This post inspired from the excellent setup of @Enrico_Castagnetti shown here:
I’m intrigued by the setup, as I’ve mentioned in another post, I prefer speakers to headphones when listening to enjoy music. But when working at my desktop I’m primarily working, and any music played is on headphones and is typically background atmospheric, basically something to block out other sounds and let me concentrate without ambient distractions.
I’m curious about a number of things:
who listens to music while working, what is the nature of the music and how does it benefit your work.
Do you (like me) consider this kind of listening different than pure listening? I cannot really listen to music and do anything else. Music while working for me is just drowning out external distractions.
But when really listening, what do you think of near field speakers vs. headphones? I’ve listened to some near field systems that were fantastic and to me better than headphones, although obviously not as non-disruptive to living companions as headphones.
I’m on the record preferring full-range speakers to headphones and believing that our bodies sense or hear, definitely detect sound waves reverberating in the room and that makes headphone listening different than speaker listening. Near field speakers are kind of in-between. Are there advocates of near-field systems? Benefits over headphones or more traditional speaker systems?
Interested in hearing thoughts from the community, and apologies to @Enrico_Castagnetti for drawing him into my late evening musings.
@Kelly_Burkhart, great question and I use both headphones and monitors. I have a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 that I use to connect nearfield iLoud MTM monitors (with room correction activated), and the Focusrite has a decent headphone amplifier that I use also. Additionally, also have a set of original KEF LSX tied to a Topping DS10 and it’s optical input (running as USB output from my laptop).
Both setups have their own subwoofer connected to them, and I enjoy both monitors as well as my headphones (currently Sennheiser HD26 and sometimes an HD25, HD600, or IE8). The subwoofers are tuned either by the LSX control app with active HP and LP filters, or for the iLouds, I have them connected to a Presonus sub with a HPF. Both have full-range very clean if somewat different voicings. There is a difference in HiFi vs. studio voicing, and the more I listen the more I prefer the studio voicing for accuracy.
Personally I like listening to music with near field monitors more than with headphones. The HPA4 on my desk serves dual purpose: pre amp and headphone amp. I switch between the X-SABRE 3 and UCX-II frequently depending if I’m working (UCX-II) or listening to music (X-SABRE 3). I use headphones only to double check work related mixes but primarily, the KH150s are what I use for almost everything. BTW, the MiniDSP FLEX TRS seats between the HPA4 and KH150s + Rythmik L22 as I use Dirac Live to properly integrate and EQ the speakers and subwoofer.
Is your work music related? Mine is not (computer programming) which requires singular concentration, at least for me. I’m not smart enough to divert brain cells away from my work.
Well, I work for Rythmik Audio since 2010 and also full time as technologies manager/sound engineer for a big church here in Houston. So yes, my work is literally all audio and video related
@Robert_F What I loved about the near-field systems that I heard was that the resolution was headphone-like but the soundstage was speaker-like. I did not get the same visceral impact as big speakers/big room, but I’ve never heard a speaker-like soundstage from headphones.
I agree, there still is, to me at least, a difference in a speaker playing in a room and headphones. Both serve a purpose (mix verification, balances, etc. are so much different on headphones than monitors); I also support my church and the differences between FOH, headphone monitoring, and the livestream mix are substantial.
For 90% of what I do at my desk, I prefer studio monitoring using nearfield monitors.
This could be another topic… monitoring vs. listening for enjoyment?
Editing: Listening to relax and immerse yourself in the music. Vs. Listening as part of a job supporting musicians. Seems different but perhaps non-obviously to someone who hasn’t run a soundboard?
For work (mainly reading and writing technical material) I I use minimalist/ECM jazz playlists. I considered a nearfield setup, but my headphone systems are so good that I stayed with them. I have both closed (ZMF Verité closed) and open (ZMF Atrium or ZMF Caldera) headphones, depending on ambient isolation needs. I have big speaker systems for normal listening, but I also retreat to headphones when the rest of the household prefers quiet. I don’t need subs for any of my systems, they are responsive enough down to jazz double bass and kick drum.
Nice thread. just like you were fishing in my brain.
I’ve worked with same teacher for about 10 years, he never allowed any music in the studio. His idea it was that music can connect you to emotions that are a distraction when working.
After 30 tears from those times I still think he was a little bit right. Usually when I do heavy work, thinking and brainstorming, I do not listen to anything. But when just filling the blanks, checking or just continue something that I started so I do not need to be fully focused I can listen to music as background. Sometimes I listen to podcasts or audio books while just filling up my work. If I know my next project or any future project, I can research podcasts and listen to that while working.
Maybe there are different levels of working, on really intense focusing all sounds are a distraction, on more relax working your point of using musical background to cover the noise I find it 100% true. So there is no all around valid answer.
It is a good idea to write down what I was working on and what I was listening to.
For example yesterday I think I bit of the zen shakuhachi by Katsuya Yokoyama got hold of me while I was “working” just to relax:
PS: I was a heavy walkman/CDman/miniDisk user… so hundreds of headphone hours but never when working, the wires got in the way the physical feeling just got annoying. So never used headphones while drawing or painting. Recently after watching the headphones threads I did tried again with the same result, I just cannot use headphone while working.
