Streaming vs. CD

Interesting to see this thread come up again yesterday, and glad that the OP has found a good solution.
In my world, the streamer does make a difference in how things sound, as do the transport or CD player if playing physical discs.  Still using Tidal here and happy with the (non-MQA) sonics.  I don’t hear much/any difference between streamed Tidal and playing ripped CDs through my server’s SSD.  After recent system changes/upgrades I am closer to trying Qobuz but it is really about the content.  Can any of you tell me whether Qobuz have improved their blues/rock/pop library, and whether they offer an autoplay feature like Tidal?  That autoplay feature has been great for me, both for convenience when having people over and not wanting to babysit the music selection and also for hearing new tunes or revisiting tunes I have forgotten about.  When it first came out, it seemed that Qobuz was known more for their classical content but if they have gotten closer to Tidal with the other genres, it is time for me to give them a try.  The autoplay feature would be a welcome plus.

Progressed through CD's on a NAIM 555, then a Naim ripper ripped CD's to NAS,  then Tidal HiRes.

Now running Aurender N10 into Devialet D400 with optimized cables everywhere. In my set up, nothing beats Tidal 24/192.

I would say though that a very well recorded and engineered CD at 16/44 has better sq than a crappy recording at 24/192. More quality is "created" in the recording study than can be "created" in the home system.

My CD collection is stored in the Aurender hard drive but is seldom visited since Tidal sq is generally equal or better and the selection is mind blowing. 

I have also found that cable upgrades (Ansuz and Transparent) have made the whole system more musical with listener fatigue eliminated.

I absolutely concur that a well recorded 16/24 CD or file can sound better than a hi-res recording.  Happens all the time.

rvpiano

what gear is currently in your system?

Happy Listening!

Extensively modified Rega RP3 turntable.
Clearaudio Virtuoso cartridge.
Cyrus CD transport.
OPPO 105 universal player
GeerFab DBOB Digital Extractor.
‘Cambridge CXV2 streamer.
‘Benchmark DAC3B DAC.
Conrad Johnson PV 11 preamp modified with Teflon caps.
Benchmark AHB2 Amplifier.
GoldenEar Triton ! Speakers.
Various aftermarket cabling.