Could you survive with streaming music only?

[joeinid]

No physical media or NAS at all?

I’m curious what the future holds. I generally prefer to hold physical media and enjoy the better sound, but the convenience of sheer volume of choices is bewildering.

There’s absolutely no shortage of music to listen to, as long as your internet connection is stable. With both Tidal and Qobuz plus a handful of other services, there’s really not enough time to listen to it all.

Is anyone thinking of maximizing their music stream and not even bothering with trying to keep physical media available?

 

[Mr Peabody]

I could. The sound quality is good enough and selection vast enough.

Only issue is on those rare occasions you might have internet disruption.

 

[MPW]

I could easily live with only streaming. I have both Tidal and Qobuz and between the two it almost always delivers. I do play and enjoy vinyl, but have all but eliminated CD's (even though I have some that sound better than the streaming versions). The sound quality is at the point where I no longer worry that I might not have the absolute best version of an album. Having virtually everything at your fingertips is a real joy when exploring new music. It is also why I have stuck with Roon as I find their interface to be the most useful around music exploration.

 

[Audiophilehi]

I would never give up my turntable. New music is compressed (loudness wars) so I do enjoy listening to CD's from the 1980's and very early 90's.
For me it's safe to say that I can live without streaming at all. YMMV

 

[Randy Myers]

I could not live with only streaming, but I can and do live without streaming... I love my vinyl; I also love my digital (downloads, CDs and SACDs rips) on my server. Having my music local makes it more reliable. I have no patience with issues when I am trying to relax and enjoy music.

 

[TheOctopus]

I have become a complete Stream-O-Phile. At one point I had thousands of CDs and close to a thousand records. I seriously did not even know what to do with all those CDs that I purchased in the early days of digital since I never listened to them.... Records was more of a collection for the sake of collecting. It is quite an effort to keep them all properly stored, to clean them, the ritual started to remind me of OCD behavior than anything useful since I could never get more than 2 or 3 albums into a listening session with all the record flipping and cleaning, etc... It got old.

So when there was a period of time when I took a pause from the hobby and deconstructed everything down to NOTHING but a pair of Sennheiser headphones and got "PHILOSOPHICAL" about my hobby, it was a perfect time to try the alternative and modern approach of discovering what is available other than physical media.

Enter ROON, TIDAL, QOBUZ.

Let's just say for me it was a complete game changer! No more spending upwards of $600 a month on purchasing records/albums I may or may not listen to long term. No more worrying about how I am storing them, no more CLEANING!

CDs? Why would I even bother when I can listen to Qobuz at up to 192KHz and 24 bits? Most of the music is either 48 but more often 96/24 and it sounds amazing!

Why would I ever want to collect those CDs when even that media is NOT FOREVER. The earlier CDs have ROT it turns out.... Imagine that!

Here is the MOST important part though.... For the price of one record a month, I have access to 60,000,000 songs. There has not been one instance where I could not find an album I wanted to listen to on demand and discovering a dozen more interesting albums around it with help from Roon. That can NEVER be matched with physical media.

If each song was only 2 min long, at 60,000,000 songs, it would take one over 100 years of non stop listening... Fair to say the streaming/on demand model will survive the test of time? From and audiophile point of view, that is a big YES from me. I have embraced the model with enthusiasm as never before!

How the streaming services model their business and succeed or fail long term remains to be seen but hopefully it all works out because I will give this hobby up if I ever have to go back to spending so much money, effort and time futzing around with physical media. I do not need to hold the jewel box or a record in my hands to pacify myself anymore. It is very liberating!

 

[still-one]

Yes. I could easily go with streaming only. I have absolutely no issues with the SQ I obtain from streaming Tidal.

If I was was starting from scratch I wouldn't put a nickle towards vinyl.

 

[rbbert]

As can be seen, my sources are only digital; nevertheless, probably about half of my listening is not be available from streaming services. Although my internet is more reliable than it was a few years ago, there are still periods of downtime or decreased bandwidth which would be annoying if streaming were my only source.

 

[TheOctopus]

As can be seen, my sources are only digital; nevertheless, probably about half of my listening is not be available from streaming services. Although my internet is more reliable than it was a few years ago, there are still periods of downtime or decreased bandwidth which would be annoying if streaming were my only source.

What kind of music do you listen to?

 

[CPP]

Since the question is "No physical media or NAS at all? "

If I didn't have any physical media that would mean, NO LP's or CD's, USB flash drives, hard drives of any kind, could I live with streaming, well hell yes. Ya got to have music.

 

[joeinid]

Excellent comments so far.

I try to maximize my sound quality for not the best resolution. I have been caught once or twice with no internet when I did have time to listen. Frustrating indeed.

Once I get into the music, everything else seems to fall away. I can sometimes pull up some YouTube videos on one of my work computers with the crappy little speakers or log into one of my streams and even when the groove is right, it sounds awesome.

I still have time to decide on my digital player. The Esoteric K-01XD is superb, but the longer I have it, the less I’m inclined to swap CDs. So maybe something like the N-01XD might be a great alternative, especially with a tweaked setup.

 

[TheOctopus]

Excellent comments so far.

I try to maximize my sound quality for not the best resolution. I have been caught once or twice with no internet when I did have time to listen. Frustrating indeed.

Once I get into the music, everything else seems to fall away. I can sometimes pull up some YouTube videos on one of my work computers with the crappy little speakers or log into one of my streams and even when the groove is right, it sounds awesome.

I still have time to decide on my digital player. The Esoteric K-01XD is superb, but the longer I have it, the less I’m inclined to swap CDs. So maybe something like the N-01XD might be a great alternative, especially with a tweaked setup.

