[jonnyp11]

Do you use downloaded music or streaming services? Do you buy it...or.....not (sorry if discussing is not aloud but a straight answer without explanation should be fine)?

Currently i just use streaming at home, I have a few songs i did rip off grooveshark with a little program which didnt work well, but most sound fine. I use pandora the most but have benn told its bit rate isnt good, but it has the best layout to me and is easiest since i have used it for so long

Also, how big of a difference do all those boxes (new to this, AMP, want to say DAC?) make in the music compared to the straight motherboard output? I dont have room for an audio card and dont see the stuff being worth it. Currently debating getting a FiiO E6 which will also be used with my iPad which will be the main music source (I know it's not the same as the bg ones but will mostly be used on the go). Not sure on my headphones yet, getting a deal and waiting for the options.

 

[Aerial Wave]

Quote:

Do you use downloaded music or streaming services? Do you buy it...or.....not (sorry if discussing is not aloud but a straight answer without explanation should be fine)?

Currently i just use streaming at home, I have a few songs i did rip off grooveshark with a little program which didnt work well, but most sound fine. I use pandora the most but have benn told its bit rate isnt good, but it has the best layout to me and is easiest since i have used it for so long

Also, how big of a difference do all those boxes (new to this, AMP, want to say DAC?) make in the music compared to the straight motherboard output? I dont have room for an audio card and dont see the stuff being worth it. Currently debating getting a FiiO E6 which will also be used with my iPad which will be the main music source (I know it's not the same as the bg ones but will mostly be used on the go). Not sure on my headphones yet, getting a deal and waiting for the options.

 
Onboard sound is awful, when you upgrade to a decent amp/dac everything sounds better. It adds more resolution to the music.
 
Btw, you may want to ask on the music section of the forum if you want to know about good places to buy music from. 

 

[iLikeItInTheEar]

I stream 80% from Spotify using their "high quality streaming" option in the apps preferences.
 
The other 20% of the time I listen to FLAC stored on my multi-media server.  This is usually the stuff I really like.

 

[Sound Quest]

Don't expect too many honest answers on this thread.

 

[TheKillerPiglet]

CD's.
 
KP

 

[Saoshyant]

My preference is cd usually turned into ALAC, after that is streaming either from google music or spotify, followed up by my fairly small record collection.

 

[p a t r i c k]

Quote:

Do you use downloaded music or streaming services? Do you buy it...or.....not (sorry if discussing is not aloud but a straight answer without explanation should be fine)?

 
I always buy recordings, I never use illegal file sharing or any other such means to obtain music.
 
I do sometime listen to things on YouTube, but I guess that is all legal, I don't really know.
 
Nearly everything I buy is a CD, in fact I buy from an excellent shop about 10 mins walk from my house.
 
I sometimes buy second-hand but mostly new.
 
Nearly everything I buy is classical music. Classical music performers work immensely hard to create the recordings and I believe they should be paid for their work.
 
I used to play my CDs mostly on my rather excellent CD player, but I'm now transitioning to using my computer more and more. All new CDs go onto my computer immediately and I am slowly putting my old ones onto it.
 
CDs seem to cost about the same as the downloadable versions of the recordings, so I think, why not have the CD and a nice paper booklet with a lot of info about the composer and the musicians.

 

[semicoln]

I use MOG premium, you have the option of streaming and caching 320k MP3.

 

[jonnyp11]

I just started using spotify last night to see and i love it, but i hate the pricing, once the trial is out I'm not using it any more, no constant work so no way to just spend 10 a month (i'm 16)

 

[squallkiercosa]

Classical music: buy cds and rip them
For popular music: What.cd

 

[BillsonChang007]

Interesting forum! Okay   for those music that I don't usually listen to, I download it in MP3 and my stupidity ask me to convert it to WAV (It's a stupid idea I know now but not years ago ). For those music I really like, it is in FLAC but I convert it to ALAC for my iPod and iPhone. All in complete album as I dislike single songs. Makes me feel silly(just to me not everyone)!
 
Billson

 

[GREQ]

Quote:

 
 when you upgrade to a decent amp/dac everything sounds better. It adds more resolution to the music.

This isn't true - amp + dac doesn't add anything, especially resolution to the music - it just tries to put less in the way of the signal to your ears. 
They're just better at revealing the 'truth'. 
 
I like to rip CDs to flac. Also stream from spotify sometimes when checking out new music.

 

[TubeStack]

For at home listening, I buy vinyl records, both new and used. For portable, my iPod Classic is full of ALAC files drawn from both CD's and downloads.

 

[chewy4]

I try to get CD's whenever possible. Sometimes I even go as far as ordering out of print CD's on discogs for too much money(most I've payed is around $50). Only if I really like that particular album though.
 
If it's not possible to get the CD, I find the website of whoever makes the music and get it off there. Which has more often than not pointed to bandcamp recently.

 

[ohsoslo]

I downloaded about 300 albums worth of classic rock music from youtube and converted the songs to mp4 for itunes, but I still value my ~100 cds I have more, for various reasons.