How do you listen to music

[Flip Oakes]

I wasn't sure how to title this.

What devices do you listen on and what speakers or headphones do you use?

How important is this for you?

Personally I use all Bose speakers or headphones. On my TV I use the Bose surround sound with the 5 speaker system with the woofer.

My computer, I use the Bose stereo with the woofer, on my iPhone I use the Bose noise cancelling head set.

The reason I'm asking is when listening to sound clips, only using either the computers, iPhone, or tv speakers so much is lost and the nuances of the sound are lost and not exposed, and when comparing horns, Mpcs, or other components that would change the sound, how much would be missed.

Now I know there are also better quality sound systems then I have that would even further the quality of sound, and I wished I had them as the sound is the whole deal for me. Music is sound, so sound is of the most importance to me.

I personally have some YouTubes up, most taken by fans, and some sound pretty good depending on what you're listening to them on. So I'm just curious as to what most of the TH members use to listen on

Best,

Flip Oakes
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Flip Oakes “Wild Thing Trumpets�
2559 Mottino Dr.
Oceanside, Ca. 92056-3421
760-643-1501


Delivering the distinctive Wild Thing Sound since 1994

[LittleRusty]

I use Bose Noise Cancelling headphones hooked to my PC most of the time. On trips they are hooked to my iPad or iPhone.

At home I use 7.1 surround sound with a Panasonic AV and B&W speakers.

That said, at my age hearing has taken a lot of the highs out of my hearing so I am missing that very top end.

[KJaeger]

Flip:

I tend to do a lot of listening nowadays either in the car (iPhone playing through the car speakers, which in my convertible means I can't hear as much ), or on my Macbook (iTunes or Youtube) using a pair of V-Moda Crossfade LP2 headphones. Occasionally I will play CD's through my home theater surround sound set-up, but that is more and more rare.

I like the V-Moda's a lot - they were a gift as otherwise I would not have spent that kind of money on headphones.
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- Kevin

Schilke B7
1935 Martin Handcraft Imperial #2 bore
Bach 37 (rebuilt by Charlie Melk) w/ MTV-525 leadpipe
Kanstul 1510-A C trumpet
Kanstul 1525 flugelhorn

[dstdenis]

At work, I listen to music with Skullcandy Hesh 2 wireless over-the-ear headphones. My car has a stereo package with Infinity speakers. At home, I usually listen to music with a stereo pair of Sonos PLAY:1 wireless speakers, unless there's a lot of racket in the house, in which case it's back to the headphones. I really like the Sonos speakers. The Hesh 2s sound good but I get tired of those things sitting on my head—guess my ears are too big.
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Bb Yamaha Xeno 8335IIS
Cornet Getzen Custom 3850S
Flugelhorn Courtois 155R
Piccolo Stomvi

[Don Herman rev2]

My main music system is decent, high-end for me but cheap compared to the really ritzy systems that cost as much or more than my house. Oppo BD player (currently down, using a cheap Sony in the meantime), Emotiva prepro, Emotiva amplifiers, and a set of Magnepan speakers (MG-IIIa's, the current model is the 3.7). Rythmik subs.

Since I was in the business (as a tech, installer, and sometimes salesman) back when I got some of my original high-end gear, sticker shock was severe when I had to upgrade and replace stuff for our new media room a few years ago.

Several other systems are around the house using Denon, Sony, and Yamaha AVRs with KEK, Mirage, and Infinity speakers. All older stuff now (10+ years). I recently added some SONOS speakers for some of the rooms (including my office) and a couple of CONNECT's after ripping my CD collection to FLAC files.

I have never cared for Bose speakers though their headphones sound decent to me. I have Sennheiser, Sony, and Grado headphones around. For a good music system the first question is always "How much?" and then "Where do you plan to put it (how much space for components and speakers)?"
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"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley

[LaTrompeta]

I am sort of an amateur audiophile. I use a DAC with Sennheiser Momentum headphones. At home, I use a Marantz SR-8001 as a pre-amp and a vintage 70s Marantz 2238B amplifier with Boston Acoustics speakers. For the night time I switch to my Sennheiser HD 600s.

I think that audio equipment really makes the difference.

[VetPsychWars]

Sorry, Flip, Bose is garbage and has been for decades. "Doctor" Bose has had some pretty bizzare notions about how to design a speaker and it's been well-known in the audiophile community for decades that their components are garbage.

For headphones, Sennheiser is pretty much the standard everyone else wants to beat. I'm loyal to Milwaukee but Koss just isn't it.

I've been using Parasound components for a long time now. The value is out of this world. They have an integrated amp that I wished I'd seen before buying separates. The D/A converter alone is well worth the price.

Wish I could advise you on speakers. Mine are a boutique brand you can't find any more designed to beat the Quad ESL-63... which is a darn good speaker on its own. The latest version of the Quad would do you well.

But please for the love of dog, get rid of that Bose crap.

Tom
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1950 Buescher Lightweight 400 Trumpet
1949 Buescher 400 Trumpet
1939 Buescher 400 Cornet
GR65M, GR65 Cor #1

[Flip Oakes]

I have Sennheiser headphones , I have had them for years and always use them in a studio when recording. While the Bose may not be at the top, mine are very good. For playback on my computer or iPhone they sound richer and much fuller then the Sennheiser headset for listening to music.

