Personality

@rvpiano ​​​​and @ghdprentice 

“sounds like you feel something is missing on streaming”          
It depends upon the premise.   

The original premise was that rv perceives that there is “a loss of uniqueness or personality” from streamed recordings.  My response and agreement with ghd is that appears to be not a format issue but rather a systems issue.  That does not imply I am missing something from streaming recordings. 

The second premise was that  rv perceives a “loss of something familiar” with streamed recordings.  My response that a loss of something familiar is a cognitive bias.  The development of cognitive biases is a complex mechanism, in part based on our historical and environmental conditioning. Our hobby is based on individual cognitive biases and preferences.  No right, no wrong.  The three of us grew up in an analogue environment. You ghd, like I, appear to now enjoy digital as much or more so as analog from you posts.  You rv, appear to remain with an analog preference.  So here, a cognitive bias is a preference for the benefits, and a dislike for the faults, including the distinct distortions of each format, and how are equipment enhances the benefits and reduces the faults of each format.  So it is both a format and system related issue.  This in no way implies I feel streaming is missing something.  So let’s be honest with each other.  Compared to sitting row 20 center at Carnegie, the Metropolitan, or the Koch, both analogue and digital can only come close enough to bring memories of the absolute experience of the real thing.   So I believe both formats are wanting.  

no reason you can’t enjoy both formats. Well pressed vinyl still bests streaming in terms of sound quality for me, but it is not a wide gap. The convenience and variety of streaming, of course, can’t be matched by physical media. So I’m happy to have access to both formats. 

It’s sad that some contributors won’t take my posts at face value but presumptively must make assumptions and psychological constructs to explain them.

@ghdprentice - interesting! I read even more than I listen to music - I find Tolstoy's novels relatively easy reads; length doesn't bother me, War and Peace could have gone on for another thousand pages and I'd have been happy - the story was great. I find Dostoyevsky to be somewhat more challenging but both authors are such worthwhile reads. 'Light In August' is one of my favorites too, from my Faulkner period. I've never done an audiobook, though; I like to be able to re-read sentences I like. Currently finishing Mark Z Danielewski's 1200+ page Western ghost story epic, 'Tom's Crossing', that came out on Halloween. 

Yes seeing and handling the physical music brings more senses into my memory recall.  Once I put the CD down and start listening though the memories are the same.  My favorite albums and songs each have a specific memory or memories attached.