Where does music come from that streams?

and if it comes from a CD, many classics have had multiple re-masterings...any way to know which it comes from?

The digital files are delivered directly from the record companies.

so no way to know which version they are sending...

It’s magic, like a thermos it keeps hot thing hot and cold things cold. Magic.

@jacobsdad2000 , that is an absolute classic line! How do it know?  

Speaking as someone familiar with record companies, usually the master used for the cd is also supplied to the streamers. Some services, like Qobuz, request a higher bit rate file, in that case often the lp master is used, if a 24 bit lp master was indeed made. Apple is now asking for records to also be delivered in Spatial Audio where a separate master is made from what are called stems. )This can sound pretty cool or like a dogs breakfast.)

Lots of BS in this thread. They often come from CDs, they picture the CD art usually. They also tell you what remaster it is. Sometimes several different versions are available but other times, the version you want isn’t. For higher resolution versions, see response by @yaluaka 

https://open.qobuz.com/album/0088807234916

Edit to add: the shared link doesn’t say that this is the Rudy Van Gelder Remaster but when you log in to your account, you see that.

@carlsbad2 After reading your post, I had no choice, but to listen to Gene Ammons - Boss tenor LP. He is one of my favorites. Recording engineer for this Blue Note LP was  Rudy Van Gelder. Link you posted says the first three tracks were remastered by Rudy. What does this means? I assume that streaming uses three tracks remastered by Rudy. But the original CD tracks contain only the album version. Let me know if my understanding is correct or not.

In many way I am glad 90% of my jazz collection is in vinyl. I spent a fortune chasing albums from my favorite artists and it was money well spent. While listening to Boss Tenor, I noticed imaging and layering (depth) in this album was excellent. Gene Ammons was on left side with congo drums placed just behind him (almost outside of my left speaker). Double bass was placed between left and center (more towards center) and Tommy Flannigan's piano placed between center and right, but in the second row. The drums were located in the third row from center to far left.

I continued with Dave Brubeck's Time Further Out (Columbia) and finished the session with John Lewis playing J.S. Bach's Preludes and Fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 (Phillips). If you haven't,. give a try to John Lewis album. It has a jazz flavor even though a classical album.

Anyway, thank for get me going this evening.

it comes from the land of unicorns and gum drops…!!!

Boss Tenor on XRCD is sensational 

carlsbad2

Lots of BS in this thread. They often come from CDs, they picture the CD art usually.

According to David Solomon of Qobuz, its files are delivered directly from the record companies. Who is your source?

From the record companies, I thought. But I don't care. If it doesn't sound good enough move along. There are millions more to "evaluate." The music often supercedes the recording/mastering.

Is this a question about sourcing of the particular master or the way that streaming is licensed? Traditionally, the label (master side) did the deals and cleared the publishing rights (standard, compulsory rates on the publishing side). The Music Modernization Act paved the way for simplified licensing but that has nothing to do with source material, per se. 

I've had a Qobuz license just to experiment with-- the biggest shortcoming to me was that the repertoire was largely popular stuff, but not "deep"--and having some familiarity with different masterings of the same track, or different recordings of it, I found the catalog to be rather shallow in the area of post-bop jazz. Granted, a lot of stuff is on some of the better platforms and may satisfy the needs of a lot of listeners. But for me, streaming hasn't scratched my itch for "deep catalog" stuff. I also wonder to what extent some of the higher rez stuff is simply uprezzed. 

I get why people like streaming. And see the value in it for a lot of users. It's just not what I'm after. 

According to David Solomon of Qobuz, its files are delivered directly from the record companies. Who is your source.

I would imagine the record labels send audio files to Qobuz via FTP or other electronic means.

You can’t just take a cd or lp, digitize it, put it on a server and start charging people to stream it. You have to have a contract with the record company that owns the rights to the music, and they will send you a digital file, as cleeds said above, and whatever other information the deal calls for,

So many versions exist on qobuz of the same album.  Frankly I don't know what the record companies sent over.

