Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Friday, February 10. 2023

Might be a solution to my music problem


We've mentioned this common issue several times in the past, but I learned some cool new info from my office IT guy today.


First, I learned you can live-stream almost any radio station in the world from Tune In for $8/month. 100,000 radio stations. Sheesh. All I need is WQXR.


My main discovery is that SONOS makes a gizmo which will connect with your old sound systems. It's called SONOS Port.  I do have two pairs of ridiculously fine speakers so I have to try this thing. I am giving a try just with a SONOS ONE speaker with the SONOS system, and am not impressed. Yeah, it's WiFi, and it's fine for background music but not for listening carefully. I like to listen attentively and, preferably, to be able to see the musicians in a real venue. How do people compose this stuff? Special brains, deserving of attention.


I like my CDs. Large collection. 


Nothing against live music - we go to some at least once/weekend in winter - but I need to listen to pieces of music a bit before I hear them live. Nothing substitutes for live. My brain is slow to get the gist of adult music. Takes me time. Then, when it's live, I really start to get what's in it. A trip to a different world.


When I was young, I liked to focus on music with a little weed. Have not done for many decades, but it somehow opened my ears. (That's the only good it did for me. Otherwise, it's the stupid and lazy drug.)


Our musician readers can tell that I am borderline musically retarded, but it is important to me. I only hear pop music in the gym. Yes, Van Morrison is good for the gym. OK - Dylan is in a different category. Lots of his songs are hymns, of sorts.


What's your opinion? 


Posted by Bird Dog in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 14:24 | Comments (25) | Trackbacks (0)

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An internet feed (wi-fi) is far better fidelity than any over-the-air radio will ever be.
#1 Michael Kesti on 2023-02-10 14:54 (Reply)
Radio is better quality than streaming, even though the radio station is likely getting their feed from compressed, digital streaming also. But he's not talking about streaming from the internet. He's talking about connecting his stereo components through his router.
#1.1 jack walter on 2023-02-11 07:42 (Reply)
Here is an interesting website where one can select and listen to radio stations around the world

http://radio.garden/visit/kurashiki/IzDVEuPM

I hope links are permitted in the contents
#2 Ed on 2023-02-10 15:27 (Reply)
I was going to mention radio garden too. If you have very eclectic music tastes . The site is wonderful as you can sample radio stations all over the planet. There are some unbelievably quirky stations. Also, don't overlook the advertisements. I was listening to a public service radio announcement on a radio station in the Caribbean and it was hilarious. Also some of the talk shows that are in English and foreign countries are eye-opening. They are not politically correct at all.
#2.1 Robert Moffett (Link) on 2023-02-11 15:41 (Reply)
Those ol' Grundig radios are good for that listen to world stations plan.
I still have the Marlboro send-in radio flashlight with geek alert siren for when the power goes out in the spirit of egalitarian equity.
There are still some free music sites available, all located outside of Chiquitastan or former USA.
Electro/House/Techno is in heavy rotation after years of resisting that type of music, everything else is stale and vocoderish and heavy metal has released the same album for 30 years now.
The rock of Gibraltar 1960's-1980's golden time of music is always there to remind of times before the Long March to burn down America by any means necessary completed.
#3 Rye and Ergot on 2023-02-10 16:39 (Reply)
Radio Garden. It's not $8 a month, you do get localized adds just like tuning in to the local broadcast.
#4 JoeT on 2023-02-10 17:26 (Reply)
Since you care about the quality of the sound, given your large CD collection, you will likely never be fully satisfied with any streaming service--content sent over WiFi unless you are certain that the process of converting from a line-level CD output to wireless does not involve
'compression".

FM radio, for instance, is both dynamic range and bandwidth-limited (compared to a CD). But that is nothing like mpeg or mp3 audio compression, which is worse.

As with digital TV, all audio compression loses information. It is called "perceptual coding": your brain overlooks or fills in the missing parts heuristically. This is perhaps not so important with pop music, or if you are in the car (always noisy), or not really paying attention. But if you have good speakers, or good headphones, uncompressed CD sound is the next best thing to live, assuming the production engineers, and those who designed your playback equipment, did their jobs correctly.

Agreed though that the radio or streaming services are a great way to learn about new pieces or composers that you can explore in more detail later. Sometimes, if the right piece catches you at the right time, the experience can be very satisfying. But of course, nothing can match the intensity of a live performance. The music just makes more sense, somehow.

Speaking thus as a retired EE (with some signal processing background) and classical music lover with a collection of hundreds of CDs and LPs, collected over 50 years or so.
#5 Hairless Joe on 2023-02-10 19:36 (Reply)
I'm no expert in this, but with the Sonos One you can select "No Compression" in the Settings if you've got the bandwidth (which most people do nowadays). In addition, you can connect your Sonos to your router via ethernet capable, which is a 'cleaner' and faster connection than Sonos's 2.4ghz-only wifi option.

