Is using streaming services worthy of an audiophile?

My streamer, Auralic Aries Mini, displays the sampling rate of anything playing on the Lightning DS app so i always know. And direct comparisons to my own ripped files and Tidal have mostly been about even, where I start to see differences is when one version is a better master. i.e. I may have ripped a K2 version of a cd and Tidal doesn't have the K2 my version may sound better. Other than that it's a wash.

Also not sure what "lose control of all your music" means? All of "my" music is at my fingertips on a NAS drive and I can play anything I want from Tidal as well.  I would call that much better "control" of my music and much more convenience.

I can get sensational sound quality from steaming Tidal's upper quality service

+1

Tidal is fantastic.  Tidal is also a good tool to find new vinyl

+1

"  Tidal is also a good tool to find new vinyl, listen before you buy. "

That is ridiculous Tidal is exclusively and solely a digital service you obviously have no idea how audio works or you would not make this claim. There is no way to tell from a digital stream how a "vinyl" as you say would sound because very often the "vinyl" is mastered from a different source than the file for the digital stream and even if the "vinyl" was made from the same file there is no way to know anything meaningful at all about the quality of the actual "vinyl" pressing that you might choose to purchase because of course the quality of vinyl pressings very widely.