Streaming; better than CD?

peterpan

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A question for the people who are streaming. Are you satisfied with it? Don't you miss good old cd player? How do you find the sound compared with a cd player?
 

davedotco

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Technically, streaming from your own lossless rips can and often is superior to the original CD on a CD player. Put simply the CD player reads the disc once, in real time, and errors may occur, premium ripping software will read the disc a number of times to get all the data correctly then perform a 'check sum' calculation to show that it is correct. Play both data streams through the same dac and they should sound the same, unless the CD is difficult to read, in which case the RIP may sound better.

Subjectively some people find the the 'act' of putting a CD onto a player helps concentrate the mind and improve the listening experience, doesn't work for me, but it appears to for others.

Of course if you are streaming from a source/service that is outside your control, then you have to make your own judgements. Linns 'Songcast' system is reputed to be very good sound wise though it does require a computer which is a pain, for me.
 

relocated

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I didn't think I would enjoy streaming. I thought I would miss the physical media and player ritual but I very soon realised that I wasn't missing it at all. In fact it is much better, I listen to a far more varied selection of my tunes than when I played cds. It's so easy to have everything in the palm of your hand, I love it.
 

gowiththeflow

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+1 to both previous replies.

I hardly ever get a CD out to play anymore. I use either the lossless rips, or stream from a music streaming service.

Good quality internet radio takes up a lot of my listening time too.
 

jamesrfisher

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I have been stramimg for a few years now. All my cds were repped to FLAC. When I first got the streamer I kept the cd player but after 6 months I couldn't remember the last time I had played a cd so it is now in the loft for emergrncy purposes (streamer or Vortexbox breaking down). I noticed no difference in sound qulaity, but then again both were going through a Rega Dac. The convenience of streaming is fantastic. I still buy cds rahter than downloads but that is purely because I do like to 'own' the music and its a pretty good back up if hard drives fail. The only time I download music is when given a download code when buying the album on vinyl.

If I want the ritual of placing a disc etc then I use my vinyl, personally I prefer the sound of vinyl in my set-up. But this tends to be at weekends, generally Sunday, when I can sit down for a good long session. For everyday use the streamer is perfect. and was no loss in sound quality
 

musical0111

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for me its now qubuz streaming in cd quality, and to my ears most albums sound better than the cds i own the quality is excellent the choice awsome no more buying cds for me.
 

Esra

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I prefer streaming over CD too.I have few good reviewed CDPs but honestly i could not hear degration while streaming same songs.So I rip all my new CD´s in flac,no downloads at all,as it is nearly the same price and often more expensive than the real thing and even 16/44 is enough for my ears.
 
Up until last year the idea of streaming was something geeks did, however, it appears I must be turning geekish.

Since the arrival of an Oppo 105eu the CD replay system has very much taken a back seat and is likely to end up on eBay very soon. Yes I know the Oppo is a universal disc player but it is also one hell of a streamer. The only fault is that you have to have a TV in the system to see what's streaming but this is of no real consequence to me. I have 'a thing' about streamer manufacturers providing half a product namely just providing the 'transport' and making you go out and buy the control mechanism (smartphone / iPad etc.).

If I buy any discs now it is the SACD discs I go for because I can hear the difference. The CD layer of these get ripped to a NAS then they reside in my car. I'm not a great one for radio so cannot comment on quality of streamed radio.

On the download side of things I am concentrating on hi-res stuff from HD Tracks / Blue Coast Music etc. as I cannot really see the benefit of streaming at CD quality particularly if you already own the physical media - but that's just me.

Next stop the computer stores (as my one-disc NAS is rather full, and very tired) to purchase a new 2 disc box of tricks.
 

Thompsonuxb

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I still listen to CD.

While I enjoy ripping CD's maki.ng mix CD's the thought of transferring my CD collection to another digital device bit for bit is daunting.

And while I'm sceptical ref subscribing to online music sites I'll never get the most from streaming.

CD is great!

I prefer to buy when I want without having to pay a fee monthly.
 

BigH

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musical0111 said:
for me its now qubuz streaming in cd quality, and to my ears most albums sound better than the cds i own the quality is excellent the choice awsome no more buying cds for me.

One problem I have noticed and its seems more common lately is albums disappearing or not available at all, several artists I like do not have their latest albums on any of the services I use. Quobuz and Tidal have a rather limited range anyway.
 
I only stream a lot from iPad to AirPlay speaker, so that makes it impossible to compare , but as a stand alone system in a small cottage it is surprisingly rewarding. Qobuz is my chosen provider and I like it very much.

