HERESY, OR IS IT: Computers in the listening room

Michael Vronsky writes:

Occasionally I talk to people about streaming audio. Yes – despite that, I do have a life. However it would be rash wouldn’t it to ignore this rapidly growing music source? More often than not though I hear the phrase – “I don’t want a computer in my listening room” or words expressing a similar sentiment.

However, on reflection. It seems to me that it isn’t that we don’t want a “computer” in the room – it’s that we don’t want a “work device” in the room. Are you with me so far?

I’m sitting at my laptop “work device” writing this post. The very laptop I use during my other business activites (I write for OLC for fun, not profit), to deliver internet blues stations to me and to hold my background recordings in the office. It’s the very laptop people point to and don’t want anywhere near their systems.

My ‘take’ on this is that music lovers see a keyboard, a screen, confusion, work and everything their high-end systems are meant to get them away from. Like it or not though, all music today has a computer ‘component’ to it and the use of server-delivery is accelerating.

Sooner of later, the perception will change So my advice is that in this context please try an eliminate the “computer” = work equation and hopefully many more of us will sit back and just enjoy the tunes. You okay with that?

Thank you.

MV

2 thoughts on “HERESY, OR IS IT: Computers in the listening room

  1. When I was younger I could imagine few things better than owning my own (hi fi quality) jukebox – no messing around with getting albums out of their sleeves. Just walk up to it, select a track or an album, push a button and sit back and listen. Other fantasies were owning my own pocket TV, video recorder, music synthesiser, recording studio, 16mm movie camera, well-equipped dark room. These things were something to aim for, and I was sure they really were going to make my life complete when I finally bought them. I’ve got them all now – or much better equivalents. I’ve even got a pocket-sized videophone. So has everyone else. Computers giveth and computers taketh away!

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