Mike Hanson
Trying to understand...
I hear what you're saying. You're right, getting all this working initially is a hassle, but once it's running it's far, far more convenient than rummaging through thousands of CDs. Every system in my house benefits from that, and I can listen to all my music while I'm out and about in the world.Reading this thread makes me think I’ll stick with my CDs and Radio 3. Simple and trouble free.
Back when I had a Naim CDS2/XPS, not only did I have struggle to keep my CDs organized, many of them wouldn't play due to tolerance variations of the CD media and that wonky puck. I often had to add extra bits of transparent tape around the hole, so that the disc would work.
When I was in the car, I had to determine what to take with me, leaving me stuck with a dismally small library of music.
And don't get me going with vinyl! Yes I have a turntable, but vinyl is even more physically awkward than CDs. You need to keep things perfectly clean and static free.
As for the radio, it's fine when they're playing what you want to hear, but that's almost never in my version of reality.
So physical media and radio are absolutely not simple and trouble free.
Some might suggest that streaming services are the solution, except that the artists are not paid fairly. Consequently, I refuse to use those on moral grounds alone.