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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 5, 2022 10:39:03 GMT
I'm in the CD camp with streaming as a fall back for sampling, checking out if I want to buy the CD. My change from LP to CD was easy, less work and easily playable in different places Streaming is too much work for me even now I have a decent internet service. CD gives me a physical object - which I know isn't a huge deal, or is it ? If I was starting with no CDs at all then streaming probably has to be the no brain option Playing a CD is easy. Turn on, shove in CD, play. Streaming is much more of a faff. Best driven from my W10 laptop via Bluetooth from YouTube, sometimes Spotty. I struggle with Android on the tablet I bought from John. Counter intuitive compared to W10. Need to check on YouTube how to use Android. Hate using the phone to do anything as too small for much at all Can anyone persuade me in favour of streaming ? |
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Post by julesd68 on Jun 5, 2022 11:51:16 GMT
Looking back to when I was about to try streaming for the first time I was a little bit nervous about the set up with Volumio but it proved to be pretty straightforward to be honest. Once you have done the initial setup on whatever platform you choose it is happy days and I cannot imagine being without Spotify or similar. The sound quality available from high quality streaming nowadays is really satisfying. I had come from vinyl as never really got into cd.
You don't have anything to lose from a trial run - you have a DAC so just need a streaming front end. Something like a Microrendu is inexpensive and if you didn't like it, is an easy resell. An uncomplicated way to dip your toe in the water.
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Post by John on Jun 5, 2022 12:11:52 GMT
If you are happy with what you have, then no issues. In my case, I moved to file-based audio early on. I have gone from a complex set-up like 2 PC JPlay and Bughead to just using LDAC 990
Maybe consider a microrendhu or Nova Fidelity N16 once set up; they are straightforward to use, and no need to worry about the technology
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Post by mocarver on Jun 5, 2022 13:36:29 GMT
I use streaming and cd’s. As I only have about 120 cd’s, and have ripped most of them, I started streaming and I really like it. The sound from both is very good. I like to audition new music via streaming. If I come across an album that I really like and want a semi-forever copy of, I then buy the cd. In a way the two sources are somewhat redundant. I have not gone to a file server yet for the ripped files. But I do have them stored on a thumb drive for use in my vehicles since I don’t have a CD player in the cars. How about that for a mixed bag? I got the ultraRendu and the sound quality from it is impressive.
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Post by MartinT on Jun 5, 2022 14:18:40 GMT
It's a mindset thing, Mike.
I don't understand "streaming is too much work" as in my case, it's ready to go - always.
I can turn on the power amp, sit down, put the tablet on my lap, call up an album and play it all inside 15s. The convenience factor is huge.
The other thing that I find so very liberating is that I can follow performers, band members, conductors etc. down rabbit holes very simply by selecting them cross-index style all without getting up. The ability to play something I've never heard before, right there and then, is immense. When I want to try a YouTube video, set DAC to Bluetooth and play it. Gig on my lap with big sound. Fab!
Having the entire library of Qobuz as my 'collection' and sound quality better than I ever achieved with SACD, let alone CD, is the crowning glory.
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Post by Slinger on Jun 5, 2022 14:38:38 GMT
...I can turn on the power amp, sit down, put the tablet on my lap, call up an album and play it all inside 15s. The convenience factor is huge. Serious question(s): #1 - Bearing in mind you have an almost infinite choice, how long do you spend deciding what to play? #2 - The same, but sort of different, as you have no physical "list," of what you "own," how do you decide what you want to hear from that almost infinite list? |
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Post by petea on Jun 5, 2022 14:59:00 GMT
Those are actually quite interesting questions. When I search for a file I 'own' I usually know what I'm looking for and so go straight to it, whereas my CDs are rather muddled (LPs less so) and I often find something else before I encounter the one I'm looking for: a sort of serendipity-based filing system if you like.