Elsewhere, on my main system, I stream a bit, but still enjoy cd and LPs. My last serious listening session was only LPs and I loved it. The Squeezbox I use mainly for new hires downloads, which I don't compare directly with anything, but they sound pretty amazing to me. If I had to keep just one source it would be my tuner, followed by cd.

I currently have no wish to get everything stored on a NAS, though I suppose that is the way ahead for some. I'm more drawn to devices with integrated hard drives, though solid state is surely the next step?
 

cayorob

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BigH said:
cayorob said:
I've just gone over to Tidal from Spotify Premium. Very impressed, the difference is like night and day on my system.

What system might that be?

Apple TV > Dacmagic > Naim Nait XS > Focal Chorus. Maybe night and day was a strong term but it's a vast improvement.
 

cayorob

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BigH said:
cayorob said:
BigH said:
cayorob said:
I've just gone over to Tidal from Spotify Premium. Very impressed, the difference is like night and day on my system.

What system might that be?

Apple TV > Dacmagic > Naim Nait XS > Focal Chorus. Maybe night and day was a strong term but it's a vast improvement.

OK but what are the differences?

Clarity, detail, reverting to spotify sounds somwhat muffled. If you use spotify then try it, there's a 7 day free trial and you're not tied in at all.
 

matt49

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The only issue I have with my NAS-based system is ripping and re-tagging the CDs. The re-tagging isn't necessary for rock/pop music, but for classical, which is probably 90% of my library, it's essential and can be a real drag. I've just taken delivery of an ultra-cheap box set of Rameau's operas. That's 27 disks to rip and re-tag. A world of pain awaits.

*help*
 

fr0g

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80% Spotify. I believe any "night and day" differences are mostly in the mind. But it depends on the rip.

In fact I like the Spotify interface so much, I stick with it even for albums I have ripped to FLAC. And 99% of the time cannot tell the difference.
 

NSA_watch_my_toilet

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davedotco said:

Put simply the CD player reads the disc once, in real time, and errors may occur, premium ripping software will read the disc a number of times to get all the data correctly then perform a 'check sum' calculation to show that it is correct. Play both data streams through the same dac and they should sound the same, unless the CD is difficult to read, in which case the RIP may sound better.

I like it how the FIRST sentence in the FIRST answer is already a technically completely wrong.

CD's had and have always today a mistake corrections that is absolutely flawless. Some first designs needed some improvement but the technology was rapidely mastered and never changed since them. CD was and are extracted with an accuracy of 100%. I don't like to make crossgender examples (because informatic is informatic) but If it wheren't so, you couldn't use any computer CD at all to transport a programm, because the content would never be extracted well. And when the sound wheren't extracted correctly, you wheren't able to listen to your songs without some very audible holes in it (like the old discmans that jumped sometimes due to massive rattling).

They are real advantages about streamdacwhatever.

1) The mecanic is one of the downpoint of cd players, that could break during the year and, for some unserious brands, become difficult to replace (around 80% of the builders today are unserious and will not offer repair of the transport after a 5 years time... the best reaches 15 to 20 years of parts warranty).

2) The fact that you can quickly access what you like with more speed is another strong point too.

3) And you will be able to play your original stuff on some higher level (even if I aleredy think that the CD 44/16 is more than enough for enjoying troublefree reproduction).

But be aware that, everytime you are putting on an informatic device, it will try to spy out the content of your private life. Sometimes a little bit, sometime massively. For me a major downpoint in all this technology. Although, you have no insurance that CD will stay integrated to your PC's during a long period of years. If I search the floppy disc on my computer now, I will not find it, and it's the same problem with cd.
 

cheeseboy

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NSA_watch_my_toilet said:
But be aware that, everytime you are putting on an informatic device, it will try to spy out the content of your private life. Sometimes a little bit, sometime massively.

if you are that worried, just create a network that's not connected to the internet.
 

ellisdj

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depends on the quality of the streamer / vs the CD Player

There are a lot of streaming soluitions that use pico power supplies fed from smps at the wall.

Will this sound better than a CD with proper power supply design - Generally I would say No.

Is it more convienient, with much better access to the music collection from ones backside 100% Yes
 

cheeseboy

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ellisdj said:
There are a lot of streaming soluitions that use pico power supplies fed from smps at the wall.

Will this sound better than a CD with proper power supply design - Generally I would say No.

conversely it's also possible to run certain streamers off battery, thus negating any power supply issues and theoretically get a better sound, just as say the new chord dac allows.
 

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