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Sound Quality of red book CDs vs.streaming

I’ve found that the SQ of my red book CDs exceeds that of streaming using the identical recordings for comparison. (I’m not including hi res technology here.)
I would like to stop buying CDs, save money, and just stream, but I really find I enjoy the CDs more because of the better overall sonic performance.
 I stream with Chromecast Audio using  the same DAC (Schiit Gumby) as I play CDs through.
I’m wondering if others have had the same experience
128x128rvpiano
audioengr
3,282 posts
 

Results depend on the CD transport and the cables used. Chromecast Audio will sound better if you insert a reclocker inline with the DAC.  

Absolutely.  MP3 or ALAC streamed files will always lose a little depth and width over the .wav file (CD quality), but if you minimize the jitter from the Chromecast, the streamed files may be even better than the CD transport.  If you use a Synchro-Mesh to reclock with one of my excellent BNC-BNC cables, it will probably beat the transport.  I stream occasionally  using Amazon Prime music and it sounds wonderful.  Not as good as my Ethernet renderer, but really nice.  I don't use any transport by itself because the jitter is too high.  I only use my Oppo for movies now and reclock it with an iFi SPDIF iPurifier, which reduces jitter for Dolby Digital tracks.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
4,966 posts
 
@georgehifi "Why is the Linn CD12 sounding better than their downloads?"
I didn't mean Linn's downloads, I meant the downloads the owner of the HD servers with downloaded music on them they bought to compare to my Linn CD12.

Cheers George   
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
4,382 posts
 
A lot of us are old enough to remember the good old days of radio, and the best part about it was that it was free. Now, we’re being convinced that being our own personal DJ is the way to go and to stream our music, but there’s a catch. All you have to do buy even more stuff that’s not ready for prime time as it’s continually being developed and refined. Then, you need to pay some HOA fees (the streaming service itself and your internet provider).

I’ll stay with my CDs. 😄

All the best,
Nonoise
rvpiano's avatar
rvpiano OP
938 posts
 
I connect Chromecast to the Gumby with an optical cable.
i am using a coax to connect CD transport to Gumby.
What can I do to improve the streaming quality.
How do I minimize the jitter from the Chromecast?
I don’t know what a reclocker is or how it connects.
rvpiano's avatar
rvpiano OP
938 posts
 
I connect using an iPad.
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