Why are so many people spending so much money to build “perfect” streaming system?


I don’t understand why so many people are spending so much money building the ultimate streaming system? I guess I am just out of touch… Would love to hear some reasons streaming is so dominant today.

128x128walkenfan2013

Showing 3 responses by tk21

Someone starting from scratch can build a HiFi system optimized for streaming for no more (and probably less) than the cost of system optimized for vinyl.  Less than $2K or so probably can get you a decent set of used bookshelf speakers, an integrated amp, a Bluesound Node, cables, router/switch, and a media service subscription.  At that point you can access pretty much all the world's music. Searching for whatever you like is a breeze (usually). There's no messing around with dusty/warped/scratched records, worn needles, or stretched turntable belts. Setting up a streaming service isn't much more complicated than setting up a cable TV service.

On the other hand, if you're at that point with a record-player system, and truly just starting out, your biggest problem is that you have no music to play.  Building an LP collection could take you years of searching . Your library will ALWAYS be far more limited than what you could get immediately for about $20/month (about the price of 1 or 2 new vinyl albums per month, average eBay prices).  Unless, that is, you buy a receiver (integrated amp with radio tuner) and do all your listening to FM or satellite radio. That could be a pretty good way to go if you don't obsess about sound quality, you don't need to own what you play, and you are content with letting someone else choose the playlist.

Once they have such a starter system, whatever kind it is, why do some people obsess about better and better SQ?  You could ask the same question about all kinds of things. Food, clothes, etc.  

 

 

@laoman

When I search for "Wagner Ring Cycle" in Roon, I count 29 album hits from the Qobuz service alone. On Qobuz, represented conductors include Daniel Barenboim (Bayreuth 1991), Karl Bohm (1967), Herbert von Karajan, George Solti (Nov 2014 performance on,Decca) Joseph Keilberth (July 1953 performance, 2021 HD mastering), Lorin Mazel, Wilhelm Furtwangler (1953 performance on Warner Classics), George Szell, James Levine (August 1994 on DG), and Zubin Mehta.

Certainly, not all classical music (or individual artists) will get equal coverage on all streaming services. Qobuz seems to be one of the most comprehensive for classical in general (dunno about Wagner in particular). And on Roon, I've seen recurring complaints about how well the search engine works (or does not work)  for finding, displaying, and organizing classical music.  The tech is still evolving, it seems.

 

@laoman 

On Qobuz, among the 29 available Ring recordings I cited above, some are indeed excerpts (~3 hrs or less).  Others appear to be full Ring versions (or presumably as "full" as the original physical medium offered), including:

James Levine, 1994 on DG, 14 ":discs", 15 hrs 20 mins.

Clemens Krauss,  Bayreuth 1953, 13 "discs", 14 hrs 12 mins

Hans Knappertsbusch,  Bayreuth 1956, 13 "discs", 14 hrs 34 mins

Wilhelm Furtwangler, 1953 Rome, 13 "discs", 15 hrs 2 mins

George Solti, 2014 Decca recording (MQA), 4 "discs", 14 hrs 36 mins

Herbert von Karajan, 1998 DG, 14 "discs", 14 hrs 57 mins

Karl Bohm,  1973 Decca, 14 "Discs", 13 hrs 38 mins

I suspect this is more Ring than you're likely to find on CDs at your local Best Buy. Now, you could get a vinyl box set on Amazon (Furtwangler 1950, 11 records) for $98.99.  Many streaming service subscribers do also own CD players or turntables.  Some of them may use streaming primarily for "discovery".