Joe, Qobuz let's you purchase your albums or individual tracks. There is "off line loading" when Qobuz and I believe Tidal as well are on portable devices. So being without the internet is not the end of music... I was without power for 4.5 days and still listened to my iphone and sennheisers while charging my iphone from a gas generator outside. When there is a will, there is a way! Can't be without music. I can be without the fancy gear and I was for some years as an "awakening phase" of my life

 

[aKnyght]

i could not survive without streaming -- and, yes, i could certainly live with streaming only ...provided qobuz and roon are available.

in my use case, downloads and ripped CDs on local storage are only for the very few titles not available streaming. also, i have a few titles that i downloaded in DSD format -- but this is not 100% necessary and i could live without it.

 

[rbbert]

What kind of music do you listen to?

Lots of "officially" unreleased recordings as well as official live concert recordings (many are available for streaming via the nugs.net app, but only in MP3; downloads are typically 24/48 or 24/96), and OOP and limited edition CD's and some LP rips not on any streaming services (as yet?)

Forgot: SACD's, BD-A, DVD-A

 

[Randy Myers]

One other thing to add is how people prefer their music, or the level that to them is "ok". I may not have the most expensive gear but I definitely can appreciate higher resolution levels. I hear a huge difference is DSD in my digital versus PCM, and the higher the DSD the better, so therefore to get the best I prefer a format that cannot be and may never be able to be streamed. I hear a large difference in DSD256 versus DSD64 for example.

Although I understand that even streaming can be up sampled I do notice a difference in the better resolutions prior to going through the up sample stage. Better in better out! In my view a DSD file up sampled to DSD512 sounds better than a PCM file up sampled to DSD512 (of course with exceptions).

I do believe that my vinyl gives me maximum enjoyment, followed by DSD512 files, DSD256.... to a minimum that I can accept which is CD quality ripped to the server.

Another consideration is portable use. I often will listen to high level PCM and DSD files with my Astell&Kern through my Abyss cans while at work. This would be rather difficult with streaming. The same files I store on my server I can carry with me on my portable player.

 

[joeinid]

Absolutely agree. I had alternative listening when the power was out for 3 days a couple of months ago.

While computers have made many parts of life so much better/easier, I’m starting to dislike fiddling with them of making sure I’m backed up, etc..

Joe, Qobuz let's you purchase your albums or individual tracks. There is "off line loading" when Qobuz and I believe Tidal as well are on portable devices. So being without the internet is not the end of music... I was without power for 4.5 days and still listened to my iphone and sennheisers while charging my iphone from a gas generator outside. When there is a will, there is a way! Can't be without music. I can be without the fancy gear and I was for some years as an "awakening phase" of my life

 

[u-sound]

Once I get into the music, everything else seems to fall away. I can sometimes pull up some YouTube videos on one of my work computers with the crappy little speakers or log into one of my streams and even when the groove is right, it sounds awesome.

I still have time to decide on my digital player. The Esoteric K-01XD is superb, but the longer I have it, the less I’m inclined to swap CDs. So maybe something like the N-01XD might be a great alternative, especially with a tweaked setup.

i love youtube myself. what a great thing!
you mention it, online audio is very enjoyful even for audiophiles. and can be pimped to very high levels with top switches etc.
as far as others say, in context of the thread title, the best streamer systems are streamer only. that means nothing connected to the system than the streamer. no server or transport or anything. thats what i am puzzling together myself.

 

[TheOctopus]

Absolutely agree. I had alternative listening when the power was out for 3 days a couple of months ago.

While computers have made many parts of life so much better/easier, I’m starting to dislike fiddling with them of making sure I’m backed up, etc..

Hmm, not sure I can relate to that Joe. I love getting behind the computer and on Roon... So much music to discover. I don't listen from the sweet-spot anymore. I find that ritual to be too HiFi in approach. For 30 years I sat exactly between the speakers making sure the cabinets were aligned within 1/8 of an inch or better for that perfect presentation.... No more... After living with headphones, I've learned to appreciate the music itself much more instead of fussing over gear. Sure, I will still sit down in the sweet spot from time to time and enjoy a cup of coffee or an adult beverage for that special piece of music to take in the sound stage, the depth and separation of instruments, to marvel in the fleshed out and holographic presentation on some of the better recordings but for the most part, I enjoy music simply in the same room as my system.

As to backing up a computer? It backs itself up through Norton at night...

 

[TheOctopus]

i love youtube myself. what a great thing!
you mention it, online audio is very enjoyful even for audiophiles. and can be pimped to very high levels with top switches etc.
as far as others say, in context of the thread title, the best streamer systems are streamer only. that means nothing connected to the system than the streamer. no server or transport or anything. thats what i am puzzling together myself.

Youtube is also fantastic for discovering music and watching music videos. I enjoy the Deutsche Grammophon channel for classical music and there are tons of others. I have a great headphone station that is dedicated to youtube and Roon/Qobuz late night listening. I have a few various headphone amps, solid state and tube and a few pairs of headphones depending on the mood. Let me tell you, it sound pretty damn great! Even youtube!

 

[Randy Myers]

While computers have made many parts of life so much better/easier, I’m starting to dislike fiddling with them of making sure I’m backed up, etc..

I got to say, even being a professional computer guy (programmer, databases, etc.) there are many times I get sick of fiddling also. I just want to sit down and listen and not have to worry about logging in, etc., etc. . And being a bit crazy about things, I have to keep three backups of everything.... so yea, totally understand Joe .