Yeah, I'm a sucker for streaming, too. Though I do admit to nostalgically sniffing my wall of cardboard record jackets. I gotta say, though, that I do have more than a few LPs and singles that have yet to make it to the aether.
A different world
For decades I have struggled to get digital even close to comparable to analog. Then finally a couple years ago after lots of upgrading and experimentation I succeeded, streaming is equally satisfying with analog. The full soundstage, instruments suspended in space, tonal balance, dead silent background, and details of brass cymbals … etc. Red Book CDs through my CD player are bested by my streamer with Qobuz or Tidal hi-Rez versions.
A new world. It takes a while to get it. No longer confined to music you “own” to play over and over. Replay is supplanted by exploration. You love an new (or old album) and hit, “add to library”. It is yours.
So, HiGi+ magazine has an article on building a European 21st Century Jazz Library. I just start with the first album an start listening (add to library), the 2nd (add to library), the third… the forth, fifth… a whole new category of incredible music to sit along side Miles Davis and Hank Moberly. Just a couple days in the life of a audiophile streamer. I could have never predicted this as a possibility ten years ago.
You love music? The goal of having an infinite audiophile library is now possible. It is possible at any high end level… just requires knowledge that it can be done… and I guess give up the idea that there is something special about your CD collection, or players.
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I'm a sucker as well. And totally agree with the comment that I/you/us could have never predicted this as a possibility ten years ago, especially when I was working at Tower Records in college. I've always been music first, equipment second, with music exploration as a priority. The amount of money I've saved from streaming is astronomical. |
@toro3 A fellow Tower alum! I've probably mentioned this about ten times on this site, but me and the wife met when we toiled for Russ Solomon (was that Tower's head honcho's name?) in Panorama City in the San Fernando Valley. Eventually we both graduated to the Classical Store on the Sunset Strip. Saw lots of celebs...while earning the proverbial peanuts. Our record collections, though, did grow, in part thanks to all the promotional pre-release albums the record companies sent to the stores. They were all First Pressings, too. I still listen to my share of 'em. |
@Russ69 I have an Audio Research Reference CD9se CD player (my two main systems shown under UserID). I haven’t tried any of my SACDs for comparison. I have an inexpensive transport but, I gave up on the format, tried stored hires files… which I can’t tell the difference from,.. I tried a couple of hiRez files stored on my streamer, versus streamed… the same. But the point is, if after a week or an hour of listening to streamed and the CD, or vinyl… and there is no noticeable difference… then it becomes only a question of what music you want to listen to and… streaming now has a nearly infinite library… heaven reached. |
@edcyn I was at a Tower Records in Oahu near Waikiki. Looking back on it, my time at Tower was one of the better jobs I've had. I learned a lot, especially from the older staff that helped me explore genres I would have never thought I'd enjoy. Tower Records definitely had a culture and vibe - I miss that. If they were still around, I'd probably frequent on a weekly basis. I also wished I kept in contact with some of the people I had met who were fascinating and somewhat like-minded as myself. Thanks for sharing your story, edcyn! Glad there's a fellow Tower alum (I always wondered)! |
@ghdprentice great thread… A symphonic conductor of some note I am working with a moment is completely new to streaming.. One of his references is a somewhat rare and expensive Scriabin piano concerto with extraordinary dynamics… He is blown away by the breathtaking depth and breadth of recorded Scriabin NOW available to him on his Moon preamp / streamer. A true music lovers paradise. My best to you ! jim |
