Sound Quality of red book CDs vs.streaming


I’ve found that the SQ of my red book CDs exceeds that of streaming using the identical recordings for comparison. (I’m not including hi res technology here.)
I would like to stop buying CDs, save money, and just stream, but I really find I enjoy the CDs more because of the better overall sonic performance.
 I stream with Chromecast Audio using  the same DAC (Schiit Gumby) as I play CDs through.
I’m wondering if others have had the same experience
128x128rvpiano
No, but the stage what the more expensive Astell&Kern can create with Jerry Harvey Audio headphones is in stage still bigger than all 2-D systems.

I test new products all the time. We want to know the DNA, we are always looking for products who can reveal all the different aspects/properties of sound.

The biggest limitation in audio is that most audioproducts are 2-dimensional. In the Tru-Fi world this means that the level in stage depth is 1 meter or less. I decided not to talk about brands anymore. Because people overhere often feel offended when I talk about brands that are 2D or miss other aspects/properties of sound.

I will never talk about those brands again which are incomplete regarding missing aspects/properties of sound anymore. So I will not answer any question when people ask me if a brand or product is able to reveal all the aspects/properties of sound.

Because it is not my responsibility which aspects/properties of sound they can reveal. Manufacturers need to take care of the quality of their own products. So they are responsible for this. We will only talk about the brands we use and modify. We will take care of those brands. And no I will not talk about these brands at this moment either.

As humans we can perceive sound in a 3-dimensional spectrum. So it would be more than normal that audio systems would be able to create a 3-dimensional stage. But....the facts proof (and they count) that most brands and products are still 2-dimensional.

In 2017 I tested different fuses. And even most fuses are 2-dimensional. When I play digital audio I use 3 different powersupplies. When I used one fuse who owns a 2D stage, I almost lost all the stage depth of my system. And the individuel focus of voices and instruments was also very limited.

It proofs how difficult it is to create a stunning 3-dimensional stage. Because it is an imporant part of Tru-Fi. You cannot make even 1 mistake to limit the stage depth of a system. When I visit an audio show I always count the faults they make.

I walk in a room and I see the products they use, So I see the DNA. I see how they placed it in the room. And I start counting the mistakes they all make. This goes automatically. When they start playing music the list of mistakes grows bigger.

I always focus on the faces of people and I become aware that they cannot see all those individual mistakes they made. It is not on their radar and it never will be on their radar. Based on the fact that they do not own the insight and knowledge what is needed to understand it.

People often ask me if it is possible to learn how I work. I would need young intelligent people and they are prepared to spend thousands of hours to learn it. It is like programming your brain. Knowledge and insight is something you need to learn all by yourself.

Einstein: “Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person”

Since 1998 I had a lot of contact with different specialists. And I still have a lot of contact with specialists in different areas. But....at the end you need to do all the research yourself. But this is what I love and it never costs me a lot of energy. It is in my system and a part of who I am as a person.

Now the end of 2018 is there. We made the biggest steps ever before in both sound&vision. My insight and knowledge becomes bigger each single year. It makes it easier each year to understand it. The speed I can create new upgrades and improvements is growing all the time. It is like you are standing on a higher platform.

After time you can see more information and details which makes it more easy to understand it. The time has come to share it with manufacturers. We want to share it with different manufacturers at different price levels. For us it is important that many people will have the benefit of it.

We also will create a platform in both dutch and in english. We bought a Sony professional 4K camera with different separate professional lenses and different professional microphones. We will show how we work. And we will talk about different products and systems.

It is something what no one does in our world at this moment. It goes so much further in details than you all ever have seen before. We also will give many upgrades and modification options available. Now we only use it for our own clients. But it will become available for everyone.

We modify amps, preamp, sources and powersupplies a lot. But we also started to modify Oled screens. And we can use it for Qled and led screens as well. The results are stunning. We can create a superior level in vision based on our modifications and calibration no other company can even come close.

Also in vision we did a lot of research regarding the influence of smog, magnetism and highfrequent noise to vision. Here we also have a lot of different tools to improve it.

Recently we started to modify subwoofers as well. And in 2019 we will do a lot of more different products as well.

We will introduce Tru-Fi and will proof that we do sound&vision at a new level in quality and result never heard and seen before. For an extreme born perfectionist it is all about outperforming and be better than the best there is now. See it as a mindset and choice you make.


Just to get back to the original post of this thread for a moment.
Does anyone know what source is being used for streaming tracks?
Do record companies allow their master tapes to be used?
Bo .. I've read many of your posts and still haven't a clue what the hell you are talking about. You never actually offer any information about your mods or measurements. You do however always seem to mention being more knowledgeable and experienced than everyone else in the audio business. Here's what I have gathered about you .. you are not a manufacturer but a retailer, custom installer, and modder. Nothing wrong with that but I think you need to back up what you blather on about with facts not verbosity. I would suggest you speak plainly and simply to us who are less enlightened.