music I’d never have bought, etc. It also meant playing more spontaneous music that my wife or the children or friends wanted to hear. So it’s been a revelation to have a good set up (was a Spitfire DAC, now a D33. Was Royd RR1, now PMC DB1, etc.) but just use that set up to explore and enjoy the music that’s out there. It lets the mind wander too so you hear UB40 and you think, hey Bob Marley not heard that for a while, or you fancy a bit of a boogie Woogie blues piano and see where that leads.... then you spot a film soundtrack. For the record I now listen much more to whole albums than a single chosen track.
Streaming has made a huge difference to my listening for the better. Previously it was a little FM radio with the remainder digging into my CD collection. Now it’s listening to a wide range of music on Tidal that I would never have bought on CD. I’ve discovered a good number of artists that I particularly like and would not have heard otherwise. Also listen to radio via the Internet, in some cases the same FM stations (streaming sound quality is a lot cleaner) and Progzilla where, again, I’ve discovered new (to me) artists that I’ve begun to like. Now I only listen to CD when I feel the need to hear old favourites.
I don’t want to start a streaming war but for my musical taste Tidal beats Qobuz hands down for the selection of artists.
I don’t want to start a streaming war but for my musical taste Tidal beats Qobuz hands down for the selection of artists.
Brian Ellis
pfm Member
Totally changed my listening habits, now listen to music in most rooms and all simply with minimum fuss. I still have circa 3000 CD's in the loft although not sure I will ever use again. Due to the quality of Qobuz and previously Tidal I haven't even added any of them to my NAS...
cj66
pfm Member
X2
I make loads of playlists, I use "song radio" very often, I skip around bands and genres with total abandon.
Radio Paradise, oh yes, a great source of music I never knew the existence of before. I only switch away when their play list goes into jazz or African mode...