The problem with streaming

I know what you're saying.  It's so much easier to paw through used records at the record store and try to read the matrix and look it up on Discogs on your phone and then read all the comments and ratings about that release to make sure you know what pressing you have and how good it is before you listen to it.

@big_greg, I didn’t say that it is easy. Obviously, you know quite the contrary! But as @jerryg123 said, good vinyl, given everything else set up well, "sounds way better through my system as do CDs."

@dadork said he’s getting great hi res. I don’t doubt that. However, you’re still at the mercy of whatever source they used to record it to digital. You just can’t be sure and that’s the point I was making.

@vuch I understand the point you were trying to make and offered a counterpoint. I have over 2,000 records and vinyl is my main source. You can flip your next to last sentence around and say the same thing about vinyl. Especially newer pressings, which are often made from digital masters on inferior vinyl that’s very noisy, warped, etc.

And then there’s trying to find that "perfect" copy. You could buy an old scratched "super nuclear stamper" from someone for hundreds of dollars. You could buy multiple copies of the same record and do your own shootout (which I’ve done a couple of times - very frustrating). You could search the Steve Hoffman forums to find out which is the "grail" version of a certain recording and then pay hundreds of dollars for it on Discogs. Or tap a couple of buttons on your phone or tablet and hear a very good sounding copy of that same recording for a fraction of the cost and get instant gratification.

I have a pretty nice vinyl setup and a lot of times it’s magic but there are just as many times when the streaming (which is also "set up well") is equally amazing.

It’s not a binary equation, both analog and digital have their strengths and weaknesses. Those weaknesses include poor sound quality from either format if they are not well made.