Streaming music

leroyjr1
leroyjr1 Posts: 8,785
edited January 2011 in Electronics
Need help with options for streaming music. Is there a site like Netflix where you can pay a monthly fee to get music of your choice?

New to streaming so I need a little help on sites and prices.

Thanks
Post edited by leroyjr1 on
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,576
    edited January 2011
    I've seen ads for unlimited Rhapsody on G4 lately. You don't own it but can download as much as you want. As far as free streamers, I've been using Slacker for a long time. That's all I know off hand.
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  • leroyjr1
    leroyjr1 Posts: 8,785
    edited January 2011
    I want something I can put into my HT room. I thought they might sell a device I can plug up to my receiver or pre and pay a monthly fee and get unlimited music without having to deal with a computer.
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,576
    edited January 2011
    Uh....Xm/Sirius? Sirius has a higher resolution format available for $3 more a month.
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  • kawizx9r
    kawizx9r Posts: 5,150
    edited January 2011
    This.
    dorokusai wrote: »
    Uh....Xm/Sirius?

    What about Pandora? I think there are a couple of fans on here, though I never used it myself so can't say.
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,576
    edited January 2011
    I've heard of Pandora but have never used it.
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  • polkfarmboy
    polkfarmboy Posts: 5,703
    edited January 2011
    Pandoras good and pandora1 is the pay service with high res but you cant choose freely what songs you wana hear
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  • leroyjr1
    leroyjr1 Posts: 8,785
    edited January 2011
    Does apple make anything like that?
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  • FTGV
    FTGV Posts: 3,650
    edited January 2011
    http://listen.grooveshark.com/
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  • wayne3burk
    wayne3burk Posts: 939
    edited January 2011
    you should check last.fm too....

    it's a little different than pandora. You can monitor your music listening from winamp or from itunes.... (or wiindows media player for that matter). Then it can make recommendations for you to listen to. It also identifies the 50 closest neighbors that you have based on musical "scrobbling". You can listen to anyone else's station you choose and "scrobble" their station - which adds the songs that it plays from their station to your's.

    all very complicated but quite easy and simple too.

    can't vouch for the quality though -- i'll assume it's 128kb flash (at best)

    wayne
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  • Glowrdr
    Glowrdr Posts: 1,103
    edited January 2011
    If you don't have anything currently that streams music, (i.e. TV, BRP, AVR) - you might want to check into a Squeezebox.

    This will initially need a PC to setup, but once everything is set, you don't need to use the PC anymore. This will allow you to stream your own music from your PC (if you desire) - otherwise it will allow you to stream any of the above listed items with the exception of Serius/XM

    Basically the squeezebox is a wireless player, that connects directly to your network, so it IS your computer. I've got the Duet, which has a little 3"x4" black wireless router that connects via Optical (or digital coaxial) to my receiver. I use it in place of an actual CD player.
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  • samnor
    samnor Posts: 155
    edited January 2011
    polkfarmboy wrote: »
    Pandoras good and pandora1 is the pay service with high res but you cant choose freely what songs you wana hear

    +1. I use the free version and the bitrate is 128kbps. Pandora also does some kind of "learning" and chooses music based on your likes/dislikes which you can apply to each song on your "station". what you do is first set up a station where you pick songs/artists/albums you like... you can just do a few if you dont have time and it would play those as well as songs that it thinks are similar... pretty simple interface and works on all devices now (tv's, blu ray players etc) all have pandora support...
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  • Glowrdr
    Glowrdr Posts: 1,103
    edited January 2011
    I'm not sure what state of mind I was in earlier, but I completely thought your OP said that you wanted to get music without your PC (which is why I went the SB direction)

    But I will give a huge +1 for Pandora. It's free for the basic, well worth a shot. You tell it a song or artist you like, and it goes from there. Then you can add other artists, or like/dislike songs/artists and it will learn your preferences.

    There are commercials every ~30 minutes or so, and you are limited to 40 hours a month for free. If you upgrade to the P+, you get higher bitstream, commercial free, and its' only .99 a month (might be like $15 for the year, I remember month-to-month was cheaper for some odd reason)
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  • jinjuku
    jinjuku Posts: 1,523
    edited January 2011
    Another option if you can get a group of people in on it is Simplify Media. It allows you to stream your music library to iPhone or computer PLUS share your library with up to 30 friends (and they can do likewise). They don't get to copy the music but simply stream it.
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  • concealer404
    concealer404 Posts: 7,440
    edited January 2011
    FTGV wrote: »
    http://listen.grooveshark.com/

    This.

    Grooveshark > Pandora.

    Imeem used to be the best in my opinion, but then MySpace bought them. :frown:
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  • nguyendot
    nguyendot Posts: 3,594
    edited January 2011
    I second/third grooveshark...
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,491
    edited January 2011
    You are aware that most streaming sites especially the free one's, stream heavily compressed music. It's nice for background or parties but leaves a lot to be desired if you are looking for something high quality. The possible exception being Sirrus but then you pay more for that.

