Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming How has Sooloos (sorry, MDMS) changed your listening habits?

Hi

I don't belive Sooloos have changed my listening habits very much. I don't use playlists so very much. I mostly play albums just like I used to do when I used CD. One major benefit for me is that I don't have fill shelf after shelf with discs and boxes. But sometimes I miss the possibilty to sit and read the lyrics and other stuff about the recording/artistwhich is included in the booklet.

I find the function most played very useful. Makes it easy for me to find my favorites.

There are many ways to make Sooloos fit ones needs.

I also like that my system is easy to start up, I just open the app, choose the music of my choice and it just sounds perfect right away.

Best regards, Per Nilsson, Sweden

This quote should be on M's site, it's what it's all about.

I can't speak for Sooloos (or rather MDMS!) as I have a Naim Unitiserve/NDX, but it runs through my 808.2i and my 5Ks say SLS, so it *must* sound identical

However, commenting on the basic principle of streaming music with CDs ripped to a common library, with instant access, playlists, iPhone/iPad control, etc. I'm an instant and complete convert! I'm already listening to more, and more varied, music and (re)-discovering albums long-buried on the shelf.

Just starting to configure playlists, etc., so we'll see how that all works out...

How do you make your own cheap zone?

A laptop and Control:PC running. Chris

Will this be lossless or MP3

I have no MP3 transcoded on my system, so it must be lossless unless it is being decoded on the fly.
I couldn't tell quality wise as my speakers are a bit basic. You could use an F/M 80 though.
Chris

Laptop and Control:PC will be MP3

Thanks guys. Not really an extra zone if it's only playing back MP3 imho, but there's always the MS200. Not cheap but not expensive either.

I guess I would echo the observations of others that Sooloos does make it easier and more convenient to skip around your music collection. That said, I do still tend to listen to entire albums more often that not. One thing I really do like is the 'last played' tag that gives me a memory assist for music that hasn't been enjoyed for a while.

Serendipity.

A year ago the NY Times had a notice that Paul Motian had died. I had recently bought a recording of one of his last concerts, at Birdland. Didn't remember who it was filed under, drummers usually don't get top billing. But I searched under Birdland and recognized it among all the other Birdland stuff, it was Charlie Haden. (But why doesn't the search pane show album covers?)

Listened to that, and then looked under credits and Focused on Motian. Lots of albums. Oh, wow, Motian played on Portrait in Jazz, Evans's breakthrough album in 1959. Listened to that. But he also played with Anat Fort, a young Israeli piano player, on A Long Story in 2007. I read the review and listened to that again.

And Bobo Stenson and Enrico Rava and Marilyn Crispell and... Lots of listening.

But only on one Keith Jarrett album in my collection, At the Deer Head Inn. Only one? I have dozens of Jarrett albums. So after listening to Deer Head Inn, I look in the list By This Artist; of course many are solo performances, but in the Standards trio and many other groups he plays with Jack DeJohnette -- of course, I saw them at a concert recently.

So for comparison, I focused on DeJohnette. A similar pattern, from Miles Davis's Bitches Brew to Esperanza Spalding, who recently got a Grammy, beating out Justin Bieber. (No, I didn't listen to Bieber.)

And both Motian and DeJohnette had some albums under their own leadership, fascinating comparisons.

And then I pivoted on instrumentation, focused on Piano Trio. Pieranunzi plays with Joey Baron on drums, and so does John Taylor. Taylor also plays in Azimuth, an unusual piano trio with flugelhorn and soprano, no drums at all. And Hiromi, quite wild.

And it went on, a weekend of exploration.

This is about discovery, serendipity. It isn't about search, navigation. If I know what I want to listen to, of course I can find it, and of course it is more convenient than shelves of CDs. But tripping over interesting links, rediscovering my collection, that is the ultimate value.

And while writing this I did it again, swimming in Joey Baron. Played with Elaine Elias on an album released in September 2012, yeah, she was at a club in Seattle a month ago. And dang, suddenly Patricia Barber plays, didn't know Baron played with her, went to her club gig in Chicago a few years ago.

Keep swimming.

It doesn't end. Except it is time for dinner.