I get lazy with digital playback. Streaming is just too easy. Threads like this get me spinning silver disc again which is a good thing.
Does Expert Music Streamer Outrun CD Player?
I think this is a very good, yet controversial topic to discuss, firstly, don’t get me wrong, I adore CD music as well, I solely would like to throw a thread to make discussion, that’s it.
Let’s look at this thing “ objectively “, normally CD players got sampling rate at 44.1KHz/16bit for PCM data, music streamers nowadays got sampling rate at 192KHz/24bit or higher for PCM or DSD data(so-called “ Hi-Res “ audio), so given the sampling rate comparison, it seems that a music streamer literally serves better sound quality than a CD player, right?
However, if that’s a damn fact, how come still lots of people out there fighting for which is better for music playing, so CD player does have its audio merits, shorter data transmission path, connect to a DAC then to speakers, easy and fun, but as mentioned, Hi-Res audio got higher sampling rate, which indicates that it’s got more music details, more music data stored, so it’s understandable one should gear up more equipment to play this music data through a music streamer properly.
As one might wonder, why bother making listing to music such a complex job, fairly good point, lets’ do some simple pros and cons then.
*CD Music*
Pros: Easy to apply, and serves fair sound quality, immersive and loveable.
Cons: One CD can’t serve many songs, lacking flexibility and convenience, due to lowers sampling rate, some music detail might be ignored.
*Streaming Music*
Pros: Versatile choices, easy to obtain, listening to different genres to fit different mood in seconds, more details and dynamics.
Cons: Somewhat difficult to understand how to play it “ right “, too many gears to equip, certainly cost higher than a CD system (if you are a extreme audiophile).
Generally speaking, I don’t actually see which conquers which lol, everyone has his/her own taste, no? if you like it easy and “ less technological “, CD would be adequate indeed; if you like it challenging and “ more audiophile-like “, streaming music is your pal.
For me, Vinyl is a whole other level, people adore its quintessential spirit, it’s gonna last forever as long as people still treasure this divine audio essence, but it’s just too expensive and way harder to get the desired one lol…
Personally speaking, as a dude in his early 30’s, I’ve been in love with CD music for sure, it’s classic, it’s cool, it’s the ancestor of digital music, but as the innovative technology keeps cornering me with its appealing convenience, I failed to be loyal to my CD soul… I stated to adopt streaming audio system 3 years ago, yes, at first it was hard to understand what the heck is going with all the “ new stuff “, such as music server, network switch, linear power supply, even the audio cable for network and power connections, let along the audio operating app, I was like, oh man I don’t think I’ll be able to learn all this shxt, but my curiosity of the freaking “ Hi-Fi “ and “ Hi-Red “ drove me to learn and try, well, you reap what you sow, after 1 year, I finally geared up my own audio system…
Was it perfect? Hell no. Was it lousy? It’s alright, Was it worth learning? YES, so now I can write this article, no? lol…
Anyways, I do enjoy listening to music via a streamer, it’s damn convenient and versatile with the whole different streaming services, but, I still listen to CD music every now and then, it’s still got its spirit actually, cuz some music does actually perform better via CD player, it’s classic, it’s lovable, so does expert music streamer outrun CD player, my answer is 70% YES, 30% NO!
Care to leave a comment and let me know what you think about it?
24 responses Add your response
@edcyn. “I think the thing I most love about streaming is the sheer variety of material on offer. It doesn’t matter that I already have several thousand LPs, collected over the decades. When I cue up Idagio or Qobuz, my two current streaming sites, it’s like going to the world’s best record store with a season pass.” Very much the same with me. I never realized how much music listening was based on ownership. While I own 4,000 albums I seldom listen to them now. Qobuz provides endless new and old music. In the past I would not listen to the radio because of poor sound quality and lack of ability to choose what music. Once my streamer provided equal or better SQ than my CD (and my digital end effectively equaled my analog) my behavior towards music completely changed… I started doing what I liked most in my collection… musical association… this leads to that, which leads to that. I even spent a couple of nights listening to Tito Puente… (Bill Murray in Stripes… he’s right fantastic musician). |
willykuo Trouble is what they stream to you is mostly the later "compressed" re-issue of albums, not the earlier uncompressed ones. Here’s what I mean, they only made the one album, but it was re-released many times, and got more and more compressed the later the release gets. https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list/year?artist=Traveling+Wilburys And the Boss. https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list/year?artist=Bruce+Springsteen&album=Born+To+Run This is an audio video of what to listen for with compressed music. (the 1st pass vs the 3rd pass are the same volume, no dynamic impact on the 3rd pass) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gmex_4hreQ&ab_channel=MattMayfieldMusic Cheers George |
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@edcyn great post, loved the "season pass" analogy. I don't know enough to say with any confidence, but I feel in my current set up streamed HiRes Tidal doesn't sound as good as WAV//FLAC coming from my SSD Innous Zenith. I would guess that a CD transport if having a better internal DAC would be very good, but that's depending on your streamer clock and external DAC. Which ever handles the 1's and 0's better will produce better sound. I do swear I can hear a difference between identical tracks comparing streaming to something on my hard drive. I hope to take that up a notch with a new Reclocker/D2D and LPS running i2s to my DAC (X26 Pro). |
