I've been mulling over the same dilemma for over a year & I have over 10,000 titles in my CD collection ,weather digital streaming sounds just as good something inside my brain won't allow me to think of music as something disposable ,I like knowing I own 99% of the music I love to listen to and don't need to use an outside source to listen and enjoy ,even though at least half of my listening is now via digital streaming I can't bear the thought of turning lose of the CDs and vinly albums I spent so many hours searching out to own over decades ,I haven't watched TV in a decade so for background music I stream but for all listening sessions I have alot more fun knowing my music is coming from a recording I own ,I also love the visability of seeing an album spinning on the platter and loading a disc , even if there comes a time where 100% of my source material comes from streaming I know I won't ever sell my music collection ,my listening room would feel empty .
Getting close to giving up on CD's
I have a mid fi system ( B&W 803D, Rotel amps, Oppo 203 BD, Anthem processor). I set up a NAS drive with the intent to re rip my CD's to highest quality possible but when I purchased the Anthem AVM 60 and the newer Oppo I tried ROON with hi rez files I had purchased from HD tracks along with a subscription to Tidal. It has been close to a year and I have only gone to my CD collection a few times. Roon plays directly through the Oppo flawlessly. Been pretty happy with quality of the streaming through the OPPO. At this point I am not sure I see a point to re-ripping my collection when I can get CD quality or better with the options above.
Things can only get better with a dedicated DAC, if I go that direction I am not sure I will even keep my CD's unless it is something rare or super obscure.
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Why either or? It doesn't cost you anything to keep your CDs. Rip your favorites and continue to use Roon/Tidal to augment your collection. Get a decent travel case and play some of the CDs in the car. That's what I did anyway. I owned some pretty good CD players and no way did any of them top the sound I get from the Antipodes DX into SOtM triad set-up I use now. The Metrum Ambre is another pretty good endpoint (and less expensive) but to my ears just misses out compared to the three SOtM boxes. |
I have had the opposite experience. After ripping over a thousand CDs to various HDs I have concluded that replay from a HD can at best equal, but not better, CD replay, and frequently doesn’t equal CD quality. The differences aren’t profound, not like comparing MP3 vs CD or High Resolution downloads, but it’s there. Downloads are very expensive, and with remastered CD megabox collections being sold at fire sale prices my CD collection has been growing instead of the anticipated thinning that I thought would occur. I have also found that listening from a HD also leads to superficial listening. Being able to touch an iPad and change the album becomes tempting, vs the ritual of changing a disc |
We are major proponents of streaming and having a library. Mahier it all depends on what you were doing to stream to your dac. If you were using a generic computer with a $5 generic usb of course your digital playback woudn't be very good. Useing J River or Roon to upconvert a 16bit 44k CD via your computer to upsampled 24bit 384k or DSD makes digital files sound much more like analog files. The Innuous servers using a good ethernet and usb cable sound amazing into a good dac and will blow away most really expensive CD players at 1/3 the cost. The advantage of having a library is that you can see and remember what you like and own, when you combine having a good library with Tidal to fill out what you are missing the combination is fantastic. In addition your stored library can be shared throught your house with Roon integrating separate devices such as Nad Blue Sound products with Naim or other higher end Roon endpoints and you have both great sound quality with the modern convenience of Ipad/Iphone/Android control in many rooms of your home. Viva the revolution! Dave and Troy Audio Doctor NJ |
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If you own a high quality CD rig, there's a great reason to keep playing CDs. The price of original flat recordings on CD are dirt cheap. And they sound so much better than remasters. The technology of CD playback has made it possible for Redbook to sound like never before. If you already own a CD setup, there's no reason that streaming and CD can't coexist. |
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@mental Radio Paradise is an internet radio station that stream various different bit rates, up to FLAC. The high bitrate stream and FLAC stream sound very good. Check it out on any mobile device, desktop, laptop , etc. Just go to RadioParadise.com. Good stuff and it's free. If you love it, it's listener supported, so send them a few bucks. |
