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In Reply to: RE: Digital music posted by disgustipated on June 05, 2015 at 15:41:02
"Just to be clear, ripping to a computer and connecting to a dac is not the best option for sound quality? "No it's not. It doesn't mean you can't achieve good sound that way too. It's a question of choice.
Personally I find the whole circus of ripping CDs, storing the rips, backing them up and playing them through interfaces not designed for audio a waste of my life. I'm not even talking about buying downloads... I would definitely stay away from any solution that has the word "NAS" in it. It's so 2010.
The only thing I can understand is streaming from Deezer,Tidal, Qobuz, in CD quality. That's definitely the future. And at least you're not giving up CD for something MORE complicated.
If you don't need/miss the ritual of playing CDs, then go for the solution above. You can start small by plugging your computer into a DAC or be more ambitious and use a streamer like the Auralic Aries or an Antipodes, which seem to be all the rage.
It's NOT going to be better than playing a CD on a good CDP. But I'm sure it can be as good. You'll have instant access to an enormous library of music and make the most of current technology.
It is a very personal choice, one you have to make. Anybody telling you one way is better than the other soundwise doesn't know what they're talking about - at least for CD playback. For high-rez it might be different. As mentioned, I can't hear a significant difference, which might mean I'm deaf. So take everything I just said with a pinch of salt.
Edits: 06/07/15Follow Ups:
Where internet access is fast, cheap, and never dies.
Here in the land of monopolies, internet access is going up in price, and down in bandwidth.
IME, streaming quality is much worse than AIFF delivered via NAS. NAS, is becoming more and more prevalent on this side of the planet because people are loading up a central server to deliver photos, movies, and music to 3 to 5 different types of transports/systems.
I would never put a Squeezebox in my main rig, but I have 3 of them scattered around our building. My downstairs neighbor & I share Internet access and he also accesses the NAS.
IMO, - it's unwise to put any music on any one computer, - that is gonna die, or be replaced. Or for those who don't want to go with the lower quality of a computer, or have a DB that simply won't fit.....
I've had a NAS since 2003, - I guess I'm so 2003.
"Asylums with doors open wide,
Where people had paid to see inside,
For entertainment they watch his body twist
Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'"
True, we're spoilt, we do benefit from great internet speed - and health care. But you have HBO :)What I don't understand is why bother with a computer-based solution if you can't stream. To me it's so much more hassle than CDs. I'm sure it can sound great too, it's just a practical issue.
Edits: 06/09/15 06/09/15
Hiya,
By computer based system, do you mean digital file playback in general, or specifically a PC or MAC?
You are asking an excellent question, (and I have said this many times), - are you comparing digital file playback to a good to great high-end CD spinner?
Digital file playback or a multiple device accessible digital file database can yield high quality if you've got a good system set up, AND, that DB is available for many devices. On my NAS drive, - my GF can watch a movie in the living room that has been dumped to the NAS, while I listen to music in the bedroom from the squeezebox. My downstairs neighbor and I can sync the squeezeboxes for a party that plays the same music throughout both apartments.
Sometimes, it's super convenient to just let the music go for many hours, - when you're on a long house construction project.
Cheers,
"Asylums with doors open wide,
Where people had paid to see inside,
For entertainment they watch his body twist
Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'"
Hey,Yes I mean digital playback via computer in general, regardless of the computer used.
As you noted, we have excellent internet access/speed in France. I live in the boonies, yet I have very high quality connection. As a result I stream everything - my movies via Netflix, background music via Deezer through a little Sonos Play 1. I think I could watch a movie in high resolution and listen to CD-quality via Deezer without any problem (not that I've tried to do both at the same time).
For serious listening I still use my CDP. Streaming is an option which I'm going to explore just out of curiosity, if only because of the amount of music one has access to.
Cheers
JB
Edits: 06/09/15
Yes,
I am totally with you. In my experience, streaming from the internet is significantly lower in quality than streaming (wired via CAT7 cable)from a home NAS drive. But I still like to stream from the Internet to get exposed to new and/or different music, or just listen to the news.
There are people who assert that they have streaming from a NAS as good as CDs.
For my main system, I do not care about streaming from the Internet, but it is nice to have if it doesn't compromise NAS playback. I am likely going to buy a Bryston BDP-2 for this.
Cheers,
"Asylums with doors open wide,
Where people had paid to see inside,
For entertainment they watch his body twist
Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'"
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