[AndrewOld]

I agree when it comes to buying CD’s, the last time I bought an actual music cd was probably late 90’s, early 2000-2001, as lets not sugar coat it, probably every person here at somepoint grabbed a song here or album there from places, whether they knew it or not, and I don’t condone it, as it’s wrong and illegal.

Nowadays for 10, 20 or 25 quid a month you can get access to as much songs as anyone could want/need. Qobuz does me, even though I spent £20 quid last week to get a song from tidal as I couldn’t find it on qobuz, surprise surprise, it wasn’t on tidal either, now I wish I did use one of my throw away email addys to sign up for a months free trial, but it’s too much of a hassle, I just re’subbed to my old tidal account, it took me seconds but cost £20. We live and learn.

The last album I bought was from hdtracks and it was Otis Blue, Otis Redding.

Qobuz does me too. Wonderful. Added Roon to the mix a few months ago and couldn’t be more pleased. Around a £1 a day for both. Ridiculously good value. What else can you get for a quid a day that gives you so much pleasure?

 

[Amberlamps]

Qobuz does me too. Wonderful. Added Roon to the mix a few months ago and couldn’t be more pleased. Around a £1 a day for both. Ridiculously good value. What else can you get for a quid a day that gives you so much pleasure?

Yup, for a quid a day more or less, what could one ask for. One thing I noticed with roon and qobuz that, playlists werent syncing properly, I cant recall if it was qobuz playlists made on my phone or ones made in roon.

Apart from that, roon and qobuz has been plain sailing.

 

[Deftone]

As far as CDs are concerned .. I haven’t bought one for years. Why would you? You can download or stream thousands of 24/96 or better masters from Qobuz or buy direct from record labels. You can’t ask for more than the master.

Im still guilty of buying CDs... i love it. I think all formats + streaming/downloading should stay around and then everyone gets a choice.

 

[iDesign]

As far as CDs are concerned .. I haven’t bought one for years. Why would you?

For many reasons. As I posted earlier in the Blu MK II thread, streaming audio is still largely in flux and lets use February 2019 alone to illustrate some of the many problems with streaming audio. In February 2019, major record labels such as Atlantic, 2L and others began distributing some newly released albums exclusively in MQA 48kHZ 24 bit to Qobuz, TIDAL, et al (see audiophilestyle.com where this is explained in great detail and confirmed by the labels in writing). Qobuz US which launched in February 2019 struggled miserably to onboard suppliers and the selection is wholly inadequate-- I was an early beta tester for Qobuz US and I have since cancelled my subscription. And then there are the unknowns in the loose methods TIDAL and Qobuz allow for artists/labels to submit albums and it invites serious questions about the quality, provenance, and modifications of the recordings posted (see Indigoboom, Record Union, DistroKid or Tunecore). Availability of albums is a big issue and there are some albums that never will be available via streaming services due to rights issues. And one must also wonder about the foggy financial outlooks of Deezer, TIDAL, and Qobuz. CDs, and vinyl for that matter, are not dead and they are still the benchmark and single source of truth.

Although I like the concept of lossless audio streaming, I don't consider it to be a serious method for audiophile listening.

 

[Triode User]

For many reasons. As I posted earlier in the Blu MK II thread, streaming audio is still largely in flux and lets use February 2019 alone to illustrate some of the many problems with streaming audio. In February 2019, major record labels such as Atlantic, 2L and others began distributing some newly released albums exclusively in MQA 48kHZ 24 bit to Qobuz, TIDAL, et al (see audiophilestyle.com where this is explained in great detail and confirmed by the labels in writing). Qobuz US which launched in February 2019 struggled miserably to onboard suppliers and the selection is wholly inadequate-- I was an early beta tester for Qobuz US and I have since cancelled my subscription. And then there are the unknowns in the loose methods TIDAL and Qobuz allow for artists/labels to submit albums and it invites serious questions about the quality and provenance of the recordings posted (specifically services like Indigoboom, Record Union, DistroKid or Tunecore). Availability of albums is a big issue and there are some albums that never will be available via streaming services due to rights issues. CDs, and vinyl for that matter, are not dead and they are still the benchmark and single source of truth.

