Some of what follows I have stated on other threads, but there are also some expansions of my thinking. This post is most explicitly about media versus streaming, but still sheds light both on the op and also the thread that followed.
Let’s say that we accept the notion of a holistic system. Including the listening room.
The holistic approach can’t end with gear, room or even media used or what is recorded on different media (like 78’s versus contemporary digital). Each of us still needs to ask ourselves what is it we want to get out of listening to music?
If we want music to be ritualistic—and have the benefits which accrue from ritual, then yes, the extra labor of vinyl has more to offer it. If we have a prepper’s mindset, holding on to physical media assures one that when the web goes down and takes streaming with it, there will still be music. At least if one has access to clean power.
If we want near-infinite choice and quick retrieval with little fuss or bother, digital offers that in spades. (Though I find digital has more fuss and bother connected to it than most digital-only mavens acknowledge. See some of my other handful of posts for that notion).
What is less often remarked upon, I think, is the relative value of a relationship versus one-night stands. Infinite music, with streaming, is a bit akin to endless dates. There is nothing wrong with that in my mind—if that is how one is constituted.
One of the things I want from my listening time is the depth of knowledge that comes with the intimacy of repeated listening. Knowing myself, I listen to my records and gain that deeper appreciation. When I stream, however, I tend not to revisit music in the same way or the same frequency. So I know that music less well. Can one constrain one’s listening on digital to a smaller quanta of music? Of course—but it tends not to be how I operate. Moreover, such a limitation for streaming is a bit contrived, when infinite choice is one of the genuine benefits of Qobuz, Tidal or Roon.
So the holism of a listening system would be well-served and best achieved when a given audiophile knows what sort of relationship they want to have with music. Then they would understand that the why of how they consume music is just as essential as the gear.
People who seek the novelty of the new probably will do best investing most of their dollars in a digital streaming source. People who seek the surprising novelty of the familiar may find vinyl a better source.
I listen 70% vinyl, 15% digital media formats and 15% streaming.
I hope this different model or approach is helpful for someone.
