Why Purchase A CD Player or Transport ?

@facten for $25K new it better! Better give you an eargasim. 

@secretguy ”Streaming is virtual theft.”

Artists indeed receive a mere pittance from streaming engagement (a fraction a cent per play).  According to the RIAA, CD and vinyl combined sales accounted for about 11% of revenue in 2021.

My guess is that the people that go and dish out the $15 at the record store (or order online) for the fresh new CD release are few and far between these days.

When we are constantly buying used vinyl and CDs at stores, yard sales, record swaps, and from third party sellers, we’re not putting a single cent in the pockets of artists.

To the folks who purchase music, as a matter of course, in a way that directly compensates the artists at a rate greater than $0.004 per song, more power to ya.

The problem as I see it is the new CD at the store will offer, for the vast majority of listeners, little-if-any increase in sound quality, but plenty of extra price and inconvenience compared to it’s streaming/iTunes/whatever counterpart.  I don’t see a lot of benefit to the buyer here aside from peripheral benefits (physical handling, better artwork, collectible pleasures, a sense of moral edification, etc.). Sure, folks fortunate enough to have high end music playback gear may be able to discern the improvement in sound from a streamed song to its CD counterpart, but, again, these folks are few are far between.

At the end of the day, how much further from “thievery” is a person who’s always buying used vinyl, used CDs, scouring Discogs, Ebay, Amazon, etc. than the person who streams all the time?

I have lived without a transport for a few years now. All my CD's are ripped to FLAC and streamed right alongside Qobuz. 

@facten

”Neodio Origine S2 cd player” This CD player/dac sounds so beautiful. Congrats on your purchase of this player. I have heard it and it certainly is very, very special. Wow! Anyone on this thread, regardless of format opinion, would be floored with the breath taking sound of this unit playing redbook CDs. 

Another consideration. Many new innovations with streaming equipment, highly likely it will only improve over time. Should we expect cd transports are going to evolve in similar fashion?