My CD-player stopped working. Does it make sense to invest in a new CD-transport?

@stievus 

My older CD-player stopped working, so I am considering whether I should go now for a new CD transport. Most of the time I stream audio (Qobuz) and I have a many €€€€ streamer and DAC. So no need for a CD transport?

You don’t say how long ago the CDP stopped working or whether you’ve put off replacing it due to the fact that you’ve been satisfied with streaming. 

However, though I haven’t bought a CD for at least 10 years,

Why not? 

Some people say that a CD still sounds better than streaming.

Hold on. Have you been streaming completely different music than what’s in your CD collection? If not, you already have some experience hearing music you like via both platforms. How do YOU think they compare? 

And I have a huge collection (classical, jazz, blues, pop). I was looking at the front loader Teac PD 505t or the newer model PD 507t (about €1000-1300). Does that make sense? Or just forget about CDs and CD-players, keep or rip some for the good memories when buying them, and donate or sell the rest? What do you think?

As @ghdprentice asserts, both can sound good. I suggest you be guided by what you hear, not by others’ opinions. 

@cleeds 

When the master is the same. That was the point of my comparison. Of course if the master is different it will sound different. 
 

I have made many comparisons between red book and streaming with the same master… it is instantly obvious if it is.

Being guided by what you hear is limited by what components and masters you have heard. Which is why one would ask questions of folks that have lots of experience across components, masters, media,  in different systems to understand the underlying realities. 

“The difference between abandoning your vinyl and CD is that the streaming version of the CD are identical in every way”

@cleeds  + 1

The idea that streaming and CD are identical simply isn’t accurate. Both can sound good or bad, but they’re rarely the same unless you know their exact provenance—and even then, differences remain. And if they do sound identical in your system, it may be that your preamp or dac is homogenizing the character of your upstream components (streamer or CD player). 

Having owned a full ARC setup myself—preamp, amp, and DAC—I can definitely understand why @ghdprentice made that comment. 🙂

If I were in your position, I would get a quality CDT. A few reasons why. I enjoy listening to vinyl, CDs, and streaming. But, I have quite a few recordings that aren't available on streaming platforms and may not ever be. I might be able to find a poor-quality ripped version on Spotify and Quboz isn't as comprehensive in some musical genres or an artist's catalog as I would like. That being said. I still buy CDs because I enjoy the ritual, the liner notes, and it's cheaper to find a solid recording I want on CD for less than a crappy copy on vinyl. Another reason for a CDT or home streaming server, is that streaming services can go down, lose licensing rights to artists, or have incomplete albums, etc.  Sometimes, the original release of a recording gets nixed in favor of the "re-mastered" version and isn't available anymore. I also find that when listening to CDs or vinyl, I'm committing to listening to an entire album. Less so with streaming. But that's me.

The final reason I continue to enjoy physical formats is that I can choose to sever the digital cord whenever I want and not lose my collection. 

Seems an obvious answer that being do you listen to your CDs. Buy another player or toss your CDs (to me). Opinions are not facts so don’t waste your time. That said recording practises very so to the end result ! I bought a new Teac Pd-H600 player which I use occasionally for my collection of Flack downloaded or bought. IMO this was Teac’s best offering incredibly well built, no bells and whistles. If you can find one, it blows many higher end offerings out of the water. 
Ps; My opinions 😁

Cheers