CD Quality Versus Streaming Quality
You just described yourself, and what I posted up is fact with proof. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMzd40i8TfA Like I said it’s going to ruffle some feathers, and looks like starting with YOU!!!😖 |
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This is an interesting subject with no correct answer no matter how long or how frequently it is discussed. One can offer all of the technical explanations to explain their belief there they hear one format sounds better than the other but at the end of the day it is how it sounds to the listener and that will vary from person to person. I have followed high end stereo and the various formats of music that have evolved since 1965 and spent time extensively listening to all of the music formats in reasonable high quality equipment. For me, I prefer the sound from a well recorded CD over all of the streaming. BTW, I have a collection of over 2500 CDs, 1200 vinyls, 40,000 on a separate hard drive in AIFF format, 300 cassette tapes, and subscription to several streaming services. At the end of the day, whether you think the sound quality from streaming is better than CDs is reflection of your system and what appeals to your ears and that will vary from individual to individual. |
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Yes until the streaming/download companies put up which version releases they stream/download so you can be assured not not getting the "usually compressed later re-issue ones", you never know until you paid for it. And then they have to guarantee they don't compress it to send it to save themselves bandwidth costs also, but you can check that with a file size that's sent against a uncompressed cd size, (if you have it) Cheers George |
George, which streamer do you use? Which service? Software? None, I have a friend who owns Soundstage Australia he reviews them and many other things, he assures me it the very best hook up. I hear it on his very revealing system a/b against just the Yammy (as a transport) both into the Total dac D1 now upgraded to the later Total dac https://www.soundstageaustralia.com/index.php/reviews/508-totaldac-d1-direct-digital-to-analogue-con... This is his systemAnd sometimes mine if I get the chance and he comes over and logs on to whatever he stream services he uses.. Which being big ESL’s (ML Neolith panels 150hz to 10khz), Plasma tweeters >100khz, and SV12 bass <150hz, based, even more revealing I think, don’t know if he does, he doesn’t cross that line. But it’s his bread and butter, you won’t find controversy with his reviews, but what’s said with a red in one hand privately is another story when we do a/b’s . Cheers George |
This is the "Bruce Springsteen" "Born to Run"George, this is really shocking that Qobuz sees this amount of compression and can't get a better release from the record label. The streaming system is f#~ked up, the record label holds all the cards. In every case, there's no way to know the provenance of the master used to make the Qobuz copy. I've had some luck checking the copyright of an album on the Qobuz Info page, then checking to see if there's a matching date on DR Database or Discogs. My only recourse with the Qobuz Springsteen file is to listen to the album on CD. |
Also the Dynamic Range Data Base ( https://dr.loudness-war.info/ ) was attacked by some unscrupulous people deleting many entries, that didn't like what it’s trying to do for audiophiles, "guide them to the better releases" or expose for all to see the compression in our music! You take your pick. Cheers George |
Records vs CD’s vs Streaming, which is best. Depending on you equipment, all could sound very good or not so good. At one time in my life I had McIntosh Tube amplifiers and Pre-Amps, 7 Wilson Speakers, expensive turntable and CD player. The sound was exceptional (Streaming hadn’t been invented yet). All gone now. Now I have a NAD Streamer, a NAD Master Series Amp and Paradigm Persona Speakers. My old system was over $100,000 and the new system $20,000. I had 1000 records, 1400 Cd’s and a large room for storage. Now they are all gone. Big fan of streaming. The sound to me is as good or almost as good as any other format. Certainly good enough for me and I like really good sound. I will never go back, never. |
david1949 Sorry David, but not if your streaming/downloading the compressed streamed Quobuz release of this. (Please take time to look at it carefully) "Red is bad=compressed. Green is good= "uncompressed". It’s same album!! very different re-issue dates 32 years difference!!!! This is the "Bruce Springsteen" "Born to Run" Cheers George |
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Like I said, even with the truth shown to some, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMzd40i8TfA they just can’t/won’t see the "forest for the trees". Maybe it’s a new "Ignorant Division" of "Audio Scientology" |
