advertisement


Streaming is inferior to redbook CD playback?

Wolfmancatsup said:
Sold my last CD player (Linn Ikemi) around thirteen years ago. Used a variety of Linn DS boxes (and tried a Naim DAC) over the years, initially listening to local rips, then later subscribing to Qobuz. My experience with the narrow choice of digital kit I’ve owned - all Linn, from Karik/Numerik & then Ikemi, through most of Linn’s DSs up to and including Katalyst spec Klimax - is that for me local streaming beats CD. I still buy CDs and rip them to the server - I have around 4,000 CDs ripped, and another couple of hundred bookmarked in Qobuz.
I won’t comment on comparisons with Qobuz because, as has already been mentioned, we can’t always know the source material. I understand Tidal files use some form of watermarking so that could be a pointer to issues with some Tidal files, but that may just be hearsay.

Mick
Click to expand...

You should try a better Cd play than a Linn Ikemi.
 
Dowser said:
Hmmm - ripped FLACs of CDs sound terrible (using Kodi for playback, running on a RaspOS on an RPi4 with Allo Digione hat into my DAC of choice), Radio Paradise playing from a browser in RaspOS on the RPi4 with Allo Digione hat sounds much better into same DAC. A CD player into same DAC sounds best of all.
Click to expand...

I'm currently running an RPi4 with a Justboom digihat and Debian 10 - playing ripped files (AIFF) through VLC and am enjoying what I hear.

Trialled Kodi and found it pants to use so dropped it ... also not a fan of FLAC either - AIFF or WAV always better IME.

Playing the same files through Audirvana on a Mac Mini still has the edge though - (both machines via opt out to an RME DAC)
 
FLAC is exactly what it says on the tin "lossless"

I can detect no SQ difference between .FLAC and .WAV

What I can detect is that .WAW does not support things like tags and album art on most media players which is a bit of a PITA.
 
colasblue said:
WAW does not support things like tags and album art on most media players which is a bit of a PITA.
Click to expand...

Exactly why I use AIFF in preference to WAV :D

(not disputing that FLAC is lossless BTW - just that I find it the lesser option - as always, YMMV...)
 
beammeup said:
A couple of dealers have reported that good redbook CD playback is still a superior solution sound quality wise to the convenience of streaming
Click to expand...

I don't see why a dealer would say that if they didn't believe it. Streamers are a lot easier to sell these days than CD players.
 
Dowser said:
Hmmm - ripped FLACs of CDs sound terrible (using Kodi for playback, running on a RaspOS on an RPi4 with Allo Digione hat into my DAC of choice), Radio Paradise playing from a browser in RaspOS on the RPi4 with Allo Digione hat sounds much better into same DAC. A CD player into same DAC sounds best of all.
Click to expand...

Settings in Alsamixer might be at fault (if you use that for both) so possibly look there to check sound output for your DAC is installed on both players
Also might be worth uninstalling FLAC and reinstalling afresh - possibly some dodgy code in your original RaspOS/Kodi installation ...
Instructions here:

https://installati.one/debian/10/flac/

If you still hear differences between Kodi and browser playback, Kodi might be at fault ... maybe reinstall from a different repository ??

Incidentally I had quite a few problems with Debian 10 and the Chrome web browser when running media files .. changed to Firefox and all good ;)
 
Mr Pig said:
Streamers are a lot easier to sell these days than CD players.
Click to expand...
I don’t know - in the showroom they might be comparing, say, opening a jewel case and playing a CD versus an iPad with Roon on it, but CD players are plug and play, whereas some folks’ networks are a nightmare. I can easily imagine a dealer would have more followup calls from a customer with a new streaming setup than one who’s just bought a CD player.
 
It's a game. You bought a streamer, probably sold you cd player a couple of years back, now they'll try and tell you that cd has hot better and sell you a new one.

It's opportustic product churn, no more no less.
 
My Raspberry Pi4 streaming Qobuz via Volumio is good enough for me never to buy another CD. I will eventually rip the 2K of CDs we have but it’s something I just do t have time for currently.

No doubt if I threw thousands at a CD player I could slightly better it, I’m just not interested in chasing the last few percent.

Cheers BB
 
I have a CD player collection. I enjoy listening to 1982 ones as much as anything else, including hi-res streaming. They shouldn’t sound good anyway, I know that.
Does it matter?
 
The thing that strikes me about threads like these is that somebody usually pipes up about getting disappointing performance. Lots of advice about configuration, setup, preferred formats, OS, software, disabling this and enabling that, and so-on. It all seems horrifically complicated. I spend enough of my time keeping my PC and router talking nicely, I don't want endless hassle and delving under the hood into things I barely understand, in order for my music (which I listen to for pleasure) not to sound shite.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
It all seems horrifically complicated. I spend enough of my time keeping my PC and router talking nicely, I don't want endless hassle and delving under the hood into things I barely understand, in order for my music (which I listen to for pleasure) not to sound shite.
Click to expand...

Some of us are masochists though :D
 
I'll add that I get it if this sort of tinkering is fun for you, in the way that messing with cables and supports is fun for me, perhaps. But the difference is that I can start with a basic system with cables and supports, and it sounds OK from the get-go, it's not shite until I fix the cables and supports, it just sounds even better when I've done it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top