Sound Quality of red book CDs vs.streaming

@whart + 1 million the original mastering quality trumps everything, It is order of magnitude larger differentiator than anything else in the playback chain.

The sound quality of IDAGIO is exactly what I would expect:  excellent.

I am so fortunate that I am not cursed with ears good enough to reliably discern between 16/44.1 and any higher resolution.  Or perhaps my el-cheapo $10k system just doesn't have the resolving power.  Either way, I am perfectly satisfied with 16/44.1 material.

The good thing about "greater than 16/44.1audio files" is that many of these recordings have been re-mastered.  In most cases, that same master is used for 16/44.1 playback, so I have the benefit of enjoying the new mastering without having to listen to it at higher resolutions.  I have the gear to do so;  it's just not worth the trouble.

Lalitk,

I downloaded the app.  How do I play it?
Do I have to have Tidal?

Compression.  Absolutely vital for recorded music intended for mass consumption.  Listening to Beyonce's latest release through earbuds or while driving would be tedious without it.  Listening to background music at a party or while doing housework is actually enhanced by compression.

When I sit down to listen to music, it is generally not going to be pop music.  I mostly listen to jazz and classical, which usually doesn't seem to suffer from heavy compression.  Most of the rock and alternative music I listen to is delightfully free of excessive compression.  This is not the material that is going to be consumed by the average casual listener, so the material is mastered for a more critical audience.  I do seek out better recordings when possible.  For example, I have some recent Grateful Dead releases that are substantially less compressed than my old CDs, and listening to them is a revelation.  But for the most part, especially considering what I listen to and how I listen to it, compression is not that big of a problem for me.