I don't care about the licensing.  Tidal crops the top on the bottom of the frequency ranges to do their stupid Mqa crap. Sucks.

I wish qobuz did a better job of updating their material with roon. So many times I search on roon it's not there and then I search on qobuz and find it. Why is that?

As stated above, Qobuz gets its files directly from the record companies that control the content. Qobuz never gets within a country mile of a master tape - they just take whatever digital files are given to them. There is good evidence that some of their files are actually MP3 quality that has been put in FLAC format (you can test the bit rate in Audirvana and other computer music programs). This is not Qobuz' fault. They came that way from the record company.

I have never seen information about how the record companies come up with the digital files they submit to Qobuz. As far as I know, this part of the process is a black box. I would think that they would generally use the WAV file from the latest version of each title but who knows?

FWIW, I have compared several CDs to their Qobuz counterparts, being careful to use the same version, and they have all sounded identical to me.

It doesn’t matter to me.   I can listen to almost anything and it all sounds just fine or better.  

It originates in Music Heaven.  

@pwerahera:  

Thanks for the suggestion.  I am going to purchase this Gene Ammons LP.  I haven't heard this one.

Also, I have a really nice Pioneer Elite BDP-09 unit that I use exclusively as a CD transport that sounds great.  I use my Aurender unit to stream via Quboz also and I also have a really nice Analog Turntable/Phono Stage. 

Using a CD on my transport directly to my Audio Research DAC 9 compared to the same music steamed from Quboz via my Aurender unit, the CD sounds slightly better.  Interesting.

But, when I play the LP it stills sound better than the CD and streamed music.

Don't get me wrong.  All sound wonderful.  Just saying.  Unfortunately, I'm starting to get lazy and stream more that using the CD transport and the turntable. 

Nope, as I'm writing this, I'm going to get in better shape and get up and play some LPs more. 

enjoy all. 

@tomcy6 -right on, but to expand on that, the record label may own the master but often doesn't not have rights in the musical composition. Those rights, a/k/a "publishing" side, also have to be cleared but there is a compulsory license for that in the US. 

Although folks aren't interested in the mechanical aspects (indeed, in publishing, the right to record a song was called a "mechanical right" for reasons having to do with the history of audio), it's important to recognize the distinction if you are at all interested in how the industry works. 

Is it possible that the streaming companies may be forced to choose from multiple pricing levels for what they get and in some cases they don't get the premium Quality Recording and pay for a cheaper recording and hope they can get away with it.

Sure it's a great conspiracy.  

You can chase your tail all night but the system you put together better play to your liking. Today for me it's horns and tubes. tomorrow that might change.

We all need variety and maybe multiple systems.  Far and few between IMHO.

OP..It comes from that void between your ears....😁

Various: sources, versions, and definitions of hi-rez (some hi-rez is derived from lower sources). Transparency would be nice…wishful thinking

I am sorry I came to this topic late. Minorl, I hope you picked up the Boss Tenors disc, it is one of the better recordings in my collection.

Now about streaming, is this now the highest hi-fi method to hear music? A friend invited me over to his place to hear his system. The only thing is he told me not to bring any software, but a list of anything I want to hear and he will stream it for me.

How do I know his choices are as good as mine? Is there a new hierarchy in hi-fi now? Is streaming as a method reproduces the cleanest sound, as opposed to playing a CD, SACD, LP, tape through your own equipment?

Who cares, as long as the artist gets screwed?

Are you responding to mine or some other response?

How do I know his choices are as good as mine? Is there a new hierarchy in hi-fi now? Is streaming as a method reproduces the cleanest sound, as opposed to playing a CD, SACD, LP, tape through your own equipment?

@drjjpdc There's really no good way to actually know.

My concern about streaming is the server farm that stores the music can never be turned off and you could lose your music library if your account gets messed with. A server farm can use as much energy as a small city.

Bottom line for me, provenance doesn't matter much. Sound quality tells me everything I need to know about provenance.