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Hi dear folks. Just thought this video might be helpful to the discussion. It is not a high-end system but my son had this before moving to the Expert. It still produces a terrific sound as you will hear somewhat (recording with iPhone has limitations and the wind was blowing the blinds and curtains so much noise) Headphones will sound best (i love wireless Apple EarPods actually). The CD player, preamp and m/c amp are Parasound Halo really quite old. I am aiming for sound quality along these lines from streaming, and I am now leaning towards the notion that this can only be achieved with a dedicated streamer setup with careful attention on EMI /RFI. The Etheregen product looks very interesting indeed, and many comments indicate it has a positive impact on sound quality. I cannot afford Roon on top of everything else unfortunately although I wish I could. https://youtu.be/t2A1SCDa0oA |
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George - I agree with you on some things you mention here, but you're confusing file compression with music compression and they are two very different things. (Both have their place with music - but they're very different.) File compression allows you to zip a file to reduce it's size, or in music terms, it allows you to convert a raw 44/16 (or other - default CD quality) file to a smaller file by eliminating "unneeded" portions of a song. A standard CD will play at something like 1024 - vs. an MP3 file at 128kb/s. The Bruce Springsteen album you reference from Qobuz is their hi-res 192/24 format - or roughly 4x the bandwidth the original would have used. (They're actually taking up far more bandwidth/ sending far more data for - what I agree with you - is a far poorer sounding mix.) Music compression on the other hand deals with the difference between the very loudest part of a song - to the most quiet in terms of DB level. That's the dynamic range - and what the website you cite, is talking about. It's a complaint about how modern music / sound engineers mix music that far less dynamic range - in terms of loud to soft - today than in the past. And, there are arguments for both. Is it what the artist originally intended? For older music, absolutely not! They meant for you to "lean in" and listen closer to the soft part of the music or vocals. But with kids 40 and younger today, with earbuds, and headphones, and car stereo systems, and Alexa speakers being used, it makes sense to form a better - more compressed, volume level so that you're not blowing out the ears of people or having to crank the volume up to hear the soft parts of a song, only to then have your ears blown out with the next song. I also can't speak to "clocks" in music - I have no idea - but with respect to data - bit perfect, data - I am a senior systems engineer and trust me when I say this, with even a poor network system today, bit perfect data can be delivered with ease. No matter the cables being used, or whatever linier power supply you think might be the weak part of the chain, it's absurd to suggest that digital anything will deliver "noise" to your system short of some kind of ground loop or malfunctioning equipment. CD transports costing 2k, or 5k, or 20k - I'm sorry to say this - but without an internal dac being used, will have zero affect on the sound. A $20, cheap sony CD player, is more than capable of delivering bit perfect data to your external DAC. (Now, if you're dac is internal to your transport - that certainly can make a difference.... but if you're using a strict transport, I can prove over and over and over again - it is absolute bit perfect data that is being exported to your dac no matter what device is used and will make zero difference to the music.) So to the original OP - my guess is that it was a difference in configuration or a setting that might have been off - certainly the dac WILL have an impact on the sound, so I'd recommend connecting a digital out on your transport, checking your settings to ensure you're streaming the same thing, and then re-doing the test. Because coming through the same DAC should be identical sound (WITH the caveat that George points out too - provided they're the exact same mix/ release of the album.) And again - to be totally clear with you George, I see and understand, and even agree with your point. Compressed Dynamic Range of music - yeah - it does suck when I'm trying to get that "audiophile" experience at home on my system. But in the car, or waiting for an uber, or jogging, it's nice to have that volume compression so my ears don't blow out between songs or between parts of songs. Wrapping all of this up - as a 40 year old, I have had the honor to live through the most dynamic changes ever witnessed for music (Short of when people had to attend live venues to ever hear music and instead, could listen at their home.) I had tapes in the car, and vinyl/ radio at home, and then CD's for both, and lived through sharing music on Napster, to what has flourished into bit perfect, steaming, uncompressed audio. And, we are at, what I think might be the last stage of music, but absolute, perfect surround music with Apple and Tidal introducing Atmos music. (it's game changing with the right setup and a well mastered mix.) So many audiophiles experienced that transition when music went from mono to stereo - and my generation is now experiencing that same change with surround. And, mixers today, despite having compressed volume, are getting there - we have settled on a great digital form, a standard, that hasn't existed for decades. |
