How do you listen to music? Speakers, headphones, which types, etc., [More options have been added; please see posts #60–62] Options

[skamp]

What kind of speakers do you use for listening to music? Speakers, headphones, IEMs, earbuds… Multiple choices are allowed to reflect different use cases.

Notes:

• a distinction is made between stationary use (e.g. at home or at work) and on the go (when walking / riding / driving, commuting…)
• circumaural headphones surround the ears
• supra-aural headphones (on-ear) are usually smaller (but not necessarily always) and sit on top of the ears
• custom mold IEMs require a visit to an orthophonist who makes silicon molds out of one's ears, which are to be shipped to the custom IEM manufacturer
• earbuds sit on the outer ears and are not inserted into the ear canals like IEMs

This post has been edited by db1989: Jan 17 2013, 22:42

[skamp]

As Nessuno said, the distinction that I make about usage and equipment is like the difference between listening to a Hi-Fi setup fed by a standalone CD player while sitting on a couch, and listening to some FLACs through "desktop speakers" (monitors or whatever) connected somehow to a PC, while sitting at a desk.

I don't see a difference in usage between any "desktop speakers" (whatever their price is) and "studio monitors", if they all sit on a desk, if they're all self-powered and connected to some kind of PC audio device (soundcard, USB DAC, whatever). I also don't really see the particularity of PA speakers.

That said, my knowledge about speakers is very limited, as I almost never use any. So maybe you could come up with a list of options to add to the poll, describing precisely what they are, how they are used, what they're connected to, and generally speaking, what sets them apart.

Note: I'd like to reiterate that price and quality are not within the scope of this poll, notably because price is not an accurate indicator of quality, and quality is quite subjective.

This post has been edited by skamp: Jan 16 2013, 21:55

[db1989]

I don't see a difference in usage between any "desktop speakers" (whatever their price is) and "studio monitors", if they all sit on a desk, if they're all self-powered and connected to some kind of PC audio device (soundcard, USB DAC, whatever).

But studio monitors do not need to be connected to a PC, whether directly or indirectly, and neither do speakers more traditionally associated with computing. In my example, I can connect devices directly to my monitors, or I can connect via my POD X3 Live to apply effects, and the POD may or may not be connected to a PC and acting as a USB audio interface and mixer. I’ve connected my portable players directly to tinny old £5 Time speakers in the past, cheerfully violating their assumed purpose as computer speakers. Surely I’m not the only person who has speakers, whether they’re marketed as monitors or for computers or as something else, that are not part of a hi-fi system and to which I connect things other than a computer?

I also don't really see the particularity of PA speakers.

Whilst I don’t think there would be many users listening through a PA on a regular basis, it’s perhaps worth having as a separate option for precisely this reason, not to mention the different experience and contexts associated with this type of equipment.

That said, my knowledge about speakers is very limited, as I almost never use any. So maybe you could come up with a list of options to add to the poll, describing precisely what they are, how they are used, what they're connected to, and generally speaking, what sets them apart.

I’ve said as much as I can offer on the possible options, so I’ll leave it to others to put in their suggestions. I do think more options would be a great benefit, in any case.

Edit: Having just seen greynol’s post, which was also already my opinion, I’m at least going to add those qualifiers to the existing options. Edit: Or am I? It rapidly begins to get confusing, so I think more options would be a better change, if any is to be made.

This post has been edited by db1989: Jan 16 2013, 22:02

Reason for edit: :S