I don't have a streamer and hate to say never, but I'll likely stick with CDs and vinyl.
It’s good you’re at least open to the possibility of streaming in the future. Once I started streaming via Qobuz I very rarely spin a CD anymore because 90%+ of my music is available to stream from my chair in any order, and a good bit of it is also available in hi res. Plus, I spend much more time exploring worlds of new music, which I find infinitely more rewarding, enlightening, and enjoyable than just playing the same stuff over and over — best thing to happen to audio in decades IMHO and has totally reinvigorated my love of audio. My only regret is I didn’t start streaming even sooner. All that said, if you do think you might try streaming in the future you might consider a separate transport/DAC or at least a CD player that has a digital input and can be used as a DAC. These days you’ll also have a lot more choices in DACs than CD players, so there’s also that to consider. Anyway, best of luck in whichever way you choose to go.
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I think it’s so great that you’re keeping your mind open to other options, and in the end it will likely pay off big and be well worth the added effort. I noticed that you haven’t really touched on what improvements you might aspire to with a new digital front end and what sound characteristics are most important to you as this should ultimately be what guides you to the best upgrade path, and any thoughts you have on this critical info could be very helpful in getting more targeted recommendations here. Also, in addition to the Cambridge transport mentioned above I’ll also mention this Audiolab transport that has garnered a lot of positive feedback. Just something else to chew on while your in research mode.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_2486KCDTS/Audiolab-6000CDT-Silver.html
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Forgot to mention, I just watched a movie called “New in Town” starring Renee Zelwegger and Harry Connick Jr. that was actually pretty good and located in…wait for it…New Ulm, MN. Coincidence? Hmmm.
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I also need to track down the source of a mid-range screech, which I'll address in a future post.
Eeeek! That sure don’t sound good. Is that present with both vinyl and CDs? I noticed your amp only puts out 36 Wpc in ultra linear mode (and obviously much less in triode) and recall the Totems tend to require some power, so I’d be a little concerned your amp may be straining to power your speakers and might be a source of what you’re hearing. But this is just a semi-educated guess so just chalk it up as food for thought.
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Meanwhile lots of enthusiasts still own many CD's, so CD players and transports are experiencing a similar type of resurgence to Vinyl and turntables.
@jimmyblues1959 Yeah, while you make some good points I have to disagree with this one. There are relatively few CD players left on the market and even fewer dedicated transports, and the numbers will continue to shrink as more people just stream or rip their CD collections to a server or external drive. Conversely, the demand — and therefore and options — for analog rigs, DACs, and streamers are experiencing huge growth. CD players and transports still have their place for now, but the handwriting is on the wall and they are the audio buggy whips of the future, and this will only accelerate as streamers/servers continue to improve and higher and higher performance can be had at an increasingly lower and lower cost. CDs are going the way of the cassette and VCR and for many of the same reasons.
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Regardless of the format the key is to enjoy the music.
@jimmyblues1959 Big +1 there brother. In the end we all pick what’s most comfortable and sounds the best to us. That’s the ONLY thing that matters in the end.
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Call me a "dinosaur", a "nostalgist" or even a "nostalgic dinosaur"; I enjoysearching shelves for a CD, pulling it off the shelf, removing it from it’s case and placing it into my Jay’s. Perhaps there’s a ritual aspect to it -- I haven’t psychoanalyzed myself in this particular regard but it’s physical media for me!
@stuartk Well, that’s fine if you enjoy the “ritual” and playing the same stuff over and over again. But what you’re really missing out on more than anything else by not embracing streaming are the thousands upon thousands of new songs/albums you’d have access to (a lot of it in hi res BTW) for the price of just one new CD per month. Finding and enjoying new music is infinitely more enjoyable than living Groundhog Day over and over. Once you experience discovering worlds of new music, going back and spinning the same CDs seems downright stifling and Neanderthal. That’s been my experience anyway, and I very rarely spin a CD anymore and don’t miss it in the least. But, to each his own.
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If you want to call if "Neanderthal", that’s OK -- I don’t take it personally!
@stuartk Sorry, that wasn’t meant toward you at all but rather how the act of spinning CDs today seems to me. That said, I do find it surprising you’re not discovering tons of new music you’d like to explore and listen to. I feel like a kid in the audio candy shoppe and am constantly finding intriguing new music all over the place, and more often than not when I go to Qobuz it’s usually there in CD — and often times better — quality. But, in the end we all experience audio and music the way we enjoy most and that suits us best, and that’s really all that matters.
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I recommend spending more time listening and a bit less time thinking about how there cannot be a difference
@ghdprentice BIG +1!!!
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@secretguy Nobody is forcing an artist to make their music available to stream, so if they feel they’re getting “ripped off” then just don’t do it. Plus, the vast majority of music I stream I would’ve never found or bought otherwise, so at least they’re getting something through streaming rather than nothing. I suggest getting off your high horse, or, maybe more appropriately, your dinosaur.
