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Does a streamer sound better than a CD player?

Apropos of nothing, if I get a new job I’m getting me a fancy-ass cd transport. IME cd transport replay sounds a tad better than streaming replay into the same DAC…
 
For me, the test is whether the equipment allows the performance to breathe and affect as it should, regardless of brand or price.I love classical music. Does the equipment open the door on the performances that I love ? Baker’s Elgar and Mahler, Callas’s Tosca and Butterfly, Previn’s Rachmaninov, Haitink’s Shostakovich ; they’ve all made their emotional impact on me.It’s now not about hearing the breath of the second violin player or the ripple of Lescaut’s skirt on the boards.It’s about capturing the essence of the performance. I was there at one point and remember fixating on Gould’s mutterings on his later Goldberg’s!!??
When I had my first hifi, I remember buying Manon Lescaut, an up front, melodramatic and big boned performance with Freni and Pavarotti raging against their later years, I think guided by Levine’s underrated baton. It’s a deeply emotional performance with both giving their all. It was so affecting and visceral playing through my 2nd hand MF powered Wharfedales. Truly budget gear but it allowed the music to sing.As I changed gear I could never quite recapture the intensity of this performance again. I remember playing it through my Naim and a full DCS rig and it sucked the life out of the music. I learned that money did not necessarily buy greater impact and it was a bit like roulette trying to achieve the engagement I wanted.
My recent returned to basics seemed to help and I feel that connection again. Sometimes you can stray too far.
 
Rushboy said:
What do you think if I were to compare a CD player with a streamer in the same price range?
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What the steamer won't have to do, is a unique reading of the cd and have to interpolate any errors in the information in near real-time. The cdp is technically at a disadvantage, with no guarantee it will sound the same with each play. Again technically.

But frequently heard one better than the other, and either way around. Depends on the unit and rest of the supporting system.
 
JTC said:
Apropos of nothing, if I get a new job I’m getting me a fancy-ass cd transport. IME cd transport replay sounds a tad better than streaming replay into the same DAC…
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I levelled the paying field with a re-clocker so that even the ropiest PC USB source sounded better than the (Denon DVD 2200 as a transport) on it's own that I was using as a reference.
 
I find that streaming can be frustrating to listen to mainly because of the obvious compression used .You just know there is something missing half the time. Having said that occasionally it can sound amazing ,better than cd but overall cd is more satisfying .
 
hp1 said:
I find that streaming can be frustrating to listen to mainly because of the obvious compression used .You just know there is something missing half the time. Having said that occasionally it can sound amazing ,better than cd but overall cd is more satisfying .
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Stream non compressed files. Qobuz, Amazon HD and others, plus local cd rips.
 
hp1 said:
I find that streaming can be frustrating to listen to mainly because of the obvious compression used .You just know there is something missing half the time. Having said that occasionally it can sound amazing ,better than cd but overall cd is more satisfying .
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Depends what you use and what mastering is.Spotify is compressed.
 
Timcat said:
Having said this, I am currently listening to my LP12 .....
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At the risk of causing an upset you can't be 'listening' if you're using your brain to compose a response to this forum and bashing a keyboard.......... the LP12 is providing a background noise?

Paul Mc said:
A good CD player and system should always sound better. If it doesn't, there's something amiss.
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Really????????????

Regards

Richard
 
Argument seems to have boiled down to:

1. All that pointing a laser at a spinning disc is a bit mad / tried and tested (delete as appropriate)
2. All that sticking bits down an ethernet cable is a bit mad / tried and tested (delete as appropriate)

Does anyone have any technical insight either way they'd care to share?
 
paulfromcamden said:
Argument seems to have boiled down to:

1. All that pointing a laser at a spinning disc is a bit mad / tried and tested (delete as appropriate)
2. All that sticking bits down an ethernet cable is a bit mad / tried and tested (delete as appropriate)

Does anyone have any technical insight either way they'd care to share?
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Cd is older tech, therefore better. Because it really is. We have too many experts, just trust your ears.
 
killie99 said:
We all know what sounds best - streamer + DAC, cd + DAC, cd, streamer, lp, radio fm, radio dab, 8 track , compact cassette, mini disc, radio am …. We just disagree on the order. Trust your own ears , except if we’re talking about network cables as they do all sound the same. There you go , hornets nest stirred on a Friday night.
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You missed out live-acoustic and live-amplified.
 
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