Totally agree, "music compression" it has no place in hi-end audio. Neither do these later re-issue compressed albums that they stream/download, it’s done to drown out background noise in the car or walking/ipod and to be able to hear the quite passages with a jack hammer going a few feet away. George - I agree with you on some things you mention here, but you’re confusing file compression with music compression and they are two very different things.Yes I know they are two different things (worded it wrong). I would "if" I downloaded to a HD would want whatever I purchased to be original size, not zipped up into a smaller package. If I streamed and played it live I would also want it original which I think it has to be? or does it de-compress while playing?. But "the biggie", I would very much want the "least compressed issue" of what I bought by knowing it’s provenance, so I can check to see if it’s had it’s "life squashed out of it" on the DRDB site, before buying it. BTW Just got a used Rickie Lee Jones Pop Pop cd for $5, amazing, extremely dynamic album, shame about the album cover though. Looks like she doesn’t allow compression of any sort even with re-issues, then it was late 90’s and later it started to happen. https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=+Lee+Jones&album=Pop+Pop Cheers George |
This is a very interesting topic and many of the points discussed thus far are valid. Its hard to deny that streaming won’t be going away and will (is) be the standard delivery model going forward. Being this hobby comprises the smallest fraction of the overall streaming user base / listing base, influencing this model would appear to be difficult. I think in its current form with the likes of Qobuz and other high-quality services (audiophile centric) it’s hard if not impossible to state streaming is worse than one’s local version. Meaning, it’s always about provenance / mastering version. Of my 4k local albums that I have curated (1k are SACD’s) some of them are not the best version and Qobuz may have a better version, which I have on numerous redbook’s discovered. So how does one digest that? I’m certainly not going back through my entire library and comparing each one of them to the Qobuz version for example. However, on my favorites / must have’s, I will hunt down the best version. I have not been a streaming fan and sort of refused to use it in my big rig. One of the reasons is to purchase and support the musicians since they get squat on the streaming model. However, after much optimizing of my network (vlans, dedicated audio network and devices etc..) I have slowly begun to use it (Qobuz) off and on. My chain is dedicated Linux roon core (that is all it does), dedicated HQP wkst to upsample to DSD which then outputs via fiber Ethernet to optical rendu > DAC. It’s getting harder to tell the difference on some tunes, I still prefer my local library most of the time, but I can’t in any sane way, listen to only my older music? Much of the new music/genre I listen to is mixed/mastered in high quality and many times I purchase their (artists) digital download I will point out though my context is digital (e.g. ripped redbook/SACD’s/high quality purchased downloads) and I don’t have a high end CDP for reference. Maybe I am missing out in that respect? I am curious how that would sound, but much of this comes down to priorities. Spending 2-4k on a CDP isn’t gonna happen. Getting the most out of ones rig is so massively dependent on room and spkr setup. Once you get that sorta dialed in, you’re in a much better place then not having put the time into that. |
I have always loved music. I had a thousand albums. I always seeked out the new trends. And a $4 album was actually quite a bit of money. Move forward. My old stuff was worn out. My LPs gone, my CDs scratched. I chose streaming. I want to listen to music again or for the first time. I have Amazon all the way to 24/192. I like it. Sounds good to me. Details both soft and loud, dynamics, Imaging, 3D, frequency response is there. Don't wish to argue but this setup works pretty damned good. |
