If Steve Got You Last Week...

When people are talking about streaming here I assume they mean the likes of Tidal and Qobuz.
I find streaming files I have ripped from CD and play from my diy streamer sound much better than when played from the CD player I had.

Now, that is interesting dctom

How do those ripped CD files sound compared to Tidal & Qobuz?

High-amp,

My digital source that I’m comparing is red book CDs.
Both CDs and streaming are run through a Benchmark DAC.

I find the Audiolab 6000 CDT is a very capable digital transport for around $600.  It definitely sounds better than same music streamed from Qobuz, IMO.  Of course I never use it, streaming is just too easy.

I don’t have Tidal or Qobuz to compare, I have been thinking about trialling one or the other to do a comparison.
Others on Audiophile style, using a similar setup to myself, report local files generally sounding better than streamed services - even after installing audiophile grade ethernet switch(es).