Streaming vs ripped music

You think?
Is it that close really?
It could be nothing then of course. Or something.


Make sure sure you are comparing the same release with both. Sometimes it’s not clear exactly which one a streaming service is providing. Or if even something completely different. So hard to say if it’s a fair comparison. If it always sounds better one way or the other or even most of the time then that might be an indicator one source is better than the other for some reason in your case.

@mofojo ,
I think your experience mimics the same rationale behind Sam Laufer's The Memory Player.
Bob

Kinda makes sense in my mind why the rip would be better.... I think. I mean 0s and 1s traveling through who knows how many miles (hundreds,thousands?)of noisy line vs a direct cd rip to a storage device. As I said noticeable especially in the highs and cymbals but not night and day. Sounds very good either way. Pretty sure the material I was playing only has one release. 

I do have a cheap ass router and cheap ass Ethernet cable as well so there’s that. 

Most of what I’ve read about Amazon HD has been pretty positive. Maybe I’ll give Qobuz a try with the 30 day trial and definitely look into the filter and better cable. Do any of you guys use a mesh network like the Google? Is that a bad idea? Otherwise I’m gonna have to do straight WiFi or a 40ft Ethernet cable I can try to snake under floor trim. 

mesh isn’t worse than traditional wifi: much depends on were you are: if there are a lot of other wifi networks near you, you won’t have enough bandwidth and hence running an ethernet cable will substantially improve SQ. Otherwise mesh or wifi will be ok.
The cable between your access point and streamer should be short