To Stream or not to Stream
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However, I do not stream my music for serious, usually by myself, listening. (snip) In those instances it is LP’s, cd’s etc...I have not invested a lot into the streaming stuff,I've taken this pretty seriously and I can say, without reservation, that good streaming (minimum full red book, better: high res) sounds better than ripped CDs and ripped CDs from a good, low jitter streamer sound better than those same CDs played from a CD player --. SPDIF --> the same DAC. LPs vs digital is more of a philosophical and preferences thing. Objectively most old, commercial release records tend to suck - lots of pressing distortion, compression, etc. to me, no comparison. I am not referring to "audiophile" pressings but they are generally marginal music. But 99% of the time, LPs come in, for me, dead last. (but often romantically so) You had a different experience. Your own words explain why you feel differently. You have not put the time or $$ into making streaming good. So that's hardly a reason to criticize the format. Before you think you must spend a lot, my first epiphany came when i ripped CDs and played them backing using a Macbook pro, bitperfect, USB, running the laptop on batter to reduce ground and power supply noise. Just better. I began experimenting and never looked back. Note my ripped CDs and streaming come from the identical source: my Roon server - so its apples to apples. Just sayin' |
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