Hi JPeter568, Thanks for that great information. Your work as a senior systems engineer gives you the advantage of knowledge from a technical standpoint. Some very interesting and relevant points you make, although from my personal experience, and don’t ask me why, different players as transports do affect the sound one hears (note that I have only used players as transports, and not dedicated transports which could be a different result); a) no noise is carried in the digital stream b) even a modest or rather network setup, it is capable of carrying a bit perfect stream with no problem c) Transports as separate from an external DAC will have zero effect on the sound quality quote; “So to the original OP - my guess is that it was a difference in configuration or a setting that might have been off - certainly the dac WILL have an impact on the sound, so I'd recommend connecting a digital out on your transport, checking your settings to ensure you're streaming the same thing, and then re-doing the test. Because coming through the same DAC should be identical sound (WITH the caveat that George points out too - provided they're the exact same mix/ release of the album.)” The test was as follows; On my son’s system, a Devialet Expert Pro 220 driving Magico S3 through Synergistic Research Foundation speaker cables run a stream of albums on Tidal that I have on CD and them compare them. I also brought my Pioneer BDP-09fd to his house to use as CD player. We did the following; - First test: Run ethernet cable from his router directly to Expert DAC input, then using iPad and Devialet Air, stream the songs via Airplay-Eth - Second test; Connect Apple Macbook Air (first gen where direct USB connect possible without dongle) via USB into Expert Pro and stream same songs over USB, with the advantage of first stage MQA unfold - Third test; Connect CD player via coax to Expert Pro to run digital stream to Expert Pro DAC, sourced from CDs or same albums of tidal streams - Fourth Test; Connect CD player via analogue outputs running transparent ultra and synergistic research foundation i/c. In this case, the Wolfson DACs do to D to A conversion. JPeter568, Sir you are obviously very knowledgable as networks and systems connectivity is your professional vocation. Everything you’ve said make sense although i would have to offer an alternative viewpoint on transports, only because i have observed the differences between several that I have. For example, as superb as the Oppo 205 and 203 are, purely as transports, they don’t sound as good as the BDP-09fd purely as transport, which produces a more dimensional and captivating sound to my ears. Again I can’t explain why. Perhaps its in the execution of the interface? As an aside, I think for 1080p, I prefer the picture and sound of that Pioneer $2,200 flagship from around 2008-2010 to the venerated (justly so) UDP205 and 203. It stands to reason that bits is bits. Streaming should sound no different than the CD. They are both after all 1s an 0s that are checked to be bit perfect. There is of course the matter of jitter and I would suspect at the micro levels it doesn’t affect sound quality too much for the average high resolving system. But for über resolving systems that might be different. So then, we are left with two possibilities that might account for the differences heard in the test we conducted. These differences are not massive but they can greatly affect ones enjoyment listening to music, and can be stated as loss ‘something’ especially in high frequency purity and clarity, bigger more clearly definite / solid imaging or put another way a more ‘definite’ presence and vitality to the sound, a more accurate less homogenized soundstage, more defined bass performance, and less ‘smearing’. Incidentally I should add, that on occasion I have heard streaming sound very very good, good enough to keep me with wine in hand sat in place for hours listening. The two possibilities as i see it are; a. Noise, from EMI / RFI pollution b. A compromised stream that is not full bandwidth or where compression algorithms are screwing up timing causing smear, and messing with information vital to the full sonic picture. Again sometimes the sound is better than others… |
@georgehifi The streaming companies need to give the album Cat No. with all their streams/downloads, so you can find for yourself on the DRDB if That would be great and should be available without question for the very reason you state. I can only speak to Qobuz, but some of the dig downloads I have purchased (new releases) have included cat numbers in the metadata. I don't understand for the life of me, why the f*&% complete meta data isn't part of these dig purchases. It's not the services fault, but the labels that provide the files. |
Red, Your ASSUMING that the labels arent giving the services the data. Perhaps the info IS given and the services are choosing not to give you that info. Could be they dont WANT you to see the data so you cant do your due diligence and compare different master/remaster versions. Certainly not saying this is true but it is in the realm of possibility. |