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@secretguy Well, you’re wrong and I do love music as does everyone else here (most of whom stream BTW), but I don’t control how the music industry operates. So I guess this means you’re also against the used CD market because the artist gets zilch from those sales. If they wanna up the streaming subscription price to pay artists better I’m ok with that. What I do know is the toothpaste ain’t going back in the tube and streaming is here to stay, and hopefully they’ll work it out so it’s more fair and everyone wins. Further, choosing to not stream music will not change a thing, and you’ll just be missing out on discovering worlds of awesome music out there. To each his own.
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+1 @lalitk I’ve found more new music on Qobuz than I ever have in a store. I do admit I miss the smell of a real record store though.
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@nonoise Sorry, but there’s some info here that’s just not true and needs to be corrected.
Everyone who pushes streaming sounds like they’re reciting ad copy from the manufacture.
It’s manufacturer. Manufacture is a verb, not a noun.
For the price of one CD you have a tenuous hold on all that music as the provider can change or drop it at will. You never really own it.
That’s not true. At least on Qobuz and probably most others you have the option to purchase and download music in which case you do own it. Plus, you have the flexibility to download just the songs you like if you prefer and not have to buy the whole CD.
The main point of my take was that there’s music out there in a store setting that you happen upon whereas with streaming you have to intentionally look for something you have no idea of exists.
That’s also not true in my experience. I’m constantly finding excellent new music in Qobuz I didn’t know existed, and there are thousands upon thousands more options there than in any store anywhere. You’re wrong that you can’t just randomly find interesting new music through streaming — just flat-out wrong. Plus, I can find just about everything you can find in any store on Qobuz with relatively very few exceptions while you can’t find a small fraction of what’s on Qobuz in any store. Period.
I get that you like the tactile feel of flipping through discs at a store and that’s fine, but don’t pretend that streaming is some substandard way to discover new music because it’s absolutely not and you’re just speaking out of total ignorance. If u wanna stay old school that’s fine and to each his own, but don’t put down streaming just because you don’t understand it and it’s not your bag. You’re in the extreme minority here in that virtually none of us would give up streaming and go back to searching for physical media in stores (or even online). What does that tell you?
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@nonoise
Getting rather picky for my typing too quickly and leaving out an "r", eh?
You forgot an “er.”
I'm not saying streaming is some substandard way to discover new music. You're just putting words in my mouth so you'll have some made up motive to attack.
You were clearly painting streaming as “less than” because with streaming you don’t own the music and that you have to intentionally look for something you don’t know exists (see my prior post) both of which are patently false. I’m not “attacking” anyone but rather just refuting your statements because they’re either inaccurate or run counter to my own experience. Sorry if you take having your false or uninformed assertions as an attack, but I stand by everything I said in response to your statement.
To say I'm in the "extreme minority" because you don't want to go back to CDs speaks of some unresolved issues you have so keep them to yourself.
But you are in the extreme minority. Most people here have embraced and love streaming. That you choose not to is perfectly fine, but you don’t get to make up your own facts. Most people who stream don’t go back to CDs unless it’s not available to stream. Maybe it’s time to face the fact that you’re the one with the unresolved issues (i.e. trapped in the past) and not the vast majority of us who’ve moved on with both technology and the times.
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@nonoise Oh my, aren’t we sensitive. You’re the one that brought up your perceived “deficiencies” of streaming, and if you go back and look the only thing I did was refute claims you made that were either inaccurate or ran very counter to my experience. And I’m not “elevating” myself — I just had low-hanging and uninformed fruit being dangled in front of me. Had you not proactively raised these issues I would’ve not responded so you can just blame yourself for baiting the subject, but when I read things that I find misleading or that run counter to my experience I tend to respond with my own take. I disagree with you strongly on some of the things you said. That’s all. It’s a forum, which is supposed to be an exchange of ideas and experiences. If I’m wrong I expect to be called out on it and so should you and then just let the chips fall where they may. I’m sure others will chime in with their thoughts and experiences, and I welcome them all because that’s how I often learn valuable things here. If you can open your mind a little and take your head outta the CD racks long enough maybe you will too.
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@nonoise
I brought up what I see as limitations of a medium and you take it oh so personally
Well, there ya go. You are the one that brought up your “perceived” limitations of streaming and brought this off topic, not me. And I don’t take it personally at all. I just refuted your assertions with some facts and actual experience. The reason you’re likely getting very defensive here is because you’re realizing you don’t know what you don’t know when it comes to streaming and when confronted by someone with actual experience in the medium you got nuthin’ except a belief based on nothing. If anyone is taking this personally it’s you.
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Well, from the OP…
I don't have a streamer and hate to say never
That doesn’t sound like someone who’s at least not open to new info along with getting thoughts on CD players versus a separate transport and DAC. Nobody here is trying to force streaming down the OP’s throat but rather just provide some info that might be useful down the road. All was fine until you decided to unfairly diss streaming without even knowing what you’re talking about. Added info is rarely a bad thing here, but unsolicited disinformation is counterproductive and should be called out as such. And yeah, I’m sure looking forward to other folks’ thoughts on CDs being a better way to discover new music than streaming. Ha!
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@nonoise I don’t deal in ridiculous circular reasoning or disinformation. I’ve made my points and stand by them, and I’m out.
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