    I understand not everything in this hobby has to be spectacular sound, but what I'm getting at is either buy something multi-purpose like a Squeezebox or don't spend a lot on the device or service when it's very mediocre to begin with.

    Many of the new DVDp that stream netflix also stream Pandora.

    H9

    P.s. Your cable company most likely has Music Choice available as part of your std package. I stream that often for background
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  • concealer404
    concealer404 Posts: 7,440
    edited January 2011
    Grooveshark has fairly decent audio quality, at least on par with Pandora if not better. I wouldn't do "critical" listening with either, but i'm certainly not annoyed with the quality. I'm usually just cranking these when i'm cleaning/making dinner anyways. That said, my system is also VERY forgiving, which is something i wanted, since most of the bands that i like, have their cds recorded in a very terrible fashion. :tongue:
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  • PrazVT
    PrazVT Posts: 1,607
    edited January 2011
    Pandora1 is 192kbps - but not all devices get that high quality signal - ie. if you're streaming from a computer or iPhone you'll get it. But you'll only get 128kbps from a Squeezebox.

    Also, you can't just choose songs on Pandora - but after using the thumbs up / down feature, it does a great job picking songs. My 'Tears for Fears' station ends up playing stuff from the 80s to now - 90% of it great songs.
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  • newrival
    newrival Posts: 2,016
    edited January 2011
    What about XM? Polk had a really nice player, the XRt12. The can be had for $75-150. IMO, they sound excellent.
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  • blueboxer
    blueboxer Posts: 621
    edited January 2011
    leroyjr1 wrote: »
    Does apple make anything like that?

    I use the apple tv to stream music from my Itunes on my mac to my processor. The processor has upsampling dacs so I don't know how it would sound in your system, but the sound is good for me. I would not say it is cd quality, but better than radio or cable.
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  • gdpeck
    gdpeck Posts: 840
    edited January 2011
    newrival wrote: »
    What about XM? Polk had a really nice player, the XRt12. The can be had for $75-150. IMO, they sound excellent.

    I can't imagine that XM would sound good. I have a trial in my Acura and even though I like some of the programming, the music is super compressed and sounds horrible.

    There are quite a few decent streaming services that have been mentioned here already, but not a lot of good ways to listen, when you aren't at your computer. That's where a device like a Squeezebox, or Apple TV will come in handy. I haven't yet used Apple TV, but have a couple of Squeezeboxes connected, and I have also used an Apple Airport Express to stream music. The limitation with Apples devices (Airport Express and Apple TV), is that you can typically only stream stuff that is in iTunes. iTunes also has to be running in order to use them. The nice thing is you can use an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, or the Apple TV remote to control them.

    IMO, the Squeezebox is a much more flexible option especially, if you are looking at doing streaming in more than one room.
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  • gdb
    gdb Posts: 6,012
    edited January 2011
    Here are some responses to a similar question.:smile:

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96361&highlight=streaming+radio
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  • blueboxer
    blueboxer Posts: 621
    edited January 2011
    gdpeck wrote: »
    The limitation with Apples devices (Airport Express and Apple TV), is that you can typically only stream stuff that is in iTunes. iTunes also has to be running in order to use them. The nice thing is you can use an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, or the Apple TV remote to control them.

    IMO, the Squeezebox is a much more flexible option especially, if you are looking at doing streaming in more than one room.

    That is exactly right, I have a substantial itunes library so the limitation to itunes is not a huge factor, plus my playlists are always available to fit my mood or needs. Using the Apple TV (only $99 bucks now!!!) in each room allows me to have access to Netflix and music in any room without any cables or wires being run. Overall I really like the interface, menu, and overall options. I do leave Itunes open on my Mac at all times anyways and the music quality has surpassed my expectations thus far. I ordered a couple MIT HDMI cables, I will see if it makes a difference at all.

    Leroy, I was thinking of ordering another Apple TV for another bedroom I just finished, if you want to cover shipping you are welcomed to demo it if you already have a Mac in the house.
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  • TrashyTrucker
    TrashyTrucker Posts: 225
    edited January 2011
    Leroy,

    I listen to pandora too. It is within the avr, however aforementioned it is limited to a bitrate of 128kbs. It is really great for background. I just learned about the pandora1 just now. If the pandora1 steps up to 192kbs that would be much better. But gosh thats just another bill! LOL


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  • gmm141
    gmm141 Posts: 29
    edited January 2011
    I've been using Pandora lateley as well. The free version.

    I don't notice any quality issues, but I'm usually working when I'm listening.
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  • gmm141
    gmm141 Posts: 29
    edited January 2011
    Only complaint is every dozen or so songs, it pops up with the "Are you still listening" box
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  • FTGV
    FTGV Posts: 3,650
    edited January 2011
    concealer404 wrote: »
    Grooveshark has fairly decent audio quality, at least on par with Pandora if not better. I wouldn't do "critical" listening with either, but i'm certainly not annoyed with the quality.
    My thoughts exacty.I use it only with my PC rig and find it more than acceptable.
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