Streaming vs Physical Media


I have a decent digital front end with a Lumin U1 Mini (w/ external power supply) and a Border Patrol SE dac.  Have some CDs, but no transport.  Would a CD transport sound better than a streamer of similar quality/price?  

mdonda

Showing 7 responses by ghdprentice

Coming from the a background of information processing and managing huge programming and systems implementation projects, I assure you it is not purposefully hiding information about the recordings. It is a question of providing what the customer wants the most as fast as possible… and adding “nice to have” features later. This is a new highly competitive field… in ten or twenty years you will probably be able to find any version or mastering you want. If there is a service that will provide this data… and multiple versions first it is Qobuz.

@edcyn

Yep… that is the compelling case for streaming. I like spinning vinyl occasionally, but it is like riding a horse… it is great for the experience, but sure isn’t efficient, comfortable and the highest quality ride.

@retiredfarmer

It would be really interesting to see your systems. There is a place under your user ID to place photos and identify your components.

 

Up until recently vinyl ruled at all price categories… CDplayers have slowly gained ground (simply a transport + DAC). But in the last few years good quality streamers have made tremendous advancements and now can perform better than CD players (equal on red book CDs and better on high resolution files). This is possible at different price categories. So, I currently have a system where vinyl, CD player, files, and streaming have equally outstanding audiophile sound. Putting together such a system can be done at different cost levels… although I think it is still a bit more challenging at low investment levels.

 

Achieving truly high end sound quality remains challenging. But for those up to the challenge, the effort is most worthwhile by investing in streaming. CD players certainly can sound fantastic, but they do not categorically sound better and they limit you to the physical disks you have in hand. While streaming is available in equal or better sound quality with a nearly infinite library for nearly no cost $14.99 / month… like one CD per month or 1/2 vinyl album.

@bkeske 

Nice system.

If you love handling the physical media that is certainly a reason to stick with it. When I want to I have my vinyl… but long since have given up on CDs and files.

OP,

”Would a CD transport sound better than a streamer of similar quality/price? “

It depends.

The important thing is that a streamer can sound better than a transport. Knowing that… it is critical to work on the streamer… once achieved, it will give you a nearly infinite library for almost no cost, and it is the future… no comparison… work on streaming.

 

I have spent decades trying to get digital to sound as good as analog… in my system it does. It can in systems of different values. My systems are shown under my USERID.