Why Do ~You~ Still Play CDs?


I'm curious why you still play CDs in the age of streaming. I recently got back into CD listening and I'm curious if your reasons align with mine, which are:

  • Enjoying the physical medium—the tactile nature of the case, the disc, the booklet, etc.
  • Forcing myself to actually listen to an album, versus being easily distracted by an algorithm, or "what's next" in my playlist.
  • Actually owning the music I purchase, versus being stuck with yet another monthly subscription.

Others? 

itanibro

CDs coupled with a decent transport and DAC will sound infinitely better than any streaming version. This is a fact, not a subjective response. And yes, to all the above regarding a physical tactile experience, with vinyl the same plus the aesthetic experience.

@humbertorami

From what source do you get your facts?  Or is this just your personal experience?

CDs coupled with a decent transport and DAC will sound infinitely better than any streaming version. This is a fact, not a subjective response. And yes, to all the above regarding a physical tactile experience, with vinyl the same plus the aesthetic experience.

I'd love to hear the basis for these "facts".  There's no reason streaming can't, and doesn't, sound great with a decent streamer and DAC.  Most of the magic happens in the DAC.  Are you feeding it a compressed CD signal or DSD or high res versions of the same recording?  Are they mastered the same?  All things being equal and if your system is up to it, they should sound equally good.

Lalitk let’s say your previous pricey 26 k streaming vs an esoteric 25ks sacd/cd player or DAc/ transport worth 25k  Of course without hooking them up it’s hard to compare. What will be your guess?