Is using streaming services worthy of an audiophile?

Yes, yes, and no. 

@douglas_schroeder 

Could you be a bit more specific, please. 

Specifically, how do you know that the claimed file quality is actually streamed? What prevents streaming services from downgrading their signals?

Tidal good
Splatify bad

Many DACs will give an accurate read on what bit Rate, etc is actually arriving at the DAC.  Many on this forum have used this info to discover that some streamed music from Tidal or other streamed sources is not high res, and occasionally discovered that MP3 files are being used
   Tidal tries to minimize this, but to answer your original question, the only way to control this is to own the file in a physical format

I am new to streaming.  I've had audiophile aspirations most of my life and have collected and listened to music for the past 55+ years. I have a modestly extensive collection of LPs, CDs and SACDs that I have accumulated over this time.  I enjoy having this collection and have tried to optimize my system to get the most out of my physical media.  All of this is to say that I do have an investment in physical media and certainly that is the comfort zone of my experience. So I went into streaming in general and Tidal in particular with a bias toward physical media.  My experience with Tidal is that in many ways it has transformed my listening experience.  For those audiophiles who truly enjoy music and the discovery of new music I think Tidal is great.  In my experience the sound quality of of their lossless and MQA albums are on a par with what I get from my CD player...and sound quality IS important to me.  I am not sure if Tidal is "audiophile approved", nor do I care.  My ears still work and I can discern between good and bad sounding recordings.  I don't need a device to reveal to me the meta data of the digital file before I can enjoy it.