Milt Jackson & John Coltrane - Bags & Trane
Qobuz (24/192)
Qobuz (24/192)
What are you streaming tonight?
As we are in the modern age of music I thought I would see how this fares.
We have threads specific for cdp and tt so why not streaming as it is a modern media.
I don't care if you stream Tidal, Deezer, Spotify, Paradise Radio or any number of internet stations.
I would like you to share your tastes and method of streaming.
We have threads specific for cdp and tt so why not streaming as it is a modern media.
I don't care if you stream Tidal, Deezer, Spotify, Paradise Radio or any number of internet stations.
I would like you to share your tastes and method of streaming.
5,800 responses Add your response
I finally subscribed to a streaming service other than Spotify. I got in on the Best Buy 1 Year Tidal Subscription for $49 (w/$119 annual renewal price). Seemed like a good time to jump in and give it a try. I do not have a streamer or DAC that supports MQA at this time, but my first stream was a "Tidal Masters" album. The winning first stream was......... RUSH - "Hold Your Fire" Tidal (Masters) BTW, I'm hoping for get in on a bargain deal for Qobuz too. I'm ultimately going to get a streamer (likely a Node 2i) so I can compare Tidal Masters vs Qobuz HiRes. |
reubent Good choice moving to streaming. I sold my turntable and record collection about a year ago and bought a Node 2i, but soon upgraded to the PowerNode 2i due to space considerations. It also has an HDMI plug so I can add a TV for a home theater system in the future. Qobuz has a great selection of music, and the app is very easy to use. They has a good deal for a one year subscription for $150 (cheaper with a military discount) versus $15 per month. |
@16f4 - I will not be getting rid of my TT and records, regardless of how much I enjoy streaming. I've been streaming Spotify for a few years, but wanted to try hi-res content. We'll see how it goes when I get Qobuz and a streamer. I really love Spotify. If the SQ is not significantly better, I'll probably just keep Spotify and call it a day. I'm much more of a music guy, than an audiophile...... |
reubent i too am more of a music guy than an audiophile. I think you’ll be happy if you get Qobuz and the Node 2i. I started streaming and sold my turntable and records due to an anticipated downsizing, but the access to so much more music has certainly broadened my taste. I don’t regret the shift. But I certainly would not recommend anyone get rid of their records. I never used Spotify, but do have to admit the SQ of Qobuz on my system makes me very happy. |
@reubent I prefer Qobuz over Tidal, however if you like your discover weekly on Spotify, Qobuz doesn't have anything like that. Tidal has a "My Mix" feature where it puts together playlists based on your listening habits. I would skip the Node 2i and get a decent streamer to start with. There are so many "How do I make my Node 2i sound better?" threads... I went down that path - "I'll just get the Node 2 and see if I like streaming", which led to "I do like streaming, but want it to sound better". Depending on your budget look at the TEAC NT-505 (I have this), the Lumin D2, or move higher up the food chain. Both will do MQA and DSD. Personally, I don't care much for MQA, not so much in terms of sound quality, but the fact that it's a hyped up gimmicky proprietary format (IMHO). |
@reubent Like @big_greg I too prefer Qobuz, sonically Hi-Res is preferable to me over MQA "Masters" -- you can find a lot of discussion on this comparison. A bunch of highly respected makers of DACs don't even support MQA, and explain that they are not going to. That said, sometimes music I am looking for is missing from the Qobuz catalogue, but is available on Tidal. Where I disagree with @big_greg is that you need something better than Node 2i. In my opinion, you don't. But... Node's internal DAC is indeed very much entry-level. I had used it at first, but then upgraded to RME ADI-2 DAC FS. Now my Node 2i feeds digital signal over optical or coax cable to the RME, and the latter is the sound maker. The solution costs $1,850 in today's list prices, and I don't know why anyone would pay more. |
@ghjuvanni I think many people delude themselves into believing that the streamer itself doesn't matter and that adding a DAC to an entry level streamer will give a big improvement in sound quality. Adding a better DAC to the Bluesound can improve sound quality, but will only take it so far. In my experience, buying a better streamer/DAC sounded much better than adding a DAC to the Bluesound. |
@big_greg I am an electronics engineer turned software engineer. In fact, I played a lot with audio (and image) formats. For folks getting into digital music it makes sense to educate themselves about the basics of digital audio: what is PCM, FLAC, etc. On Wikipedia and elsewhere. I don't want to go into voluminous explanations in this forum. It is the DAC that 'makes' the analog 'music' not the streamer etc. The latter can differ on ergonomics, but if it is not broken, and if if feeds the bytes to the DAC, it doesn't matter what it is. There is a lot of misinformation floating around, created by folks who want to sell some 'better' (and more expensive) equipment. @reubent will need to form his own opinion eventually, based in part on input from folks like us, Reddit forums, and best of all -- personal experience. |
@ghjuvanni I agree with going with personal experience. Mine has been different than yours. So in effect, you're saying that the input into the DAC makes no difference whatsoever - a computer, a Raspberry Pi, a high-end standalone streamer, ethernet, USB, coax, BNC, optical, I2S, etc. other than the bit rates they are capable of transmitting. |
Bluesound’s (DAC) sound is OK, but underwhelming. That’s why I no longer use it’s internal DAC. External-DAC-wise I think we are at a point where it is difficult to improve things any more (although marketing will try to convince people otherwise). Which is great -- we can concentrate on music itself and stop obsessing about equipment :-) |
Greg, I've been "getting by" with streaming Spotify via a bluetooth connection. So, I'm obviously not obsessed with ultimate Sound Quality :~) I am concerned about ease of use, supported services (Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify, local rips and Internet Radio). Connectivity is also a concern. I would prefer to use wireless (I have excellent wi-fi coverage and speed) but I can connect via ethernet from the mesh node that is located right by my audio rig. I may even go with a Vault 2i so I can rip some of my CD collection to HDD. But who knows? I've been talking about this for 2 years now, and just now got around to subscribing to Tidal (first step). Thanks for your feedback guys....... |
@reubent I have ripped all of my CDs, about 2,000 of them, and stored the FLAC files on a 2 TB WD Passport external drive and connected (USB) to the Node 2i. That way I stream from the internet or get the FLACs from the attached disk. Same quality given that the recording is the same. Sometimes Qobuz has remasters of my old CDs, though. I have used Node 2i over 5 GHz WiFi or ethernet cable w/ equal success. |
ghjuvanni i did the same thing! I ripped all my CDs to my computer, in addition to digitizing many of my records (over a period of several years. Not something I would recommend casually). I stored everything on my 2TB external hard drive and listen through my USB port on my PowerNode 2i. I had more than a few rare/obscure records I can’t find on CD or digitally so at least I get to listen to them still. |
@big_greg Thank you for Diane Schuur recommendation! Sounds like Paradise (on my new Focal Clears), and exactly the kind of music that makes my day today :-) There's plenty of air and *soundstage* in addition to the music itself. I didn't know this singer at all. Earlier today, I happily listened to "Haydn 2032, Vol. 2 : Il filosofo" (Qobuz HiRes) |
Lenny Breau - Guitar Sounds Qobuz Just reconnected with an old friend from my high school days in Maine. He tells me his local hangout is named “Lenny’s” after Lenny Breau. Lenny was a local music prodigy who did well for himself professionally but died much too young of a heroin OD. Lenny’s brother Denny and buddies played here before COVID. Once I can get back to Maine I may check the place out. |
