In Reply to: Internet radio posted by Bill the K on March 15, 2015 at 20:46:57:
Is Internet radio a good enough source for top audiophile systems?Not really.
With top Apple stuff and DACs and whatnot, will it rise to the level of say a top Clearaudio turntable and a Fremer cartridge?
No. Not even close.
That being said the variety of content to choose from is huge and entertaining but the audio quality ranges from awful to adequate to pretty darn good, but not fantastic.
One inmate commented on a UK station that streams at 320kbps AAC which is a lossy compression format that can sound good at those higher bit rates, but it's still not in the same league as "CD quality". To many audiophiles "CD quality" is not in the same league as vinyl with a good cartridge, TT, and phono preamp. Is "CD quality" good enough for you? If not, then internet radio will not be because internet radio is not even "CD quality". Is it enjoyable? It can be, but that wasn't your question.
There are streaming services like TIDAL that stream "CD quality" but you pay a subscription fee and it's not quite the same thing as "internet radio".
Edits: 03/16/15
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Follow Ups
- RE: Internet radio - AbeCollins 07:55:23 03/16/15 (3)
- RE: Internet radio - Bill the K 10:43:48 03/16/15 (2)
- RE: Internet radio - AbeCollins 09:48:58 03/17/15 (0)
- RE: Internet radio - fantja 18:07:38 03/16/15 (0)