CD v Streamed

@duckworp, 
I appreciate your comments.  In fairness, George has been quite consistent in pointing out that the fundamental issue is streaming providers opting to stream the more compressed "mastered"  versions of recordings. 

Simply correcting this pattern and offering instead the lower compression (Usually the earlier versions)  recordings would result in a noticeable improvement of the streamed sound quality. This could be implemented easily. 
Charles 

Psyop

 so, do you feel a need to “re-educate” people that they shouldn’t be enjoying playback that you subjectively view as inferior?  Let’s keep in mind that we are not talking about something like the difference between mp3 and lossless here. We are essentially comparing relatively small variances in lossless playback

It’s complicated. My experience with regards to digital is downloaded hi res files are tops followed by CD.  FLAC files from CDs on my server SSD are pretty much indistinguishable from CD.  I have a very good CD transport and DAC.  I use Qobuz. Streaming 44.1,16 bit is not even close to CD or FLAC.  24 bit files on Qobuz sound as good as CD, sometimes slightly better.  I enjoy streaming Qobuz for quantity although quality is oftentimes on par if in hi res.  I downloaded a hi res file last week that was recorded at 11.5MHz it said.  It is very good.  The cymbals were like liquid.  The highs were the closest to vinyl that I have heard yet.  

I’ll clarify what I mean about the differences between streaming 44.1/16 bit and FLAC on my SSD. The most notable difference is the soundstage. CDs already have a smaller, less holographic soundstage compared to vinyl- in general. Some CDs are surprisingly good. Streaming leaves them flat. 16 bit streaming generally has a 2D soundstage and the images are flat. If I compare the same CD song to the streaming version I hear weaker bass on the streaming version. The highs can be more brittle sounding too. But hi res streaming can have a holographic sound stage and good sound at both ends. It would seem to me that hi res streaming is more demanding of the internet and my server. Makes me think it is not a streaming issue for 16 bit files. What some of you are saying is making sense to me- it’s more to do with the source.

do you feel a need to “re-educate” people that they shouldn’t be enjoying playback that you subjectively view as inferior?  Let’s keep in mind that we are not talking about something like the difference between mp3 and lossless here. We are essentially comparing relatively small variances in lossless playback

And yet we "audiophiles" of this website spend thousands of dollars on interconnects speaker wire etc etc  for just incremental improvements.

What we ask is the music itself and the way it's sold to us is also involved with that improvement path and not to go backward with being compressed the later it's recorded or being streamed

Cheers George