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CD Player vs. music streaming

Dear audiophiles:

I am in the cross road for the media choice.  My CD player suffered from abnormal tray movement and consider to replace a new one (maybe the 2nd hand one).  But on last Sunday, I paid a visit to the audio show and find out there are showing many streaming player of the famous brands with  the price range of US$ 5000~20,000.  I feel the sound is not bad with short listening. 

I am thinking about my situation once more, if I buy a HI-Fi CD player, the price might equal to the audio streamer.  Then, if I choose the CD player, I would keep on buying CD. But if I give up CD player and replace it with a audio streamer, my expense might be the monthly subscription expense which cost a CD or so.  Besides,
my kids have no interest in classical music appreciation. There is no meaning for me to keep on buying CD. When I  am passed away, the CD are useless...without not penny. 

Under such kind of   consideration, should I stay in CD player or should I switch to music streamer. 
Any good opinion?
faust168

Showing 5 responses by big_greg

big_greg
6,567 posts
 
My CD player (a Marantz KI-Pearl) sounds better than my streamer (Bluesound Node 2 into an Auralic Vega DAC), but I stream a lot more often than I listen to CDs due to the convenience.  The sound quality is only negligibly better listening to CDs and only really noticeable if I compare back to back.
big_greg
6,567 posts
 
My Bluesound Node 2 into my Auralic Vega sounds really good, but my turntables and CD player best it.  I'd like to get a better sounding streamer, but everything I've looked at seems to be a downgrade from BlueOS in terms of usability and the variety of streaming sources supported and some apps only work on iPad. I use both Tidal and Qobuz, which many seem to support.  Radio Paradise seems to be missing from most.  I could live without that, but it's a nice to have.  I'd prefer a streamer that doesn't have a DAC, but that's not a deal killer.  I'm wondering if there's something I'm missing.  The Lumin D2 or T2 look like good options, but I wonder how fast they'll become obsolete.
big_greg
6,567 posts
 
I went to one of my favorite dealers yesterday (Gig Harbor Audio) and they just happened to have a Lumin T2 set up in their main demo system.  It sounded fantastic.  I'd probably go for the D2.  I have some other priorities ahead of that, but a new streamer may be in my future.
big_greg
6,567 posts
 
@jetter That is one reason why I've held back on spending more than I have on streaming.  Not all that long ago I bought a Marantz NA6005 as my first streaming device.  Sonically and functionally, it was a nice piece, but it doesn't support most of the newer streaming services and its app is pretty bad.  The cheaper BlueSound Node 2 is a much better device in every way.  I consider myself lucky to have gotten rid of the Marantz when I did, it's a boat anchor now.

Ideally, I'd like to get a decent streamer with a good app interface that can be updated as new services become available with no DAC included.
big_greg
6,567 posts
 
That's the great thing about streaming, it dramatically expands access to music. I tried the Pangea power cord and didn't hear a noticeable difference. YMMV
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