Did you notice....

CD player into my preamp does not sound better than my Streamer + DAC (Qobuz). CD player as a transport into my DAC, I really cannot tell a difference. Full disclosure I only had a dozen or so CD’s on hand, Boston on MoFi and a couple Telarc’s were about as good as it got. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I must agree, a good CD player outperforms any streaming service I have used. It is handy to listening to new music that gets a good review. But I seldom agree with the reviewer. If I really like it, I buy the CD. Happy Listening!

I’ve only been streaming a couple months now and I have found a few streaming  tracks that sound better than the CD, but I’m mostly listening to music I don’t already have. I’ve been having a blast listening to tunes/albums that others have recommended.

My old CD player, in NAD, generally sounds worse than my streaming sources.

@czarivey I don't doubt that what your using might sound better than Tidal via the Cambridge, but there are plenty of better sounding streamers and DACs nowadays that won't cost $1200. Qobuz sounds better than Tidal IMHE (free trials available. 

The biggest variable that's often tough to get the facts on is the mastering. Just as some CDs and vinyl will sound better than other versions of the same, streamed versions vary too(thanks to big label bureaucracy, etc.). 

Ripped CDs played w/o spinning the disk over a network stored locally performs the best for me comparing known sources. Plenty to consider. Cheers,

Spencer