CD Player vs. music streaming

I think you are spot on with your assessment and inherent limitations of the CD situation.  Another HUGE benefit of subscribing to a streaming service (I use Qobuz at $15/month that includes their hi-res recordings and am thrilled — best 15 bucks I spend every month) is that you’ll have unlimited access to that huge music library and you’ll discover new worlds of awesome music you might’ve never heard otherwise. 

My recommendation would be to buy an Innuos Zen Mklll for $2699 as it’s very high quality and does everything from streamer to DAC to CD drive for easy ripping and storage to good software interface.  All you need to do is connect it to your internet and switch the interconnects from your CD player to the Zen and you’re in business (of course you need to subscribe to a streaming service, and most offer a free trial period so you can compare).  Read Darko’s reviews as he describes the sound and also explains a lot about streaming that you may find interesting and informative as you’re getting started.  Best of luck. 

I would go with a streamer. Probably rip the cd's you like that you can't find  on the streaming service you use. Many streamers can handle a SD card or an external drive with music  files.

You can go for a streamer with built-in dac or buy dac separately. The latter gives you more choices.

I am currently using a Raspberry Pi as a streamer connected to my dac but may upgrade later.

Project Streambox has not been mentioned much but looks like a good option.  

https://darko.audio/2019/03/have-your-pi-eat-it-pro-jects-stream-box-s2-ultra/

There is no streaming crap that comes close to SACD or bluray audio in sound quality. Yes, i listen to both stereo and am also a strong proponent of multi channel/surround music. 

However, the DACs in cd/blu-ray players and streamers can very much keep up with stand-alone DACs (due to rapid advancement and falling costs of good quality DA conversion). So, it would make sense for you to get a multipurpose player that plays CDs, HDCDs, SACDs, blu-ray audio, blu-ray movies and has a great DAC. 

I’m in the same boat as the OP. I’m currently using an HRT istreamer with my iphone 8 via amazon HD. The istreamer puts cd quality sound, but in direct comparisons to my cd player (Naim CD5i2) the cdp still comes out ahead. Now, I’m currently demoing a buddy’s Mytek Brooklyn Bridge and that thing is amazing. Again, I’m using my iphone 8 and connected via apple camera adapter then usb to usb. I cannot do a direct comparison to cd as my player was out for service but cannot be repaired due to parts availability. Now, I’m trying to decide which avenue to take. However, even though the Mytek sounds awesome, its also very expensive, so I’ll probably look for a new cdp and keep the istreamer for streaming duties, In fact, I’m looking at two SACD players that reportedly do very well at cd playback and I posted a query to see which was better... sony xa5400es, or a mccormack udp-1. All in all, I’m still a CD guy, and I think CD’s will be around for a little while yet. Once you buy a CD, it’s yours forever. I mostly use streaming for discovering new music. If it’s something I really like, I buy it on CD :) 

I had ESOTERIC 03Xs and just ordered ESOTERIC 03XD which has better dac,better transport better transformers etc.I have many friends that do streaming which is very easy and convenient and to my ears it does not come close to a great CD player.Some do have very expensive streaming still does not come close in sound to a great CD player however it is very easy to use and does supply a wide range of music.