Your Sonos One will never, of course, sound like a "Voice of the Theatre" setup, but lossless-uncompressed audio will help across ethernet should help.
#5.1 Euripides on 2023-02-11 09:16 (Reply)
The weakest link in your system is your speakers. You may have great speakers but still lack that auditorium sound. Placement is critical especially if you have 3, 5 or more speakers. Your carpet and drapes are killing your sound quality. Some tricks: Place your speakers on a hard surface. Another weird trick is to put a trash can (the bigger the better) on it's side with the opening facing the speaker. (Multiple speakers = mulitple trash cans. Yes I know it doesn't seem like a great idea but it can work.)
#5.1.1 Eumenides on 2023-02-11 15:39 (Reply)
Checkout the free Radio Garden app. It’s brilliant! Shows radio stations around the world that you can listen to,
#6 Ann K. on 2023-02-10 22:13 (Reply)
Outfitted my office with Sonos paraphernalia, including surround speakers they sell through Ikea that look like portraits on the wall. Biggest frustration was not having a line in for my computer to stream HD audio, without spending almost $500 on their Port.

Fast forward to this week when I picked up a Roam for our upcoming trip to Cancun (Navy exchange, $160). Low and behold, you can connect to the Roam via Bluetooth, and the thing sends that stream to the whole room via wifi. Neat!

Don't know if that solved your issue but it might help somebody here at the Farm.
#7 Bull on 2023-02-11 07:15 (Reply)
Radio Garden is nice. I enjoy listening to the local ads, sort of a way to travel...

And try Janga - has some depth on what is played as well as some interesting features. There is both an app and a website.

Sometimes the ears have better vision than the eyes...
#8 JD on 2023-02-11 08:43 (Reply)
Glad I'm not the only one who still appreciates CDs.

I pulled up to a McDonald's drive-thru a few months ago and the clerk marveled at my collection on the passenger seat. It's in one of those cheap wooden holders that I may have purchased in one of those places we used to call malls.
#9 Maniac on 2023-02-11 09:27 (Reply)
Most of my music now is on SD cards. But I miss 8-Track for the car.
#9.1 OneGuy on 2023-02-11 15:42 (Reply)
CDs are the way to go. To listen to them, I just get into my 1986 BMW 635csi and drop one in to the aftermarket player. The only problem: With the proper music, such as E. Power Biggs playing J.S. Bach's Cantana and Fugue in D minor, there is a tendency to speed.

As to radio listening, I just turn on my Grundig Satellit 800 Millennium and enjoy what flows in out of the ether.

All this wi-fi driven stuff is too easy and too bland.
#10 Old CD lover on 2023-02-11 09:46 (Reply)
Check out the WiiM mini as a streaming receiver. Works well for me.
#11 brc19 on 2023-02-11 10:07 (Reply)
Meh...to me the best way to hear music is still AM, the way the good Lord intended.

[url]]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AeXGfh-e4OM[/url
#12 Nonna Mouse on 2023-02-11 10:17 (Reply)
This one works....

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AeXGfh-e4OM
#12.1 Nonna Mouse on 2023-02-11 10:46 (Reply)
What ! QXR still on the air? Please, what is the number on the dial?
#13 Splanky on 2023-02-11 10:29 (Reply)
It's 105.9
#13.1 BD on 2023-02-11 12:53 (Reply)
You will never be able to get good sound from streaming Tune In, only adequate. For a few bucks more per month get a Qobuz or Tidal subscription. Both are uncompressed streams, with Qobuz able to stream 192/24 resolution on recordings that offer it. They don't offer all.-day streaming like radio, but there are thousands of playlists for all genres, some lasting many hours.
By the way, your Sonos electronics is unable to deliver more than a mid-fi listening experience. If you want to hear the nuances of a performance such as depth, soundstage, timbral realism, etc, you will need better components upstream from your speakers. With the right setup, streaming can be extremely close to CD quality, but it does vary from recording to recording, depending on which version of a piece the streaming services used for encoding.
#14 Lectrolink on 2023-02-11 10:38 (Reply)
Bird,
I have a Logitech bluetooth adapter hooked up to my '75 McIntosh preamp/amplifier and JBL speakers, same vintage.
Enables me to listen to all digital music off my phone.
Which definitely includes Van Morrison .... and Bob, and so many others.
If this is what you're describing.
#15 Svein Oslo on 2023-02-11 14:51 (Reply)
http://radio.garden/live/munich/hitfm/

Here's a little site you can try out. It's pretty cool. Try it out, find some favorites and save them. You can go anywhere in the world.
#16 Tim on 2023-02-12 07:59 (Reply)
I found this one you might like.

http://radio.garden/visit/new-york-ny/9Yi25umJ
#17 Tim on 2023-02-12 08:01 (Reply)
You can listen to 50k for free. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/worldwide-radio/?utm_content=search&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=addons.mozilla.org
#18 willful knowledge on 2023-02-14 09:50 (Reply)

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