Thiel Owners

Streaming versus physical media:   i stream  at work,  but for serious listening at home with my big system,  it is compact discs all the way.  I do not know about others,  but for me,  part of the pleasure of this hobby is building a collection of music and then choosing what to play.  FDR collected stamps,  I collect cds and can never have enough.  When i get one i do not like it goes to the used record store. It is all fun.  What a wonderful hobby.

jazzman7

By and large, I  agree; however, for classical music nuts, there are only two full-catalog choices for streaming, viz., Idagio and Primephonic. Only Idagio has a desktop app, so that would limit me to Idagio.

Guess I'm antedeluvian, as I don't mind getting up after an hour or so  of listening to switch CDs.  (Good for the acing bones!)

My son, two daughters and five grandchildren are committed to streaming, and they love the capability. But they're into jazz, rock, and synthetic stuff. Two have good AV setups. "Classical ??? Isn't that stuff a little old fashioned?"   Oh Well. 

George

After several comparison I ended that I’m more happy listening to my cd’s ripped into the hd of my player Sony HAP Z1 ES than directly from my cd player/external DAC . IMHO the Thiel CS 3.6’s are stellar with this combo, (thanks also to the beautiful pairing preamplifier Doge 8- McCormack DNA-2)crazy fine details, amazing bass and clear treble, can’t be happier for the money invested. I’ll let them never go, because of this I invested some money to get a full set of spare drivers from Rob, want sleep with not worries!

George,   you are my audio hero. 

I’m struggling to make a decision now that my pre/pro is dead. Lately, I’ve become interested in digital delivery, both storing media via a NAS and streaming. I still have a CD collection but the digital aspect I find extremely convenient, especially as it relates to new music.

I don’t mind investing in equipment that would last a while, such as my 2.7s, Bryston 28Bs, Alpha Core AG3 speaker cables, and Straighwire ICs (since I don’t see myself replacing any of these). However, I don’t want to spend much money on things that change quickly, like certain technology and digital standards.

What do people think I should invest in and which things should I stay way from. For example, do DACs change often? If so, should I invest in a good preamp but get external DACs that I can swap out as technology changes? Appreciate everyone’s thoughts.