Sound Quality of red book CDs vs.streaming

@rvpiano
Are you serious about what will artists do if CDs go away? Digital recording and streaming have opened the door for hundreds of artists that can't afford the cost and bureaucracy of getting their songs onto CD or vinyl. Many artists are discovered via a streaming service such as Tidal or other music channels from digital files they put together in their home studios for a fraction of what it cost 10 years ago.

I haven't purchased a CD ever since I got a decent network streamer (sorry, BlueSound Node 2's are not decent streamers), got rid of any extra equipment in the signal path such as a computer that introduces jitter and other unwanted sonic artifacts and purchased a Tidal HiFi subscription (the standard $10/month won't do as these music files are compressed).

I have an Ayre CD transport and none of my HiFi friends can tell the difference between Redbook CDs on the Ayre of via Tidal HiFi.  You also get the benefit of listening to Tidal remotely via your phone and anywhere you have a BlueTooth audio connection such as your car.

Streaming is truly one of the biggest values we audiophiles have going for us.

I agree about Tidal.  I find myself listening to it most of the time.  I am blessed that I can't tell the difference between the same digital file presented to my DAC by different digital sources.

cycles2:  your comments regarding artists is smack on.  For years we have been bullied by record companies feeding us whatever they can sell profitably, and hyping up photogenic pop stars and producing massively compressed recordings seems to be the best way they can maximize their profit.  The democratization of quality recording and digital distribution has changed the game.  Music is supposed to be fun and participatory, not the sole domain of record companies and over-payed pop stars trying to make money.

Cycles2,

You may be right on about artists and streaming.  But do you really think streaming will not be much more expensive in the future?

Just for the hell of it I looked up the prices of downloads and is it just my imagination or are some downloads just as expensive as buying a CD? Music servers are so expensive and a clocking buffer in a good DAC should eliminate any difference in the sources of an identical stream of bits from the same recording. Is the convenience of a server thousands of dollars worth the trivial inconvenience of taking a CD from a shelf and putting it in a player?

@rvpiano

I don't think there's a cost analysis that would show that purchasing CDs is less costly than music streaming services such as Tidal, even if Tidal was to double the price. Tidal gives you real-time access to over 40 million songs directly via most network streamers at home or via smart phone. I understand that you're likely only interested in listening to a fraction of them, but even if you purchase 1 - 2 CDs a month, you're spending more than a Tidal HiFi subscription. 

How many times have you read an equipment review where a reviewer noted a particular song or album that was produced extremely well or had incredible bass reproduction and you didn't have it in your CD collection? Do you really want to spend the time and money to purchase it for $15 - $18 or just cue it up on Tidal as you're reading the review?  I cued up songs this morning via Tidal for a review of the Rockport Atria speakers where the reviewer cited many song titles for bass reproduction.  Doesn't get better than that.