@ghdprentice I think the thing I most love about streaming is the sheer variety of material on offer. It doesn't matter that I already have several thousand LPs, collected over the decades. When I cue up Idagio or Qobuz, my two current streaming sites, it's like going to the world's best record store with a season pass. I generally only have a vague idea of what I'm going to listen to when I log in. Do I stream a record I already own to listen for any differences in the mix or choice of cuts? Do I cue up something rock-and-roll on Qobuz in the hope their copy won't have the spitty sibilants that plague my copy? And hey, wouldn't it be fun if they're streaming a British remix of one of my old domestic releases? How 'bout that new release on the home page with the cool album cover? On the classical side, will that obscure Czech conductor breathe new life into Dvorak's 8th? Yeah, Santa Claus has arrived at my chimney. |
+1 @cleeds and @fuzztone.@audiotroy CDs don’t suck in my system and I’m sure many others could say the same. Here we go again, why does it always have be an either/or proposition? I as of yet do not stream music but I have no doubt that there are excellent sounding audio systems based on high quality streaming hardware. @audiotroy I believe that a high quality CD transport such as the Pro-Ject CD BOX RS2 paired with any DAC of your choosing would be toe to toe competitive with any streamer of your choosing. Can’t we admit you’d get exceptionally good sounding results with either? Convenience and access to music exploration I concede the nod goes to the streamer. I’m referring to judging on pure sonic grounds. Charles |
I have a really good streamer and a mediocre internet provider. I have not had to play non-streamed info for many months. I think it is a high buffer in the streamer. I may struggle with getting my iPad to work, but my Aurender streamer always works. When I put my streamer on line it automatically found the 2,000 albums I have on my network server… so I just copied them to the streamer… just in case I had a problem with the internet. So, I always have a backup. If given an option of a less expensive streamer with no internal storage I would choose no storage… and if I didn’t have access to the internet I would use it as an excuse to play some vinyl. |
@audiotroy -- Ah, a stable network! Putting it another way, who knows if a streaming service network will deliver the music I want when I want it? Who should I blame? Them? My phone company? Back when Primephonic still existed (when was that anyway?) high-rez was an impossible dream during what I can only assume were peak periods. Sometimes even CD quality transmissions couldn't find their way to my steereo. Qobuz has never been 100% reliable, either. I have to say, though, that Idagio has yet to fumble. Of course, I have no idea if they deliver anything above CD quality but I can't complain too much. They have some pretty talented ears at that joint. |
audiotroy cds suck they can be scratched, and misplacedC'mon that's absurd. I know people who've forgotten where they parked their car. It didn't make them give up driving. Not everything on LP is available on CD. Not everything on CD and LP is available via streaming. There no reason why choosing a source has to be an either/or decision, except perhaps if the budget simply forces the issue. |
I think its like many things in tech / engineering as a new tech takes over from older tech there is a time when the old tech is better due to the old tech being at the pinnacle of engineering for that tech and the new being in its infancy. Eventually the new overtakes the old as its engineering advances beyond the old techs capability. |
It's all about the source! Whether the music has been compressed to sound "louder" or not! Too many "remastered" recordings suffer from this limiting of dynamic range. With streaming you are at the mercy of whatever is available. That's why I remain a CD listener/collector. The first editions are usually the best for fidelity! |
jfant cds suck they can be scratched, and misplaced, A really good server can provide a dac with a better data stream, a hard drive will send a better data stream with less errors then trying to read a disc of plastic in real time read optically. We have tested servers vs esoteric transports and the servers sounded better. To date we have professionaly ripped 6 tb of cds into our nas which connects to our high end Roon core no more going to a shelf and selecting a disc. Just load up roon remote and both your library and the worlds music via tidal and quebuz are at your feet also you have the ability to listen to custom playlists or have hours of contanious music playing are juist some of the reason streamers are killing cd playback not to mention instant access to new music. All you need a good streamer/server, a dac, a high quality usb cable, and a stable network, dave and troy Audio intellect NJ USimporter 432Evo music servers |
We have tons of experience here Streaming right depends on a numbetof factors The streamer makes a huge Difference QS D oes the choice of software To date the 432evo music servers from BELGIUM have The most analog sound we have found. They are easy to setup and are completely modular and upgradable. These servers run Squeezebox lite with their own 432hz conversion program. So you get the convience of Roon with THE uperior sound quality of Squeezebox lite gives you. DAVE AND TROY audionntellect nj US IMPORTER 432EVO MUSIC SERVERS |
If there is a difference of opinion on whether streaming outperforms CD then it is an issue of implementation. Meaning a CD player / DAC’s specific design. My streamer outperforms my CD player and they use the same DAC. I have a Aurender flagship WE60se streamer using a Audio Research Reference CDse CD player DAC. But I have extensively used a Berkeley Alpha 3 DAC as well (i preferred the ARC … while the Berkeley teased a minuscule amount of additional detail, the ARC is minutely more musical (and I mean minuscule). So at this point in time the higher quality streaming sounds better than the CD quality and the streamed CD quality sounds the same in well implemented designs. Period. |
