Why Purchase A CD Player or Transport ?


I am 100% invested in vinyl, but want to improve my digital equipment chain.

Once I’ve upgraded my streaming equipment, why purchase a quality CD/SACD transport?

Is there a large enough subset of music that sounds better via optical media?

vonhelmholtz

Some people prefer physical formats. If you have a good sized collection of CDs and SACDs that you will play occasionally, it might be worth your time and money to upgrade your SACD player.

If you’re really100% committed to vinyl, you should put your money there.

Why purchase a CD/SACD player? Because it can sound so damn good.

All the best,
Nonoise

My streaming now sounds better than playing CDs.  The only reason I keep my transport around is to play stuff that isn’t available to stream. 

Weird question. Why would any "subset" sound better through a CD player ?

Perhaps that was poorly worded.

Are there a substantial number of well recorded performances recorded on CD which can’t be found via streaming services, or where the streaming version is sonically inferior to the CD?

I'm considering the purchase of the PS Audio SACD I2s transport which is on sale for $3999.00.  I'm thinking that I can rip my CDs, never listen to my SACD and save the $3999.00 + $1k I2s cable and additional Timber Nation Tiger Maple shelving/stand.  That said, saving has not been part of the equation where the saved money negatively impacts the listening experience.

I can't say one way or the other as I don't stream but there are plenty of reviewers out there who've expressed a preference for CDs over streaming. One reviewer finally found one streamer that bested his CD and stored files but it cost north of $15K just to be incrementally better. I could live without that, quite easily.

One thing overlooked is all the time, money, blood, sweat and tears it can take to assemble a fine streaming set up. Mastering that, how could anyone say it's not as good as playing a CD?

It's like some backyard garage mechanic who can keep his car in proper working order thinking he's a master mechanic. You always see their cars ending up on jack stands in their driveways.

All the best,
Nonoise