Again I'm just curious as what some of the TH members use to listen to music on. As this post was intended an inquire, and not a debate.

Thanks so much,

Flip
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Flip Oakes “Wild Thing Trumpets�
2559 Mottino Dr.
Oceanside, Ca. 92056-3421
760-643-1501


Delivering the distinctive Wild Thing Sound since 1994

[LaTrompeta]

I think Vet was a little extreme there...Bose isn't "crap." It's just more mainstream than Sennheiser and not as crystal-clear of a sound.

Crap is Beats, Monster, Dre, Skullkandy or whatever is out there now. If you can find it at Wal-Mart you know it's bad.

Also, every component has to be quality in a good audio system. You can't pair $1000 headphones with an iPhone. Same, a $2000 DAC won't do much good with a generic pair of earbuds. I personally have made several audio components, including my own speaker cables & wires and a modified PlayStation 1 CD player. I have also fixed up vintage stereo equipment.

Usually the upgrades happen step-by-step. Wilson audio, known in the industry as the benchmark for speakers worldwide, is only 30 minutes from my house. I think I may pay them a visit soon...

I've heard that Mr.Clean is an audio enthusiast. I'd be interested to know what he listens to music on.

[mm55]

Three things mentioned that are usually incompatible with high-quality sound: mp3, active noise cancelling, and youtube. They all have their good points, but good sound is not among them.
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'75 Bach Strad 180ML/37
'79 King Silver Flair
'07 Flip Oakes Wild Thing
'42 Selmer US
'90 Yamaha YTR6450S(C)
'12 Eastman ETR-540S (D/Eb)
'10 Carol CPT-300LR pkt
'89 Yamaha YCR2330S crnt
'13 CarolBrass CFL-6200-GSS-BG flg

[mm55]

[Grits Burgh]

+1 for Sennheiser headphones. Most of my listening lately has been to explore jazz, which I only recently began listening to. I just plug the Sennheiser's into my MacBook and listen to stuff on Napster (aka Rhapsody). When I find things that I really like, I buy the CDs and play them in car (the best sound system that Ford offered).

I also have an old Carver stereo system and listen through the Sennheiser headphones. I also have some small Bose speakers hooked up, but I don't use them much. The headphones give me the best sound.

By the way, I also listened to every Flip Oakes performance I could find on YouTube. The quality of the YouTube recordings is not audiophile, but I enjoyed listening all the same. Nice chops, my friend.

Grits
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Bach Stradivarius 37 (1971)
Schilke HC 1
Getzen 3810 C Cornet
King Master Bb Cornet (1945)
B&S 3145 Challenger I Series Flugelhorn
Life is short; buy every horn you want and die happy.

[Don Herman rev2]

If you're looking for Flip's recordings, also check his website and look for Titan Hot Seven CDs (http://titanhotseven.com/). There are some great recordings spanning a variety of jazz styles. "My Walking Stick" is pretty cool.
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"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley

[Don Herman rev2]

I thought Wilson was in Provo, Utah?

Roger Sanders is pretty close to Loveland...

There are a lot of contenders for "best" (or at least most expensive) speaker. Wilson is in there, but also Magico, Focal, Goldmund, Acapella, Avalon, FM Acoustics, YG, etc.

I haven't heard the newer Wilson speakers produced since Daryl took over.
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"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley

[Robert P]

[Joe Manzanares]

Regular old iPhone headphones on my iPhone 6+
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JM
South Texas Alumni Brass Band

Selmer Paris Chorus 92B Bb
Selmer Paris Sigma Bb
Yamaha YCR-732 Bb Cornet
Courtois Bb Flugelhorn
Monette & Kanstul Mouthpieces

[Andy Del]

Sennheiser headphones. Have a really old pair form the late 1980's that still sound awesome and a new cordless pair. Both sound fine.

BUT, I have had to study old recordings in the past, and got used to listening 'past' the recording to try and hear what is happening. Once I got into that, my car sounds fine. While the H/P are great and a joy to listen to, the duff setup in my office is not an issue.

Life is too short to get all bent out of shape ove a speaker!

cheers

Andy
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so many horns, so few good notes...

[tmccarthy53]

While Bose and other high-end speakers are great, if you are listening to music from iTunes or any other mp3, the compression has a noticeable effect on sound quality. Using CD's or downloading .wav files rather than mp3's will make a big difference with high quality speakers.

[nlebaron]

As has been mentioned... a good amp will make the most difference as long as the speakers are at least decent. My brother and I have made some pretty awesome sounding surround sound systems using a quality marantz amp paired with relatively cheap speakers from mcmelectronics.com. Put a $300 sony amp in the place of that marantz and all the magic goes away.
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1996 Bach Strad 37 Bell

[VetPsychWars]

A typical high-end speaker will be a Quad electrostatic. The Parasound Halo series is some pretty impressive electronics. Nowadays a turntable is to your discretion. A CD player is just a transport with the outboard electronics doing the business.

There is some truly high-end equipment out there. In general, you either built it yourself or spent a half-year's salary putting it together.

Mid-fi systems with names like Bose and Sony ain't gonna cut it.

Tom
_________________
1950 Buescher Lightweight 400 Trumpet
1949 Buescher 400 Trumpet
1939 Buescher 400 Cornet
GR65M, GR65 Cor #1