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Post by MartinT on Jun 5, 2022 15:04:16 GMT
Serious question(s): #1 - Bearing in mind you have an almost infinite choice, how long do you spend deciding what to play? #2 - The same, but sort of different, as you have no physical "list," of what you "own," how do you decide what you want to hear from that almost infinite list? 1. I've usually decided on my first couple of things to play on my way to the music room. Subsequent choices follow on naturally depending on my mood. 2. I've carefully curated playlists of favourite songs in categories on Qobuz. These act as memory joggers and need be only one track per album, as I often select to play the album. I also put things I Shazam or read about in a 'Queued for listening' playlist. Depending on how I find them, I either move them to a permanent playlist or delete them. |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 5, 2022 16:03:25 GMT
Looking back to when I was about to try streaming for the first time I was a little bit nervous about the set up with Volumio but it proved to be pretty straightforward to be honest. Once you have done the initial setup on whatever platform you choose it is happy days and I cannot imagine being without Spotify or similar. The sound quality available from high quality streaming nowadays is really satisfying. I had come from vinyl as never really got into cd. You don't have anything to lose from a trial run - you have a DAC so just need a streaming front end. Something like a Microrendu is inexpensive and if you didn't like it, is an easy resell. An uncomplicated way to dip your toe in the water. Tried Volumio and Spotty and didn't like either. Was given a 6 month sub for Spotty and stopped using it about half way through. Volumio was very poor on finding YouTube music, may be better now, but I can connect with YouTube direct on my laptop and Bluetooth to the amp, quality is good, beatable I'm sure I prefer CDs and my playing lists evolved from that |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 5, 2022 16:07:56 GMT
If you are happy with what you have, then no issues. In my case, I moved to file-based audio early on. I have gone from a complex set-up like 2 PC JPlay and Bughead to just using LDAC 990 Maybe consider a microrendhu or Nova Fidelity N16 once set up; they are straightforward to use, and no need to worry about the technology I imagine I will go streaming eventually, perhaps the change is already happening as I do more of it than I did a month or two ago but CD is still over 90% Thought seriously about a Nova Fidelity. Currently it would be just an extra box |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 5, 2022 16:12:34 GMT
I use streaming and cd’s. As I only have about 120 cd’s, and have ripped most of them, I started streaming and I really like it. The sound from both is very good. I like to audition new music via streaming. If I come across an album that I really like and want a semi-forever copy of, I then buy the cd. In a way the two sources are somewhat redundant. I have not gone to a file server yet for the ripped files. But I do have them stored on a thumb drive for use in my vehicles since I don’t have a CD player in the cars. How about that for a mixed bag? I got the ultraRendu and the sound quality from it is impressive. Streaming became a real possibility when I was well over 2000 CDs. If it had come when I started with CDs around 2005 that might have been different. Spotty has many more albums now but when I tried it seriously it was woefully short of what I wanted to hear. File server is a possibility and Nova Fidelity as mentioned above seems a good way to go |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 5, 2022 16:19:09 GMT
It's a mindset thing, Mike. I don't understand "streaming is too much work" as in my case, it's ready to go - always. I can turn on the power amp, sit down, put the tablet on my lap, call up an album and play it all inside 15s. The convenience factor is huge. The other thing that I find so very liberating is that I can follow performers, band members, conductors etc. down rabbit holes very simply by selecting them cross-index style all without getting up. The ability to play something I've never heard before, right there and then, is immense. When I want to try a YouTube video, set DAC to Bluetooth and play it. Gig on my lap with big sound. Fab! Having the entire library of Qobuz as my 'collection' and sound quality better than I ever achieved with SACD, let alone CD, is the crowning glory. Agreed completely on the mindset. Exploring why with this thread. Also the way I listen, with the album playlist of CDs, I assume could be set up on a streamer. I often go off in different directions with the thought that if I like it I'll buy the CD. Bizarre hunter / gatherer at work maybe  |
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Post by John on Jun 5, 2022 16:20:46 GMT
If you do go down the Nova route get Tony to set you up. Once it set up its easy and I know you will enjoy going down music rabbit holes.
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 5, 2022 16:22:52 GMT
...I can turn on the power amp, sit down, put the tablet on my lap, call up an album and play it all inside 15s. The convenience factor is huge. Serious question(s): #1 - Bearing in mind you have an almost infinite choice, how long do you spend deciding what to play? #2 - The same, but sort of different, as you have no physical "list," of what you "own," how do you decide what you want to hear from that almost infinite list? Part of my reasoning about what comes next. No thought required. Album playlist and off at tangents when I feel like it. I love the albums on my playlist and find they have an automatic sell by date that just happens. Also what is coming up from my searches on Ebay |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 5, 2022 16:24:28 GMT
Those are actually quite interesting questions. When I search for a file I 'own' I usually know what I'm looking for and so go straight to it, whereas my CDs are rather muddled (LPs less so) and I often find something else before I encounter the one I'm looking for: a sort of serendipity-based filing system if you like. Strict alpha sort for my CDs. Sometimes I stumble on something that gets grabbed too |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 5, 2022 16:25:44 GMT
If you do go down the Nova route get Tony to set you up. Once it set up its easy and I know you will enjoy going down music rabbit holes. Tony would be the first port of call |
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Post by julesd68 on Jun 5, 2022 16:33:31 GMT
...I can turn on the power amp, sit down, put the tablet on my lap, call up an album and play it all inside 15s. The convenience factor is huge. Serious question(s): #1 - Bearing in mind you have an almost infinite choice, how long do you spend deciding what to play? #2 - The same, but sort of different, as you have no physical "list," of what you "own," how do you decide what you want to hear from that almost infinite list? I have a physical list - I library of albums that I have saved for regular listening. How long does it take to choose? I have never thought about this, as that will depend on whether I have decided to play from my library or playlists, or whether I want to try something new. Choice is actually a good thing. |
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Post by ant on Jun 5, 2022 16:42:54 GMT
As a counterpoint to the above, i use vinyl and cd and dont stream at all.