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The best thing about CDs these days is that they can be ripped to a music server in just a few minutes then played more error free from there almost anywhere through various means. I still keep them around after ripping though just in case I ever need them again but hopefully not. Yes with the pay as you go music streaming service options available these days many may find it practical to cut the cord with owning music but I’m kinda old fashioned...not ready to take that plunge.....yet. |
Another really good one if you like jazz, is www.jazzgroove.org Also free and listeners supported. Sounds hi res even with bluetooth. |
Musicians have brought me deep wells of pleasure over the years. If one buys a CD, rips that CD, and then sells that CD -- well, if you keep playing the music after you sell the disc, you are pirating the music. Oooh, "pirating" sounds almost romantic, so let's use the actual term: you are stealing the music. For me, the pleasure I've gotten from musicians makes me not want to steal from them. I admire their work. So even though I've ripped over 2500 CDs and play them only through my music server, the discs themselves sit in storage. Dave, who could imagine someone here either defending ripping-and-selling or saying it's not a bad thing but what's both illegal and immoral remains that way no matter what because it's not a question of opinion |
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@mental - perhaps I need to make this more clear...yes, it does matter if you still have the CD after ripping it. Ripping a CD that you own, and then only playing it off some kind of hard drive, is perfectly legal and moral. It’s the selling of that same CD -- yet keeping and using the music that was on that CD -- that’s another matter. And several people above were mentioning ripping and selling. And for some reason I didn’t think they meant also deleting the same music files from their computer/server drives after selling the CDs. |
@sun-warrior
It’s the selling of that same CD -- yet keeping and using the music that was on that CD -- that’s another matter.That is a great point and one that is sometimes overlooked. Still have all my CDs but after ripping to my server, I mostly use them in my car. Nowadays, I only purchase a CD after I have already heard the music and know I am really going to like it. Even then....with Tidal there is no reason to buy anything less than stuff I really like - and will probably play in the car on long road trips! |
@pattemf132 Great topic. I've been on a long search for a new system. I now have it and my source is an Aurender. I'm having so much fun. And my CD collection is getting smaller. Never thought I'd say that but it feels good. Just use Tidal to the Aurender and there is so much out there to listen to. As I move CDs out of my collection, and it is a CD I really like, I just make sure if it is on Tidal before making it final. I've had much fun the last few weeks browsing all the Masters titles on Tidal. Found much new to be excited about and I didn't have to buy a thing. If you have high-quality gear your listening will be the same. |
Does anyone consider going to the ultimate analog source? 15 ips 1/2” 2 track reel to reel? That's my ultimate goal way down the road. Worked in the business and love reel to reel...for home it would be 1/4" tape, 15ips. It's a very expensive hobby to do it right. Quite a few members have outstanding R to R setups. |
IT depends what you play your CDs with. If you have a reference Marantz or an Esoteric player they will sound better than steaming/storage devices and almost equal to LP standards. My opinion, LPs are hard to beat if you have a top notch system to play them. And frankly, I like to look at my music sources. It is very satisfying. |
I currently use a Synology NAS, Ethernet connection, and use both an Oppo 105 and Bluesound Vault and Nodes around the house as server. DACs are Mytek Manhatten and Bryston DAC3. Sometimes it equals CD replay (using the Oppo as a transport for the DACs, but usually, it falls just a bit short. I’ve decided to keep my CDs until I have to downsize and move, at which point I’ll keep a couple of hundred favorites and compromise with the rest by using the NAS. |
I love CD's. I actually ordered a new Accuphase player about 9 hours ago. I figure if some of these manufacturers like Accuphase and Esoteric are still investing big money in r&d of playback I'm still in. I've often read that the full potential of a CD is just barely tapped into and I think that's what these manufacturers are still trying to do. I'll still stream, download, rip and all that good stuff but at the end of the day I find myself loading CD's into my current player more often than anything else. I'll let you know how the Accuphase goes if anyone cares (I have an Accuphase integrated hence the CDP). |