Spotify Star Jam 2023: Question of the day - How do you listen?

[Prague]

Stars are straight up JAMMIN this week 🌟By now you’ve probably seen what we’ve been up to on the daily.. Thus once again it’s that time to ask the Question of the day 🤔

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“Headphones, Earbuds or Speakers: How do you listen?”

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Personally, I'm all about embracing different listening setups for different moments. I find myself using headphones most often, especially my trusty Shure 840s paired with the Woojer haptics vest for that immersive experience. While outdoors, my go-to is a pair of $5 Skullcandy earbuds that have a surprisingly flat response, perfect for log splitting. When it's time to check out up and coming artist compositions, I rely on my Yamaha HS5s and HS8S sub for accurate referencing.

🎶How’s the sauce reaching your eardrums? Let us know in the comments below.👂

Don’t keep that thought kenneled up, share with the pup 🐕

-Prague the Dog

[Hubo]

I’ve always got my AirPods in, perfect for working (out) and noise-cancellation is a great plus! 

[BabyEcho0_YT_SP]

i keep my soundcore earbud on full max to get that nice bass feeling and my Jako headphone to keep everyone's voice out of my head

[Noah]

My listening journey is a bit of a tech tour! Every morning starts with my UE Wonderboom 2 blasting the latest tracks as I gear up for the day. While commuting to work or class, I connect to Apple CarPlay, spotlighting those can't-miss podcast episodes. At work or during study sessions, my trusty Sony XM5 headphones come into play. For my gym routines, my AirPod Pros are the ultimate companions. And, of course, my journey home is always accompanied by my favourite podcasts, again using Apple CarPlay.

You can pretty much catch me jamming out from the break of dawn to the twilight hours 🎶🌟

[MattSuda]

When I'm at home, I'm using the Spotify desktop app with either speakers or my in-ear headphones (wired).

In the shower I use the UE WONDERBOOM Bluetooth speaker. (so another vote for that from me)

On the go, I am listening with speakers inside the car or in-ear headphones.

[Sebasty]

it's either the old Philips sound system or the AKG K712 headphones.
Unfortunately can't really tolerate in-ears since they make my earholes hurt after a while, and I currently don't have any either.

The headphones do shine brightest with the dedicated headphone amp, but they're also reasonably enjoyable when plugged straight to my mobile. The plug's noticeably thicker than the phone tho 💀

Listening to music in the dark feels magnificent!

[Prague]

@Sebasty Huuuuge AKG fan, their mics go craaaaazzy! What amp do you use? 

Both @MattSuda and @Noah are rockin WONDERBOOMs? I’m gonna have to go for a ride on that hype train!

Frankly @BabyEcho0_YT_SP if you ain’t redlining you ain’t headlining.. do you utilize Spotify’s EQ while turning it to 11?

[AdamDam]

Great question, @Prague!

When listening to music on Spotify these days, I usually use one of my two pairs of Audio-Technica over-the-ear headphones: ATH-M40x (wired) and ATH-M50x (Bluetooth).

I think that both of these headphones provide a nice clear sound quality that is good enough for my listening purposes, so if I’m at home listening from my laptop, I’ll use either pair. However, if I’m walking around outside, I’ll only use the wireless ATH-M50x ones, since I don’t have an adapter to plug the wired ones into my mobile device.

I’ll also occasionally listen to music through my Edifier R1850DB bookshelf speakers (Bluetooth). However, this is usually only when I’m trying to gauge whether I appreciate a song enough to add it to my playlists on Spotify (I like to listen to songs through both pairs of headphones as well as the bookshelf speakers in these situations, so as to try hearing the songs in slightly different ways).

Cheers!

[Sebasty]

@Prague the headphones are quite incredible too if you choose wisely :') I actually do have an AKG mic. Works just fine, but currently it's sitting wrapped in a cut-off sleeve and tucked in a drawer..

My amp is a JDS Labs Atom+. Lovely little device with lots of clean power. I'm also using an external DAC (Focusrite 2i2 2nd gen), which is pretty good, but the headphone volume pot started crackling for me. I did oil it  with special lubricant for potentiometers as guided by a tech geek and it worked really well, but decided I could also buy an amp/preamp.

[LolproLovesPhonk]

I usually listen music in two ways:

- With my headphones and PC while gaming;

- With my phone and the same headphones while walking.

If you are asking what are my headphones, they are the WH-CH510 from Sony.

[mauve_minnow]

I almost always use AirPods around the office or house, but also listen a fair amount from my car speakers.

[TanyaS]

Earphone (wired), for music at night full blast- only in the night

[Jannfreshoff10]

I been hearing a surround with NC (Noice Canceled) working out with my buds live. Even I been using NFC around.

[SimanGuyman]

Either listen through my wired $20CAD earbuds or just straight through the phone speaker when in the kitchen or shower, the perfect budget listening experience 😂

For real though, I rarely notice shifts in "audio quality" once I hear other setups. It always felt like kind of a niche thing, like you don't really notice it when you're just experiencing it long-term. I feel the same way about video game specs, people always talk about crazy graphical levels, but like... I can't even tell the difference between 20 and 60 frames 😅

Not to harp on anyone who does vibe with that, do whatever makes you happy! 😊 It's just personally not my thing

Now that I think about it though, maybe it's just my taste in music. Like, a good song to me sounds good regardless of audio quality? The same way I care more for a game's narrative components over its visuals 🤔