Mike Cole wrote: >Also, I listen more or less constantly when I'm at the computer. Several other listmembers have said that they listen a lot at the computer, and this always surprises me. I have fairly adequate sound off my CD-ROM drive as well as an old but decent stereo system at the other end of my study, but I can't listen seriously while the computer is on because I am too distracted by the noise from the computer's cooling fan and hard disc, and by the sound of my own typing. While I'm at the computer I have nothing playing at all, or speech radio, or classical music that I know very well, or jazz or rock (yes, even when writing MCML posts - right now it's the revived Colosseum's "Bread and Circuses", and I report to those who may be interested - e.g. fellow drummer Len Fehskens - that Jon Hiseman is still as great a player as ever). Serious classical music listening needs more concentration than I can give it while working at the computer, or while driving - in London traffic, at least. I don't have a CD player in the car, and the car radio tends towards Classic FM rather than Radio 3 until the adverts force a change. At home it's always the other way round, but Radio 3's relative lack of compression and long silences often make it inappropriate for in-car listening. If I really want to listen to something properly and compute at the same time, headphones provide a partial solution - but I just don't like using them for long periods. Ian Crisp [log in to unmask]