4afsanakhan It stands to reason that bits is bits.Things are not always as they appear at a quick glance. Streaming should sound no different than the CD. They are both after all 1s an 0s that are checked to be bit perfect.That is mistaken. While outright errors on an audio CD are usually rare - there is redundant encoding of the data which are interleaved on the disc - the CD-A standard includes interpolation when an error cannot be recovered. By definition, the interpolation is an estimate and not necessarily bit perfect. ( The interpolation is needed because unlike a CD-ROM, an audio CD needs to read in real time.) It’s easy to imagine that when streaming audio from a server farm miles away, errors could creep into the signal that would require error correction or interpolation. So it really isn’t accurate to say "bits is bits" if you're talking about audio playback in real time. |
@riaa Red, Maybe (sounds a little extreme, but anything is possible I suppose), but given the fact that downloads from the labels / artist directly as well as the digital stores (pro studio masters, acoustic sounds any of them really), metadata in those are no better, in my experience. Just artist, track, album etc.. minimal crap. It should contain everything pertinent (what one would find on CD sleeve). I've emailed Qobuz the exact question (looking to clarify cat number) and they were helpful, but I recall the response was something like that's what the label provided and they are not touching the metadata |
(WITH the caveat that George points out too - provided they're the exact same mix/ release of the album.)”You know what the CD is because it has a "catalog number" But what's the version is of the streamed one when there is no provenance you can get for it so you can check it on the DRDB you have no idea if it the latest highly compressed release or not??. Have you look at the DRDB to see what you got, and "PLEASE" give us the Cat no. of the streamed ones you managed to get form Qobuz so we can all see? As this on is the rubbish latest release from them https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/58448 Could be they dont WANT you to see the data so you cant do your due diligence and compare different master/remaster versions. Certainly not saying this is true but it is in the realm of possibility.Ummmmm yes this is what I can see is why. Yes, it's only natural to think that there would be even more errors to correct than a CD, maybe compressing and uncompressing the download will create even more again?? Cheers George |
BTW just found another Qobuz compressed to the max re-issue https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/186934 Cheers George |
And here we go!!!, Just managed to search the DRDB site for just Qobuz entries 3 pages were ID’d and yes mainly only the latest compressed re-issues https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list/1?album=Qobuz There are sprinkling of untouched uncompressed ones that I would pay for but they are more your hi-fi show type CD’s which never got compressed re-issues. Muddy Waters, Miles Davis, Diana Krall etc etc And again only the later re-issues from "HD Tracks" https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list/2?album=HD+tracks One one uncompressed 1986 Louis Armstrong https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/185788 Cheers George |
I’ve been comparing quite a bit lately. My ears tell me the story. CD beats steaming (even high res) 9 out of 10 times.Most likely because the later streamed re-releases, are far more compressed than your "older issue" less compressed CD’s. And why the cat. no. should be supplied with any streamed/downloads before purchasing. Cheers George |
If you have a high quality dac ,and very good streamer a key to help ensure noise is at its minimum is a great network switch without spending too much $$ such as Uptone Audio ether Regen which is very apparent eliminating noise and the Excellent Bricasti M3 dac withNetwork streaming card.it has tons of trickle down technologies from all they have learned in mastering studios ,exceptional performance that is actual to the point it surpasses a good turntable in many areas.I have friends with very good $10k + turntables and used to hate digital. A top CD player like Esoteric can be exceptionally good, but still not up to par with the pristine signal from Ethernet or usb from my experiences. A very good dac-streamer is better pin sonics,purity of signal Ethernet ,as well as I2S is a superior Digital signal. And cd is just Waay outdated.I use only if I can’t find on QObuz or Tidal. |
+1 on Qobuz. I listened to Tidal for about a year and I can absolutely tell a difference on both my systems. Actually I still have Tidal since I bought a year subscription. I have tried switching back and forth. Most Qobuz songs have more depth and body to the sound. A good DAC also makes a big difference. I’ve compared Qobuz with a good DAC to CDs on Oppo and Marantz players. CD is either just the slightest better or indistinguishable. |
