Asklemmy

Mostly? I have uncompressed FLAC encoded music on my Plex server, and I listen to that streaming through over ear (Bose NC-700) headphones on a computer, or on our home theater system (Monitor UK, 2 stand speakers, 2 rear wall speakers, 1 subwoofer) with an Onkyo receiver.

I also listen to Tidal hifi a bunch and electronica on youtube because some of the Boiler Room and other club mixes are pretty dope :)

Sources:
• FLAC on Plex or Jellyfin
• Apple Music set to highest quality

Output:
• Bluetooth to Car speakers when driving
• AirPods when walking
• AppleTV to Denon receiver to Polk speakers when playing music for whole house (occasionally I use a turntable here instead)
• iPad to a 2.1 Edifier setup playing VSQ when falling asleep

Not often enough:
• Technics SL-1200MK5G or SL-1500C to my AKG K240 Studio headphones
• high

Edit:
Now I’m gonna have to go back through all my old Lemmy posts because there’s so much info here it feels like I doxxed myself.

Buy on Bandcamp, listen with Strawberry.

I use Neutron Audio Player which has a profile for my headphones but at the same time I don't really think Bluetooth could realistically be called audiophile.

So yeah I do the best with what I've got but don't really go crazy with it.

I’ve got 3 options currently:

• Sennheiser HD450s for on the go and at work
• Sennheiser HD6XX for my desktop setup
• PC/AppleTV/Turntable > HiFi Berry running Alpine Linux > Yamaha HS8s for the entertainment center

I’m not crazy picky about my digital source as 95% of the audio quality comes from the hardware to my ears. It’s rare I notice a poor quality encode.

At the houses of my audiophile friends.

I’ve got a shitty little apartment, no home system. But I drive Uber, and I take great pride in always having excellent music playing when I’ve got a passenger.

I play spotify through usb to the car’s system. It doesn’t sound so great.

But most of my friends are more well off than me, and have great home sound systems. One’s got an underground theater, with a super heavy door. You close that door, the silence is like being in a tomb.

Amazon music streaming has flac with their HD quality, I really like my Vanatoo speakers with optical in

If I want the highest quality streaming, then Amazon Music.

Otherwise, things I've purchased in 96khz or 192khz from ProStudioMasters.com

I work in the audio post industry, so I'm generally listening on my work rig either through Genelec speakers or Beyer DT880 Pro headphones, fed by a UA Apollo audio interface.

On the go: Truthear Nova IEMs + DAC via Sony Xperia 5 III LineageOS for microG phone or Shanling Q1 DAP (rarely Sony WF-1000XM3 if wireless is a requirement)

At home: Moondrop Variations IMEs + DAC via Moto M2 audio interface (all machines running Linux)

Music from: Bandcamp or Soulseek via Nicotine+, occasionally YouTube for discovery

Modded Rockbox iPod with Wolfson DAC and 500gb storage. Around 150gb of CC music.

Audio Technica ATH-M50x headphones.

A bunch of old CDs, played on 2 shelf stereos or in car.

On phone, .opus files with Aeropex Aftershockz(average sound) or 2x UEBoom2 paired in stereo(slightly above average)

Download from Deezloader, listen with Lollypop on desktop and Auxio on mobile.

I also transfer all my music to my Hauwei watch GT2.

Edit: not sure if I count as an audiophile.

MusicBee on PC

Vinyl Music Player on my phone

Local mp3s and flacs work the best

I dabble with YouTube Music and music-map.com for music discovery

Haven't found a nice self hosted music streaming setup that I'm happy with (unsatisfied with the apps and features). I want a nice looking app (super subject of course) that supports offline play and ReplayGain. I'm super happy with Navidrome but not with the Windows/Android apps

General listening: Spotify + car speakers w/ EQ

Immersive listening: FLACs + HD 560S w/ EQ + Scarlett 2i2 + foobar2k

Is there an active community outside of Reddit and headfi where one can talk about this? I haven't seen anything on Lemmy.

Easier question to answer: how don’t I listen to music:

Out of my phones speaker.

I’ve got a few pairs of earbuds, headphones, headphone dacs, and 2.0 system attached to my TV, Oh and the “premium” audio system my Prius came with. Spotify, Apple Music, Plex… wired, wireless

Were you looking for something specific?

I buy it if I can find it on a platform where the money is actually going to the musician. Then, I upload it in CD quality FLAC format to FunkWhale, and also add it to the SD card in my DAC (a Shanling Q1). Where it's convenient I listen on the DAC, where it's not I stream through FunkWhale.

TIDAL, K3/K7 (the K7 isn't portable), Sennheiser HD600s, and a pair of Hifiman HE1000s that I just bought. Both DACs work on all of my devices.

Bluetooth Xiaomi headphones because convenience is king (and I can't afford to pay more than $200 for audio equipment lol)

Not sure if I merit being called an audiophile, but...

Huge collection of mp3s ripped from CDs. Stored locally, currently using a Unihertz Jelly Star as a glorified digital audio player, running BlackPlayer EX, which I like for it being a good mix of minimalist and giving me freedom to customize as much as I feel I need. When I'm using headphones, I want my ears uncovered so I use Shokz bone conduction headphones.

Car mostly now. 2.5” Pioneer dash speakers, 6.5” Polks and 6.5” Kenwoods, 10” Pioneer sub and monoblock amp. About a million times better than any upgraded audio system in a new car. Crystal clear audio, very tight controlled bass. It’s sublime.

Otherwise in the house from Apple Music Lossless through the Sonos Arc+sub gen 3+ surrounds and HomePod minis, very rarely through the home theater Atmos syste (Yamaha TSR-700 and Onkyo fronts and sub, and Niles in ceiling surrounds).

I’m a firm believer in not wasting money on expensive amps and gear for marginal gains (pardon the pun). I went to school for audio engineering and have mixed on $100K speakers. They sounded phenomenal but I have more fun in my car with its ~$600 system than anywhere else. Audio is very psychoacoustic. When you’re groovin’ the system almost doesn’t matter.

I've got speakers for every occassion. Several in-ears, over ears, monitor phones, Bluetooth speakers, and main amp and stack. Because of this it all sits in that top of middle range to bottom of high range, else I'd be broke.

Mainly use Spotify and vinyl.

Not sure if I count as an audiophile but here’s my list o’ stuff I’ve acquired over the years and like the best:

My house had speakers built into the ceiling when I moved in so I have a Denon AVR-S760H amp and play audio through the surround sound with an AppleTV, record player, or whatever other source. (I forget the record player model but it’s just one of the mid-tier Sony ones.) I also have some Sennheiser HD 598 headphones that I love the sound on. They’re open back so not appropriate for travel but if I’m alone and not in the living room, that’s my go-to.

I really like Sennheisers and I eventually splurged on a pair of 4.50 SE over the ear ones for travel. They have noise cancellation and a closed back so they work great on flights or trains. I like them a lot.

I also have some Beats Fit Pros that I use a lot. Most earbuds don’t stay in my ears very well so the little nubbin hook on the Beats Fits is really what prompted that decision but the audio quality ended up being perfectly fine for the form factor. Sometimes, you’re exercising or just listening to a podcast or a work call. They ended up being a good purchase.