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Getting close to giving up on CD's

I have a mid fi system ( B&W 803D, Rotel amps, Oppo 203 BD, Anthem processor). I set up a NAS drive with the intent to re rip my CD's to highest quality possible but when I purchased the Anthem AVM 60 and the newer Oppo  I tried ROON with hi rez files I had purchased from HD tracks along with a subscription to Tidal. It has been close to a year and I have only gone to my CD collection a few times. Roon plays directly through the Oppo flawlessly. Been pretty happy with quality of the streaming through the OPPO. At this point I am not sure I see a point to re-ripping my collection when I can get CD quality or better with the options above.

Things can only get better with a dedicated DAC, if I go that direction I am not sure I will even keep my CD's unless it is something rare or super obscure.    


pattemf132
junzhang10
166 posts
 
keep your CD and subscribe to Tidal.
mahler123
633 posts
 
I have had the opposite experience.  After ripping over a thousand CDs to various HDs I have concluded that replay from a HD can at best equal, but not better, CD replay, and frequently doesn’t equal CD quality.  The differences aren’t profound, not like comparing MP3 vs CD or High Resolution downloads, but it’s there.  Downloads are very expensive, and with remastered CD megabox collections being sold at fire sale prices my CD collection has been growing instead of the anticipated thinning that I thought would occur.

  I have also found that listening from a HD also leads to superficial listening.  Being able to touch an iPad and change the album becomes tempting, vs the ritual of changing a disc
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
1,621 posts
 
We are major proponents of streaming and having a library.

Mahier it all depends on what you were doing to stream to your dac.

If you were using a generic computer with a $5 generic usb of course your digital playback woudn't be very good.

Useing J River or Roon to upconvert a 16bit 44k CD via your computer to upsampled 24bit 384k or DSD makes digital files sound much more like analog files.

The Innuous servers using a good ethernet and usb cable sound amazing into a good dac and will blow away most really expensive CD players at 1/3 the cost. 

The advantage of having a library is that you can see and remember what you like and own, when you combine having a good library with Tidal to fill out what you are missing the combination is fantastic.

In addition your stored library can be shared throught your house with Roon integrating separate devices such as Nad Blue Sound products with Naim or other higher end Roon endpoints and you have both great sound quality with the modern convenience of Ipad/Iphone/Android control in many rooms of your home.

Viva the revolution!

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ
mental
1,029 posts
 
I use my OPPO strictly for lossless files(2 TB of .flac), I care little for streaming when it comes to music. To me the OPPO is not very musical when compared to my Simaudio CD player. Background music the OPPO gets used but an enjoyably listening session with a beverage is definitely the Simaudio, or maybe my analog FM tuner depending on the show..
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
I like my whole wall of LONG PLAY RECORDS. CDs BAH HUMBUG.
Actually whatever floats your boat is fine by me. I just wanted to be annoying for a moment. I like both CD and LP. and sadly I have not given a moment's thought to streaming or downloads. Though my dealer is always suggesting...                    
My one claim to laziness is using a five disc CD changer most of the time.
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