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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
rvpiano's avatar
rvpiano OP
938 posts
 
Wtf,
  regarding Bo +1
Post removed 
djones51
617 posts
 
I always assumed we were listening to the  CD ripped to their servers as the source. I wouldn't  think  these streaming  companies  had access  to any master tapes. 
+ 2 on Bo , I am glad I'm  not  the only  one  who  wondered WTF 
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Just to get back to the original post of this thread for a moment.
Does anyone know what source is being used for streaming tracks?
Do record companies allow their master tapes to be used?

The source used depends on the streaming service. Amazon Prime Music uses 256k MP3. Apple iTunes uses ALAC at 44.1. Tidal uses FLAC at 44.1. I believe they are all commercially available tracks, not studio masters.

There may be some hi-res master tracks at 24/96, 24/176.4 or 24/192 available at HDTracks.com for download, depending on the artist. There are master tracks available for download from Bluecoastrecords.com. These are very well recorded with minimal EQ and no compression. If you have a good system, they sound live. Keith Greeninger, Alex DeGrassi and Jane Selkye are some of my favorites. I would start with Bluecoast collection 2.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

rvpiano's avatar
rvpiano OP
938 posts
 
Audioengr,

When you say “commercially available,”.  In what form?
Hard drive? CD?
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