Distinctly Digital Forever?

“It’s just that on CERTAIN material -- acoustic folk rock, chamber ensembles -- the difference between analog and streaming is pretty glaring. ”
@hickamore

Well, this goes back to provenance of files came over to streaming platform. For most part, Streaming via Qobuz is very satisfying but you do come across certain recordings that are not good. This is one of the reason why I still continue to collect recordings sourced from original master tapes and maintain a decent library of rips on my Aurender SSD drive. I don’t squander any opportunities to grab Analog Productions SACD’s and XRCD’s. Yes, the cost is high at $30-$40 but man, these recordings are worth every penny and made me gave up on Vinyl.

@lalitk Thanks, I have been postponing that approach but now is a good time to start acquiring my absolute favorite recordings from Analog Productions!

Another Aqua fan, here...

I do think there are DACs that can get you where you want to go. But one thing I've not seen mentioned is the signal chain from your internet provider to your DAC or streamer. You can find abundant SQ upgrades by employing something like an Uptone Audio ER or Network Acoustics filter (they make three, see their website). Also replacing the wall wart power supplies for your Router, modem, etc. will yield big gains as well as Network cable. There are a number of recent threads on the topic as this is very much on the minds of folks in the digital forum.

I'm digital forever (haven't had a TT for over 30 years) and all of these items I mentioned above have helped me as well as a multitude of people in their search to get better sound from their digital front ends. You'd be surprised how much of a difference the network connection from the wall to your streamer can make in the hunt for better sound.

@hickamore the challenge with digital is not how to make it sound like the FM radio or a vinyl record (you don’t want to do that anyway). It is how to make digital sound less digital and more natural.
If you search the forums the DACs in the $5k - $6k retail price range begin to approach that level. As you go up in price you go up in quality from that point onward. The rest of your system and room have to be on the level though.
FWIW, I’m happy with the Bricasti M3 DAC that I’ve had in my system for about 8 months now.