That Little Speaker Embedded in Your Laptop

  

I love to listen to Rachmaninoff! His chords are lush and his motives sing with heart-rending clarity. His cadences range from comfortable to surprising without ever failing to provide a satisfying transition into the next section of the music. I willingly get lost for hours listening to Rachmaninoff's music.

One day, as I trolled through YouTube, I found a recording of Rachmaninoff playing his own compositions. I was thrilled! And then I listened to it. The sound was lifeless. The chords were limp and the melody just barely stood out from the background. The whole song sounded like someone had stuffed it full of cotton balls. I was so disappointed! 

I walked away from that recording with a multitude of questions running through my head. Rachmaninoff was a renowned virtuoso. How could he have played so very badly without knowing to destroy the evidence? Or maybe it was a problem with the recording technology of the 1930's? Maybe they just didn't yet have the ability to do him justice? Maybe my own ears had betrayed me?

I spent a few weeks mulling this over (recuperating from the betrayal!) until the day my son mentioned how awful my laptop's speaker was. Could that be the problem? An issue I had not even considered? As soon as I could, I found a pair of headphones so I could listen to that Rachmaninoff video again. 

Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff

What a difference! The chords were lush and the motives rang with clarity. The crescendos were fierce, and the cadences were gorgeous! I must have found five different sets of headphones and speakers to listen with before I was done. Each set sounded a little different. Some weren't as great as others, but none of them were dreadful.

A good set of headphones or a good auxiliary speaker makes all the difference when you want to hear the nuances in the music you are listening to. These days, I go straight for my favorite set of closed-back headphones when I watch a music video. You should too. Don't depend on that little speaker embedded in your laptop. Chances are that it is dreadful. Try out some different headphones and speakers and find one that has a sound that makes your favorite music sound even better. Your ears will thank you.