how do you listen to music videos?

janeray1940 · Dec 21, 2015

Just wondering what people do now that cell phones seem to be all-purpose entertainment devices.

Personally I can't stand the thin, treble-y sound that comes out of a cell phone so I nearly always use headphones. And I can't stand earbuds either, so I usually use studio headphones. But then I'm old enough to remember saving up for decent quality stereo components back in the 1970s, so... curious to know what others do in this day and age, specifically with regard to listening to recordings posted on YouTube and the like.

coolkayaker1 · Dec 21, 2015

Oddly, even with the advent of technology, I still listen with my ears.

janeray1940 · Dec 21, 2015

coolkayaker1 said:
Oddly, even with the advent of technology, I still listen with my ears.

Ha ha, you answered before I even finished my poll

I'm asking because I find that bass is almost entirely absent on cell phone speakers. Having just made my first video, it seems kind of a shame to mix it to sound a certain way only to learn that many people are going to just hit play on their cell phone and when they do so, the bass is nearly undetectable so what they are hearing isn't what was intended.

Probably overthinking as usual, but thought I'd ask anyway.

coolkayaker1 · Dec 21, 2015

Oh, now I get it, sister M. Lol

I listen on my iPad w headphones (not a choice on the voting list so I'll just tell you). I see your point about the lack of bass. True. Plus, mostly listening to streaming or mp3s, where the recording quality is the equivalent of a cellophane Twinkie wrapper.

Whatever happened to the good old days when people spent a fortune for floor speakers and quality audio components?

Oh, I know, it went the way of the full concept album...straight into the mouth of downloaded pop singles. &#55357;&#56869;

Joe Walsh says it best: http://youtu.be/_zMrQIJiRDQ

Peace Train · Dec 21, 2015

Ah, I remember the good ol' days when we used to watch them on tv.

Croaky Keith · Dec 21, 2015

I only use headphones on rare occasions, like when I want to listen & not disturb anyone else.

(My vote was for using my laptop.)

Edit: I listened to your video on this laptop & it sounded good.

janeray1940 · Dec 21, 2015

Interesting responses so far, thanks all!

Kanaka916 · Dec 21, 2015

Selected three different options . . . laptop with headphones, external consumer grade speakers (Cambridge Soundwerks) and other (explained below).

I use headphones and in ear phones (Shure, AKG & Grado) reproducing the music from a Yamaha M80 amp & Carver C2 preamp, Technics CD player & Technics SL1700 MK2 turntable and a set of Klipsch Heresey II speakers. Still working on digitizing my music collection using FLAC and MP3 (320) formats and storing them on two external drives attached to my laptop.

KohanMike · Dec 21, 2015

I also watch music videos on my 42" plasma TV with simulated surround through an AppleTV3 and YouTube.

Rllink · Dec 21, 2015

I'm, sorry, I checked more than I didn't. I listen to music as it comes, and that can be from a lot of directions. I listen to a lot of music through my TV as well. I listen to a lot of music on my car radio. I listen to music on my Ipod while I'm running. I listen to a lot of live music in different venues. It just goes on and on.

janeray1940 · Dec 21, 2015

Rllink said:
I listen to music as it comes, and that can be from a lot of directions.

You know, after thinking about it that could have been my answer as well, with a couple of caveats: first, I never listen on my iPhone speaker because the sound quality is so bad that I don't see the point, and second, if I really want to *listen,* I get out the headphones.

I almost think I should have posted this in the Seasonistas forum, because what they share there is the sort of thing I was specifically addressing - YouTube recordings of songs as opposed to going out to see live music or listening to prerecorded music on music-specific devices like iPods. People take the time to record themselves and take the time to put thought and money into recording gear and mixing and what not, and then more often than not all that effort is for nothing because the playback is on a phone or laptop.

pritch · Dec 21, 2015

Basically it depends how energetic I feel. Minimum effort is to listen to the laptop speakers. Next level up is to plug in earphones. There is also a Fiio earphone amp that improves things for a little more effort.

There is an Apple TV that allows me to play from the iPod or laptop on the main stereo system over wifi.

Recently I moved the Yamaha THR10c amp into the living room and I sometimes play the iPod over that. Currently I have about 700GB of roll over data allowance so I've been listening to some Internet radio during the day.

I have no music stored on the phone.

Peace Train · Dec 21, 2015

janeray1940 said:
...more often than not all that effort is for nothing because the playback is on a phone or laptop.

I used to be into hi-fi and still have quality setups. But I never got into FLAC or Lossless files. It's just a whole other ballgame. Plus, watching recordings off youtube, no matter how high the quality, will only get you so far in your listening pleasure. A decent hifi setup will reveal the flaws of the recording so it isn't worth running a laptop through my system without more work being done. Listening through laptop or bluetooth speakers is good enough for hearing what the artist was trying to convey. Otherwise, I listen to professionally recorded 200 gram vinyl, SACD, XRCD, Gold, etc.

jollyboy · Dec 22, 2015

I voted laptop with headphones, but that's not quite the full story. I also have a usb dac (with built-in headphone amp) sat inbetween the computer and the phones. The laptop sound card is not great and the dac makes for a much better listening experience.

I listen to most music this way these days (the only real exception being radio), having sold my beloved vinyl collection several years ago. I never could stand CDs but I actually don't mind mp3s so much, as long as they're not too heavily compressed. Also, I like random shuffle - you get some interesting segues. Just had - Bo Diddley, Toots & The Maytals, The Pogues, Notorious B.I.G. and Nancy Sinatra

bookoo · Dec 22, 2015

I did not respond to the poll, because I would have clicked every single option, plus a few more. Yes, crappy cell-phone sound annoys me, but not enough to stop me from listening to something I'm interested in. As far as making video/audio tracks, I try to produce the highest quality I can. I figure, if I'm going to bother making a recording, I might as well try to make it good. Plus, as much as I get annoyed by crappy cell-phone sound, I get REALLY annoyed by poor quality recordings when somebody could have done better.

how do you listen to music videos?

How do you listen to music videos?

Cell phone with no headphones

Cell phone with stock headphones

Cell phone with upgraded headphones

Desktop computer with no headphones

Laptop computer with no headphones

Desktop computer with headphones

Laptop computer with headphones

External consumer grade speakers

External professional grade speakers

Other

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