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 | Any audiophiles out there? | |
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elf poo
Super Regular
WMD Creator
|  | | P: | 06/10/2021 11:46 EST |
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One of my hobbies is listening to music and I have been trying to put together as good a stereo system as I can afford over the years.
My system consists of Aerial 5T speakers, Parasound Hint 6 Integrated and Marantz CD player.
I was considering moving towards streaming.
There is Tidal, Qobuz, Amazon HD, and now Apple Lossless. All these costs around 12 dollars a month. Free services include Spotify and Pandora (both lossy lower quality).
Anyone out there pay for streaming service? Which streamer do you use? | |
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wmkbsl
Super Regular
Engineer Flag
Toucher
| | | P: | 06/10/2021 14:22 EST |
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Gize_
Super Regular
Scout Crowbar
Master
| | P: | 06/10/2021 18:34 EST |
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 | elf poo wrote:
I was considering moving towards streaming.
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For selection / ease of use, or? | |
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moose poop
Super Regular
Body Splatter
| | P: | 06/10/2021 19:12 EST |
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I have Amazon HD with several dots; you can make your own list or a general and play single or stereo from different locations... inside and out... pretty easy to use (just make sure you turn sidewalk off)
I like it for easy of use and quality is acceptable | |
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elf poo
Super Regular
WMD Creator
| | | P: | 06/10/2021 19:16 EST | | E: | 06/10/2021 19:17 EST |
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To discover and listen to new music. And if the sound quality is as good as my CD i would not need to go find the CD and load it etc, it would be easier to stream it for music i currently listen to. But im not sure if streaming provides better sound quality than my CD player.
The Bluesound Node gets decent reviews and is very popular. It's a one time expense. But the streaming services are a monthly ongoing charge. | |
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Gize_
Super Regular
Scout Crowbar
Master
| | P: | 06/10/2021 19:30 EST |
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| elf poo wrote:
To discover and listen to new music.
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Ah.
| elf poo wrote:
And if the sound quality is as good as my CD i would not need to go find the CD and load it etc, it would be easier to stream it for music i currently listen to.
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All I was going to mention is that converting your CD's to FLAC isn't that difficult, and you can use MusicBee to rip / play them as you please. | |
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wmkbsl
Super Regular
Engineer Flag
Toucher
| | | P: | 06/10/2021 21:28 EST |
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| elf poo wrote:
To discover and listen to new music. And if the sound quality is as good as my CD i would not need to go find the CD and load it etc, it would be easier to stream it for music i currently listen to. But im not sure if streaming provides better sound quality than my CD player.
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All things being equal, a CD should sound exactly the same as bit-for-bit 1411kbps, 16-bit 44.1 kHz file (because it is, after all, the CD audio standard). A lossless FLAC, 16-bit, 44.1 kHz, variable bit-rate won't be bit-for-bit per se, but it will sound exactly the same as the above-mentioned formats.
Just looking at Amazon, for example, their offering mentions 16-bit, 44.1 kHz and ~850 kbps - which sounds like FLAC, or some other lossless alternative, to me. There are arguments about the advantage/disadvantage/wastefulness of surpassing these variables, 24-bit/192 kHz for example, and I'll steer clear of that minefield (see MQA and DSD).
I think Spotify uses Vorbis (in an ogg container) at 320 kbps? I can't say what their 'HD Audio' offering might offer but it is probably comparable to CD quality.
What I can say is this: I find that how the music was mastered plays a larger role in how it ultimately sounds (duh) and that a file encoded in Opus at 300+ kbps is indistinguishable to my ears to that of a CD quality file. Of course there are gotchas and what-ifs - but Opus is very, very impressive.
As to which streaming service? I'd say go with the one that offers CD quality sound and integrates well into the Bluesound Pnode.
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moose poop
Super Regular
Body Splatter
| | P: | 06/10/2021 22:00 EST |
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| elf poo wrote:
To discover and listen to new music. | |
Hmmm
lesser than desirable part of town, bring your own glass cause... have a seat and check out the talent.
Discovery is amazing...isn't it?
I remember a cold night in late 70's and a girl that turn me on to swordfishtrombone ... it was ginfizz til daylight. And from there... | |
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elf poo
Super Regular
WMD Creator
| | | P: | 06/10/2021 23:37 EST |
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Thanks for the replies. Good info there. I guess i am struggling with the decision of spending $600 on a streamer and then $240 a year for the service.
Also curious about other audiophile's setups. My friend has Pass Labs, Ayre and Totem and it sounds amazing. He has a $5,000 streamer/DAC he claims sounds better than CDs. | |
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