I do have the gear to stream if i want to but i find it a pain in the arse, and i find myself strangely removed from the whole experience.
I have a couple of thousand records and cds, and when i want to listen to something i like to peruse the shelves so to speak. I find myself going down rabbit holes within my own collection, and practically every time i pick out a cd or record i remember where i got it from or some little thing about why i have it. There is something to be said for me at least for a physical object.
Actually, i suppose i do stream every so often because i do come across music on youtube then buy it as a physical copy of things i like.
i found myself not listening to albums when i had the streaming stuff set up, getting bored half way through an album and jumping to something else which i think was affecting my perception of artists in some ways.
So for me personally, even though technically i can, i just cant let go of the cds and lps. The physical objects mean something to me that some data on a hard drive just doesnt
But each to their own, so long as a person enjoys their music its irrelevant what it comes out of
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Post by julesd68 on Jun 5, 2022 16:48:46 GMT
Looking back to when I was about to try streaming for the first time I was a little bit nervous about the set up with Volumio but it proved to be pretty straightforward to be honest. Once you have done the initial setup on whatever platform you choose it is happy days and I cannot imagine being without Spotify or similar. The sound quality available from high quality streaming nowadays is really satisfying. I had come from vinyl as never really got into cd. You don't have anything to lose from a trial run - you have a DAC so just need a streaming front end. Something like a Microrendu is inexpensive and if you didn't like it, is an easy resell. An uncomplicated way to dip your toe in the water. Tried Volumio and Spotty and didn't like either. Was given a 6 month sub for Spotty and stopped using it about half way through. Volumio was very poor on finding YouTube music, may be better now, but I can connect with YouTube direct on my laptop and Bluetooth to the amp, quality is good, beatable I'm sure I prefer CDs and my playing lists evolved from that With streaming you can have actual playlists of all your current favourite albums which you can chop and change at will - of course you don't have this with cd. You just have lots of discs which I guess you organise into groups of favourites somehow. The idea of playlists for physical music had never occurred to me.
Volumio is just one piece of software - there are plenty of others like the system Martin uses with Microrendu. I find 99% of the music I want on Spotify but we have different tastes in music - of course if you can't find the music you want on Spotify or any other platform it's a non-starter for you.
But all academic as you have answered your question - you prefer CD to streaming.
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Post by julesd68 on Jun 5, 2022 17:01:35 GMT
As a counterpoint to the above, i use vinyl and cd and dont stream at all. I do have the gear to stream if i want to but i find it a pain in the arse, and i find myself strangely removed from the whole experience. I have a couple of thousand records and cds, and when i want to listen to something i like to peruse the shelves so to speak. I find myself going down rabbit holes within my own collection, and practically every time i pick out a cd or record i remember where i got it from or some little thing about why i have it. There is something to be said for me at least for a physical object. Actually, i suppose i do stream every so often because i do come across music on youtube then buy it as a physical copy of things i like. i found myself not listening to albums when i had the streaming stuff set up, getting bored half way through an album and jumping to something else which i think was affecting my perception of artists in some ways. So for me personally, even though technically i can, i just cant let go of the cds and lps. The physical objects mean something to me that some data on a hard drive just doesnt But each to their own, so long as a person enjoys their music its irrelevant what it comes out of For me, I actually found it hugely liberating moving on from vinyl. The collecting and hunting down of rare albums became more important than listening to them. With streaming I have listened to masses more music both new and old and am happy to pay for Spotify Premium and forego the crazy prices I would have to pay for the kind of vinyl that would interest me. My record collection is pretty much intact but I have dismantled all my analogue gear. |
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