Sound Quality of red book CDs vs.streaming


I’ve found that the SQ of my red book CDs exceeds that of streaming using the identical recordings for comparison. (I’m not including hi res technology here.)
I would like to stop buying CDs, save money, and just stream, but I really find I enjoy the CDs more because of the better overall sonic performance.
 I stream with Chromecast Audio using  the same DAC (Schiit Gumby) as I play CDs through.
I’m wondering if others have had the same experience
128x128rvpiano

Showing 1 response by 1markr

So, lemme see if I got this right.... you are streaming a service from some device (iPhone, iPad, laptop??) to the Chromecast via Bluetooth (strike 1), then the Chromecast is connected to your Gumby via USB (strike 2). Now onto Redbook CDs - you are playing them thru some CD transport, outputting SPDIF (hopefully coax) to the Gumby.

If I got the above right, there is no doubt in my mind that Redbook would be superior to your streaming services (any of them). 

I finally got amazing "streaming" music quality once I took USB out of the direct loop using a DDC (in my case a Matrix SPDIF2, converting USB from my MacBook Pro laptop to AES/EBU for my DAC; even SPDIF coax sounded superior, but I like AES/EBU a little better). 

I don't think any streaming service will outperform Redbook in your setup, assuming I understand your setup correctly.