Yes, streaming is legit, and no, it doesn't disqualify you from being an audiophile or a music lover; I do like the distinction, however, in an amusing way.
We do 90% of our listening to Deezer HiFi/ Elite; Flac and it sounds good. Occasionally we do vinyl and sometimes streaming from a ripped CD or a Hi Res file. It all sounds as good or bad as the recording, mixing and mastering. I am totally convinced that the recording quality is far more important that the file type, though, MP3's are hard to make good on a revealing system.
But most importantly is access to music. Streaming and digital souces give me access to music that I would not otherwise be able to get, especially as I like a lot of music that is not available in any other form or from any other source. So, go to it. Try Deezer's high quality service (better music selection than Tidal for me and equal SQ) or Tidal or Qubuz if in Europe/ UK. It is a worthty addition to your stable of music sources.
We do 90% of our listening to Deezer HiFi/ Elite; Flac and it sounds good. Occasionally we do vinyl and sometimes streaming from a ripped CD or a Hi Res file. It all sounds as good or bad as the recording, mixing and mastering. I am totally convinced that the recording quality is far more important that the file type, though, MP3's are hard to make good on a revealing system.
But most importantly is access to music. Streaming and digital souces give me access to music that I would not otherwise be able to get, especially as I like a lot of music that is not available in any other form or from any other source. So, go to it. Try Deezer's high quality service (better music selection than Tidal for me and equal SQ) or Tidal or Qubuz if in Europe/ UK. It is a worthty addition to your stable of music sources.