Is using streaming services worthy of an audiophile?

The OP said:

"Audiophiles and music lovers have almost nothing in common. Ordinary music lovers usually find despicable Apple earbuds perfectly acceptable, for example. I am 100% certain that audiogon members enjoy music on a much deeper level than music lovers."

I would say that you're in the right forest, but barking up the wrong tree.   I believe that Audiogon members enjoy EQUIPMENT on a much deeper level. 

Or from a different angle, I could make the case that someone listening to music through $10 ear buds might absolutely be enjoying the music on a deeper emotional level while someone trying to analyze whether their new amp lets them hear more air around the instruments is enjoying the music on a deeper technical level.  

As for the original question, I listen to Spotify daily.  I have a great time just enjoying the music.  I often play air drums.  Sometimes air guitar.  Maybe a little air bass, but only infrequently.  If this means I need to remove the "I'm an audiophile!" patch from my Member's Only jacket, no problem, just let me know where to send it and I'll drop it in the mail today.

bcgator - That is a great comment. I could not agree more, well said.

Yes, streaming is legit, and no, it doesn't disqualify you from being an audiophile or a music lover; I do like the distinction, however, in an amusing way. 

We do 90% of our listening to Deezer HiFi/ Elite; Flac and it sounds good. Occasionally we do vinyl and sometimes streaming from a ripped CD or a Hi Res file. It all sounds as good or bad as the recording, mixing and mastering. I am totally convinced that the recording quality is far more important that the file type, though, MP3's are hard to make good on a revealing system.

But most importantly is access to music. Streaming and digital souces give me access to music that I would not otherwise be able to get, especially as I like a lot of music that is not available in any other form or from any other source. So, go to it. Try Deezer's high quality service (better music selection than Tidal for me and equal SQ) or Tidal or Qubuz if in Europe/ UK. It is a worthty addition to your stable of music sources. 

I tried Tidal. It sounds like a 30 year old Denon CD player. I enjoyed that CD player. It was my first, but it is not good enough for my system or ears. 

The signal is bitperfect 16/44 and stays that way if your computer or streamer is set up correctly. As you can see here even a modest Chromecast Audio can achieve that:  http://archimago.blogspot.nl/2016/02/measurements-google-chromecast-audio_27.html
So with the same DAC it should be sonically identical to CD. There is no magic in science.