Is using streaming services worthy of an audiophile?

although you can get into the old analog v. digital debate, it's very difficult to argue against the superior sound quality of hirez streaming. that said, i do feel that true audiophiles, which i define as reactionary old men like most of us, will always be biased towards physical media which, if nothing else, frees us from having a computer screen shoved in our faces all the time.

I am not going to reiterate everything that's already been said, other than I agree with all.  Tidal has transformed to the way I listen to music, all at a price of $20 per month, which is what, 1 or 2 CDs a month, for access to millions of titles.  

Audiophile quality - CHECK,
Music Lover quality - CHECK.

I have found TONS of new music and artists that I would not have access to without Tidal.  I just hope and pray they stay around a long time!!!

My setup: 2012 Macbook Pro (Tidal -> Roon -> HQPlayer's DSD256 up sampling) => Verastarr Nemesis USB cable => SLA battery powered ExaSound E32 DAC.  Stunning! 

I say this as a fan and exclusive user of Tidal/Roon.

One difference is immersion or lack thereof, and the rewards derived from a commitment to listen to an album in it's entirety.

Having physical media generally encourages one to take in the whole (even with a remote and a disk player).

Our new ways make it too easy to skim and skip and be frenetic vs exercising control and discipline of our attention and it's span.

This I lament, as I'm guilty of the former.

As a convert to Tidal I have to say that I do not even use a computer for it or even indeed a Tidal app.
I do it all from my LG smartphone through the Bluos app for my Bluesound Vault 2. I am logged into Tidal through that app and basically can listen to everything I own or desire to from Tidal,s vast ever increasing libary without having to do any more than push a few buttons on my phone, talk about convenience.
The masters can also be directly accessed from the phone now and is just so easy its silly.
As others have mentioned the available music on Tidal lets me listen to stuff I probably never would if I had to stump up 10 to 20 dollars on a cd on a "chance" I might like it.
So $20 a month on Tidal is peanuts in reality.
And there is no question in my mind on the SQ on the hirez recordings at all.

Absolutely. Sounds great these days done right and more ways to enjoy than ever.

Some of my favorite memories of music was as a youth listening the radio. Not knowing what to expect next helps keep an open mind when listening. It also helps you discover new gems you would never know about otherwise that bring great pleasure.

These days, I have my own digital music library. Its a very diverse collection of music of all genres and ages, some familiar, much of it not. I spend a lot of time listening to it on random play using Plex or Squeezebox. Its my own personal modern radio station that sounds better than ever. Mapman radio. Nothing beats it. My record collection assembled over many years is gradually getting included as time permits. Those too sound better than ever on a good modern hifi that uses streaming.