CD transport vs.streaming

I replaced my CD player of 15 years with a new DAC and CD transport last year.  Both units use vacuum tubes and the CD transport can upsample to DSD through either an I2s cable or 3 BNC cables going into the DAC.  I thought my old CD player sounded pretty good but this new system blew me away. I hear low level detail, imaging and a soundstage rivaling analog now.  Then I added a Roon based music server, ripped my CDs to FLAC files and got a Qobuz subscription.  After putting a FMC (optical) line in the ethernet path I find streaming equivalent to playing my CD FLAC files.  Downloaded DSD files still have an edge over CD and streaming.  They sound smoother and have the largest soundstage of all but it is not a great difference.

I have three sources- vinyl, CD and streaming.  I rarely use the CD Transport now.  If I had it to do over I might not have gotten the CD Transport but at the time I didn't know anything about music servers and streaming when I got the new DAC and transport.  Plus I still would have had to hear and compare a music server to the Transport for myself on my system to be satisfied.  Evenso, I prefer to keep the transport maybe because of nostalgia or just to be able to spin discs occasionally.  I am not even ready to give up vinyl but I don't play vinyl nearly as often these days.

Lol,

 I just bought an Audiolab 600cdt and I’m pleasantly surprised on how good it sounds.

I have been toying with the idea of getting a Node N130 and a Tidal or Amazon subscription.

JD

lalitk: By streaming, I was referring to a service like Qobuz or Tidal. There don't seem to be any services that stream DSD. As to downloads, SACDs are often less expensive than downloads and don't take up any hard drive space. I should note that downloads still require hardware.

I invented the D.BOB because the DACs in players are not as good as good as external DACs with independent power supplies. One only needs a reliable player, the D.BOB and an external DAC. When I went from the DAC inside an Oppo 105 to using it just as a transport, connected to the D.BOB and then to that first Mytek DAC (Stereo 192DSD), my world changed.

@ericgeer

Thanks for the clarification. It appears the D.BOB is designed for end users with universal transport players with subpar internal DAC’s.

That's right!