listening equipment

[kiknos]

hi all,

i remember that back in the biophilia era there had been a thread talking about good headphones and speakers to appreciate the depths of björk's music, but i can't find it and it would be obsolete.

So here it goes again: what equipment are you using to listen to björk's music and appreciate its complexity? I am a noob here, so i would be particularly interested in:

knowing which headphones you're using and knowing how to reproduce the music itself. i don't have a hi-fi anymore after a few moves but i am considering buying one if needs be.

is listening to music on my laptop with headphones a fail no matter what or can i do it with the right equipment?

what are your thoughts on streaming? is there a particular platform that you'd recommend for the uncompressed quality of the material?

let's discuss!

[perUmbram]

I'm using sennheiser hd 380 headphones and krk speakers. haven't got a subwoofer but these thingies are beasts anyway.

[u•ɹɥʇ•ɯ]

i’m not picky when it comes to equipment at all. when i was younger i used to fantasize about having a ‘perfect setup’ one day, but over the years i’ve realized that pursuing an audiophile’s wet dream won’t make me happy and my life and listening habits are too messy to be centered around one fine-tuned way of experiencing music

so… for home listening i have a pair of big old sony speakers that can be used with the turntable or laptop or cd player but they’re slowly dying, i think, and i need to start thinking about a replacement (so i’ll be following this thread lol). speaking of turntables, i have a pretty basic one—audio technica at-lp120. but vinyl is so ridiculously pricey these days that i don’t think i’ve bought any new release in a year or so

when it comes to headphones, i use a pair of noise-cancelling sennheisers for the office and commuting on buses/trains etc., and a pair of koss porta pros for listening while walking around the city or hiking in the countryside. the porta pros are probably my favourite headphones ever, it’s my second pair in 12 years, they’re super cheap, the sound quality is good, they’re durable, and they have a slightly bizarre, retro look that i love

i was a fairly late adopter of streaming services (and i still have hdds filled with lossless files, obsessively tagged and cataloged). when i finally made the jump, i did use spotify for a pretty long time but once some acts started leaving the platform (joni mitchell, i’m looking at you!), i switched to apple music. it lets you stream and save tracks to your phone in lossless quality, and you can add your own files to the library, so that’s a plus

i also enjoy discovering stuff via mixes on soundcloud/mixcloud, independent online radio stations etc. but i still try to buy the stuff i truly love on bandcamp (or boomkat or bleep or whatever) because streaming services pay almost nothing to the artists—and i encourage everyone to do the same, because without financial support for creators in a few years we’ll be left only with ai-generated lo-fi chill beats to make spreadsheets to. and maybe ed sheeran

i like blasting music while driving but my car doesn’t have bluetooth, only a cd player, so i sometimes go through retail dump bins at music stores and find great albums on cd for like 2 or 3 €, and in a true boomer fashion i also burn cd compilations of stuff i found on bandcamp that would sound great in the car. i kinda love cds in general, i think they’re unfairly underrated

i also have a mid-range jbl bluetooth speaker for travelling (i’m not going to feel at home at a hotel unless my playlist’s on!), garden parties with friends, days when i’m alone at the office etc.

and that’s pretty much it. nothing too high-end, nothing too precious, i enjoy music the most when it’s woven into the fabric of my day-to-day life and not relegated to some clinical exercise in trying to set up perfect listening conditions. i mean, i think it’s adorable when audiophiles argue online about the quality of copper used in cables or some shіt but that path is definitely not for me

[kiknos]

I'm using sennheiser hd 380 headphones and krk speakers. haven't got a subwoofer but these thingies are beasts anyway.

thank you! I'll check the headphones out!

i’m not picky when it comes to equipment at all. when i was younger i used to fantasize about having a ‘perfect setup’ one day, but over the years i’ve realized that pursuing an audiophile’s wet dream won’t make me happy and my life and listening habits are too messy to be centered around one fine-tuned way of experiencing music

i am totally with you, i even started saving up for a good piece of equipment a decade or so ago and then decided against it. i am very much for listening to music in loads of different forms, but i also would like (now that i can afford it) to have one decent piece of equipment for when i want to enjoy the minutiae of it.

[Apex]

as for headphones, i can recommand:

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B098FKXT8L/?co ... _lig_dp_it

for a normal standard hi-fi i can recommand:

https://www.amazon.de/Teufel-Lautsprech ... C79&sr=8-4

if you are looking for surround sound system:

https://www.amazon.de/Teufel-Lautsprech ... 79&sr=8-10

if you are in for a fancy gaming chair with sound system, i can recommand this disco:

https://www.amazon.de/Rocker-Entertainm ... 04&sr=8-15

[kiknos]

thank you, apex!

the hi-fi i am actually thinking about, i am just trying to understand if i can connect a turntable (which i don't have ) to it.

i am extremely skeptical about wireless headphones, mainly because even i can notice that all those that i have tried are much worse than wired ones that are half the price. i can't help but thinking that for 250 € i could get much better wired headphones, or what is your opinion on this?

[Apex]

yes, you can connect a turntable too. i did as well.

as for wired headphones: the last time i had a wired headphone, i was in my early teens.
the best option is to try them out at a media market and look for bose/teufel equipment as they really are top notch.

[kiknos]

yes, you can connect a turntable too. i did as well.

yes, i found an article as well about that meanwhile. it would have been weird if it wasN't possible, but i wanted to be 100% sure before making such an investment

as for wired headphones: the last time i had a wired headphone, i was in my early teens.
the best option is to try them out at a media market and look for bose/teufel equipment as they really are top notch.

i see your point and i agree to a certain extent. i just can't help but feeling like i'm being shaken down for something that is not really needed.

[mansilen]

I love my audio technica ATG-m50x headphones, I’ve had them for years. nice bass but not too boosted like how it can be with some. I use them for listening and producing. they’re relatively affordable as well, considering the quality

[kiknos]

I love my audio technica ATG-m50x headphones, I’ve had them for years. nice bass but not too boosted like how it can be with some. I use them for listening and producing. they’re relatively affordable as well, considering the quality

oooh these look nice! THank you, mansilen!