4afsanakhan: I can completely understand why you heard the difference given the tests you ran. Airplay compresses and downmixes music to about 1/4 of what the original is - it is not a bit-perfect stream and it is not lossless. (It is very good - but with good ears - and a good system - and to know what to listen for - it's very easy to tell the difference and it is indeed inferior.) Test 2 - MQA is NOT a lossless format. Then test 3 - if Tidal is again using MQA between your setup - again - not lossless - and then Fourth test - I assume was the best (it's the only one of the four to not have something lossy in the signal path.) My guess between the transports that you reference might be the dac if you weren't using an external dac - and again - that would be totally logical to me where there is a distinctive difference in sound. So - what you go on to write later - it doesn't add up that those are the only two reasons why the music sounds different. There are technical, very discernable differences with the test you mention (which I am quite sure good listeners would be able to hear.) And cleeds - you're explanation to the aforementioned user - the ECC built into a CD is absolutely ZERO match for ECC built into any modern ISP's network or a decently modern home network. Have you ever performed an update on any computer system and were able to install a corrupted file? No - the storage you have, or your memory, or processor, might corrupt the file, but what is delivered to you is always, bit perfect - hash tag matched - each, and every, single, time, provided the equipment used to send and receive is working as expected. On the other hand, give me a microwave or a piece of wadded up aluminum foil, and we'll compare how your "perfect cd" sounds to my bit perfect digital stream. Errors cannot, do not, "creep in" - they are clearly identified and rectified within milliseconds again, on any decent working network. And anyone that says otherwise has absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Let me be absolutely clear about this too - some of you are NOT imagining sound differences here from streaming to cd's. George is ABSOLUTELY correct to cite how new albums found on streaming services are indeed, compressed from a dynamic range standpoint (Not a bit perfect or any change to the file compression, but rather compressed dynamic range.) There is an excellent youtube video here that's a minute or so long - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v6ML2DsBfA but this perfectly explains what I believe many of you are hearing and why it does sound bad. George - to answer your question - it depends. If you're talking about downloading a song to your system from a lossless streaming company - Apple, Amazon, Quobz, and Tidal (provided it is NOT MQA), AND, it is the same mixed version of the song you have on CD, then yes, it will be absolutely identical. However, if you deliver that file to your DAC via Bluetooth, Airplay, or Chromecast, then no - what is being received by your DAC WILL be compressed from a file size and amount of data standpoint. (Whatever device you are using in that signal path to "stream to your dac wirelessly (And using those three aforementioned standards) will compress the actual file to minimize the data being transferred to your DAC.) But if you're using something like a bluesound, or some cambridge audio products, or aurelec, there are many of them, then no, what is downloaded and then presented to the dac, provided it is the same mix, will be absolutely identical (and perhaps even better depending on the quality of your cd.) TO be clear, I have not run tests on these to confirm, but it is super easy and if something nefarious was occurring, I believe it would be known by now. (For example - MQA from Tidal - it is NOT lossless and the files are different.) I believe all of you who say that your CD sounds better - and I believe those who say that your streamer sounds better. If you're sending the signal via a wireless protocol (that is NOT just wifi), then yes, the CD will sound better because you are not sending a compressed/ downsized file. For those of you streaming in high res correctly without lossless codecs in between - I can totally see why that sounds better especially when using hi-res mixed tracks. (That aren't dynamically compressed too much) But all things being equal, same dac, signal being sent correctly, there should be no change in sound. |
