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CD vs Streaming

Hi,

I am learning every day and a lot thanks to this forum and you who contribute.

Next for me is to understand whether a good streaming set up is superior to a CD or inferior.

(In audible terms, not scientific.)

I am streaming Amazon.

Here is their description - I quote...

""What audio quality does Amazon Music HD support?

Amazon Music HD offers lossless audio in two quality ranges: HD and Ultra HD.

HD tracks are 16-bit audio, with a minimum sample rate of 44.1 kHz (16/44.1 is also referred to as CD-quality), and an average bitrate of 850 kbps. Ultra HD tracks have a bit depth of 24 bits, with sample rates ranging from 44.1 kHz up to 192 kHz, and an average bitrate of 3730 kbps.""


So I wonder aside from the feeling of ownership and ritual. (I love the owning of a cd collection and/or vinyl. I love the ritual of setting an album up. I get it.)

But sometimes I don't want to "grind the coffee beans, heat up my exresso machine for 10 minutes, froth the milk. :)) I just want a ☕.

Forgive the analogy.

So CD or Stream?

Have an awsome day,

B.



bohe60s
soix
8,643 posts
 
I’ve used both Tidal and Qobuz (I prefer and went with Qobuz for $15/month) and have no problem with sound quality.  Plus, the access to such a vast music library has exposed me to hundreds of tracks and albums I likely would’ve never otherwise heard resulting in me enjoying listening to music at an entirely new and higher level.  I was a recent streaming convert and now rarely play CDs and don’t miss them in the least.  Totally agree with others you need a good streamer, DAC, etc. to get the most out of the experience.  Just do it!
bohe60s OP
23 posts
 
Thank you all for chiming in.

I will continue preparing and drinking coffee in my ritualistic manner and go all-in for streaming.

Cheers,

B.
ghjuvanni
92 posts
 
+1 @soix I too use Qobuz a lot and have hardly reached for my CD shelves. Most CDs I have ripped to FLAC and copied over to a WD disk. That disk I connect to Bluesound Node2i which until recently was my network streamer and DAC; now it is only a transport as I use the new RME ADI-2 DAC FS as my DAC (running optical cable from Node2i to the DAC). This solution is only about $1,600. I enjoy a lot of music I wouldn’t have otherwise known. New music is published every Friday, plus multiple interesting playlists exist which teach me about artists I never knew. If you are into Jazz, you can browse the ECM catalogue and find pretty much everything on Qobuz. Enjoy!
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