I probably buy one CD per week. Some are simply not available on any streaming service and I too am suspicious of the provenance of some of the albums on the streaming service providers sites. Then of course there is the whole issue of whether the streaming device is adding in RF noise (or letting it in from elsewhere). An Mscaler with a built in CD player would be useful if only someone made it. Oh, wait, yes they do. (and before you start Andrew, this last was just in jest for you)

 

[AndrewOld]

For many reasons. As I posted earlier in the Blu MK II thread, streaming audio is still largely in flux and lets use February 2019 alone to illustrate some of the many problems with streaming audio. In February 2019, major record labels such as Atlantic, 2L and others began distributing some newly released albums exclusively in MQA 48kHZ 24 bit to Qobuz, TIDAL, et al (see audiophilestyle.com where this is explained in great detail and confirmed by the labels in writing). Qobuz US which launched in February 2019 struggled miserably to onboard suppliers and the selection is wholly inadequate-- I was an early beta tester for Qobuz US and I have since cancelled my subscription. And then there are the unknowns in the loose methods TIDAL and Qobuz allow for artists/labels to submit albums and it invites serious questions about the quality, provenance, and modifications of the recordings posted (see Indigoboom, Record Union, DistroKid or Tunecore). Availability of albums is a big issue and there are some albums that never will be available via streaming services due to rights issues. And one must also wonder about the foggy financial outlooks of Deezer, TIDAL, and Qobuz. CDs, and vinyl for that matter, are not dead and they are still the benchmark and single source of truth.

Although I like the concept of lossless audio streaming, I don't consider it to be a serious method for audiophile listening.

How can you say that CDs are the “single source of truth” when in many cases you can download or stream the 24/96 master from which they were downsampled? Surely the hi-res master is the closest you can get to the “truth”. Sure, some companies like Linn and Hyperion don’t make their catalogue available for streaming, but they do make their masters available for download, so why would you buy a CD from these companies? And 2L is not a “major record label”.

 

[iDesign]

How can you say that CDs are the “single source of truth” when in many cases you can download or stream the 24/96 master from which they were downsampled? Surely the hi-res master is the closest you can get to the “truth”. Sure, some companies like Linn and Hyperion don’t make their catalogue available for streaming, but they do make their masters available for download, so why would you buy a CD from these companies? And 2L is not a “major record label”.

There are many graphs from Audacity and MusicScope and written analysis on the web that will answer your question. In addition, there are articles and blogs explaining how some of the Hi-Res tracks available through streaming services have been modified (Labels like UMG and services such as Spotify have been fairly forthcoming about how they modify tracks while the other services and third-parties have not). You've made assumptions that all of the tracks posted are perfect and not in some way modified and there are no inherent problems in the streaming receiving/unfolding process itself. Is a streaming master “the closest you can get to the ‘truth?’” No. More and more albums from major and minor labels are being exclusively distributed and re/mastered with MQA and that is concerning-- over the past two months it has become prevalent enough that I may also cancel my TIDAL subscription. Furthermore, few of the albums I care about are available as 24-bit Hi-Res files in Qobuz US so the point is moot.

 

[dac64]

More and more albums from major and minor labels are being exclusively distributed and mastered with MQA

Let us hope that we will see "certified by Davina" soon

 

[PJDubyaM]

I probably buy one CD per week.

I buy multiple digital downloads per week. Important to me to support labels that I like, so I happily buy rather than just stream. I buy every single one of Bleep's Albums Of The Week blind, and then a bunch of other stuff from Bleep, Bandcamp or direct from label. Discovered a label called Ngeye Ngeye Tapes yesterday, been streaming their back catalogue via Qobuz today, love it (no idea why or how – it's intense!), will likely buy the bulk of it via Bandcamp soon.

Don't buy physical any more.

 

[Uncle Monty]

Im still guilty of buying CDs... i love it. I think all formats + streaming/downloading should stay around and then everyone gets a choice.

bought 5 or 6 CDs in the last week - there will always be a place for physical media - I bought two cassette Walkmans as well and a pack of blank tapes but that's another story...

 

[Mediahound]

Getting the M Scaler has definitely made me less of a 'I'll hold off for a high res. version' type of guy now. CDs/44.1k files have never sounded better.

 

[Amberlamps]

I would never buy another music cd ( unless it was rare and worth a fortune, but selling for £5 in some music store ) as streaming services do a good enough job as it is.

Qobuz, TT2 and HMS sound magic, they even make music from the 1980s sound good.

What I have already and whats available on Qobuz will do me fine until something better comes along.

 

[Triode User]

Getting the M Scaler has definitely made me less of a 'I'll hold off for a high res. version' type of guy now. CDs/44.1k files have never sounded better.

But the (proper) hi res files than do sound better through HMS than 44.1/16 in my opinion.

 

[musickid]

Choice at the tap of a finger can never be equalled by anything other than streaming. My estimation is if the vast majority of music is now streamed (that's a fact) within 5 years physical media will be obsolete. The market rules. To reinforce this with a few tweaks blu2 owners made the on board cd=usb streaming with respect to SQ. The gap is small.

 

[Mediahound]

But the (proper) hi res files than do sound better through HMS than 44.1/16 in my opinion.

Seems Rob Watts doesn't think even a 768kHz high res files beats an M Scaled 44.1kHz file:

Just to clarify - I have only one 768k recording, and it has the same virtues of a 44.1k track that is M scaled - that is a cavernous sound stage, natural flow, and timbre variations.