George is ABSOLUTELY correct to cite how new albums found on streaming services are indeed, compressed from a dynamic range standpoint. And that’s where it ends for me, if it’s had the very life squashed out of it, I don’t want this "compressed stuff" anywhere near my hi-end system at home, where there’s no quiet spaces for it, me and the missus to breath to the music as it was made by the artist if he/they were playing it live to you. In the car or through iphones/ipods taking a walk, ok this compressed junk is fine, that's what it was made for and should stay. But as an audiophile it saddens me to see this kind of compressed music being pushed by those ignorantly on these forums (with hi-end systems) and they say it’s great, far from it, it’s mediocre at best being played back on todays hi-end systems. Cheers George |
jpeters568 And cleeds - you’re explanation to the aforementioned user - the ECC built into a CD is absolutely ZERO match for ECC built into any modern ISP’s network or a decently modern home network.So what? Compact disk and streaming audio protocols include both error correction - which I noted is extremely effective - and interpolation, for errors that cannot be otherwise recovered. Have you ever performed an update on any computer system and were able to install a corrupted file? No - the storage you have, or your memory, or processor, might corrupt the file, but what is delivered to you is always, bit perfect - hash tag matched - each, and every, single, time, provided the equipment used to send and receive is working as expected.Correct. But you’ve confused that process with digital audio playback, which must be done in real time. That’s why interpolation is part of digital audio. You wouldn’t want to use interpolation for something like a software install, because that has to be absolutely bit perfect. ... give me a microwave or a piece of wadded up aluminum foil, and we’ll compare how your "perfect cd" sounds to my bit perfect digital stream. Errors cannot, do not, "creep in" - they are clearly identified and rectified within milliseconds again ...Nonsense. Your imaginary, hypothetical textbook "bit perfect network" doesn’t account for the real world, where ISP and local network issues can include signal disruptions that may extend to actual dropouts for the user. And that is why interpolation is part of the digital audio protocols, even if the errors may not always be as extreme as outright loss. |
Have you look at the DRDB to see what you got, and "PLEASE" give us the Cat no. of the streamed ones you managed to get form Qobuz so we can all see? https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/179407 |
Again, many recordings on Qobuz sound great. Still very enjoyable while what you are is also true of some recording files on Qobuz. No need to throw the baby out with the bath water in terms of enjoying the streaming format. Nothing is perfect in this world and I find enough great sounding recordings to keep me content. |
grannyring Again, many recordings on Qobuz sound great. Still very enjoyable ... No need to throw the baby out with the bath water in terms of enjoying the streaming format. Nothing is perfect in this world ...Exactly. There have always been poorly made LPs and CDs, and now we have poorly made digital files. But the best of any of those formats can still offer exceptional sound. Finding the best (highest fidelity) version of any particular recording has always been a bit of a hit-or-miss proposition. The only thing that’s changed is that now - sometimes - the best version of a recording is what’s available from a streaming service such as Qobuz. |
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All I can say is that I have tried streaming from three different providers and I am not impressed. It is digital and theoretically is should be just as good as playing your own file but it is most definitely not. It sounds like they are playing MP3 files even when they are supposed to be streaming 44.1/16. I cancelled all my subscriptions. There are many places I can sample new music. I also love flipping through albums even on the internet. |
It takes effort, learning and attention to the details to get great sound out of streaming. It is more involved than a turntable to be frank. How the streaming signal gets to your streamer is perhaps even more important than the streamer. The streamer is also important and the software used to play music is critical. Eliminating noise in the signal is everything in digital streaming. It will cost you money, time and effort. It’s easy to get sound out of a streaming front end, however more difficult to get great sound. I have learned this over the past 2 years. Achieving great SQ streaming requires getting educated on SOTA innovation in this space and incorporating it. |
grannyring It takes effort, learning and attention to the details to get great sound out of streaming ... How the streaming signal gets to your streamer is perhaps even more important than the streamer.That’s probably true. And if you’re suffering from a bad neighborhood network (such as having many high-bandwidth users on a single cable Internet node, or connections in your neighborhood that are dirty or wet) you’re sure to have some data loss when you’re streaming audio - and that’s before the signal ever gets to your router and switch. |
