CD transport vs.streaming

A factor I left out the other day: the quality of the codec that's used to convert from the data stored on a CD or in a file to the stream that travels over the network or through the data path from the CD transport to a DAC.

Listening to an album is a different experience from listening to a service.

Most likely you have spent time researching the Album, Genre or the Artist. You have followed a path. It’s a journey.

Most of the (new) music I listen to is not part of mainstream music services. And now some of the old music too (see Neil Young, et.al. :-)

A streaming service is mostly used to chose a compilation of tracks based on your mood, activity, or whatever. It’s more like radio used to be.

I buy most of my music from Bandcamp, that also supplies a good quality rip (occasionally up to 24/96).

I play local files and only sometimes CDs. There is already too much big brother snooping going on.

I'm a solo manufacturer, so if I may - try listening to an SACD with this setup: HDMI out of a universal player to the GeerFab Audio D.BOB, which extracts the DSD64 (and PCM up to 24/192) and sends it to an external DAC via the DoP over Coax/Toslink protocol. Legally. The SACD world has been waiting 20 years for this. More reliable than streaming. Is there even a way to stream DSD? Download, yes, but streaming?

As ericgeer says: I can testify that an SACD with the GeerFab Audio D.BOB device sounds better than streaming or red book CD.