Wow!
Almost five years since this, my first post to Audiogon, hard to believe! Much has changed since then. I have graduated from College and found a career in alignment with my degree as a R&D Scientist working for an Automotive company. My audio system has changed slightly due to components failing, these included my Cambridge CDP and my Krell integrated. I was fortunate in that when I sent these components in for repair, the manufacturers said they were beyond hope and offered factory direct replacements at a deep discount. My CDP was replaced by a Cambridge Azure 851N streamer, and my integrated was replaced by a Krell Vanguard. I'm quite happy with both for now, but would like to update my streamer when funds permit.
Anyway, back to streaming. I still use Spotify because I am still on my Families plan and it is free to me. The Spotify User Interface and User Experience are the benchmark in my opinion that others are still trying to chase after. I have never had a problem finding anything on Spotify and for the sheer pleasure of finding different recordings to entertain yourself Spotify is top shelf. But the sound quality... Spotify takes a back seat to other streaming services such as Qobuz and Tidal, no competition. In the meantime I treat myself to a growing list of purchased and downloaded DSD recordings and they sound fantastic! When I have the resources to upgrade my streamer, I will give either Tidal or Qobuz a try again. I just really wish that Spotify would recognize there is a market out there for high rez streaming because if they offered it, I would be the first in line!!
