Streaming Rules the Marketplace

[marty]

Streaming is the undisputed 800 lb gorilla in the room. It comprises 82% of our music consumption.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-music-streams-topped-a-trillion-in-2019-11578607152?mod=mktw

The only discs I play are mostly SACD but I wonder how long my silver discs will continue to serve me? More and more are being donated to the library as the tax deduction is better than selling them at a used record shop.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Very interesting, Marty!

PS: Would anyone like to purchase my Cyndi Lauper and The Bangles SACDs?

 

[dan31]

The great majority of streaming is on lower quality services. Its the new radio. Quality wise its a race to the bottom. I know there are a few HD quality sites, question is can they last charging money when the free sites dominate the market.

I'm holding on to my lps and discs. No doubt the future for the masses is streaming.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Streaming is the undisputed 800 lb gorilla in the room. It comprises 82% of our music consumption.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-music-streams-topped-a-trillion-in-2019-11578607152?mod=mktw

The only discs I play are mostly SACD but I wonder how long my silver discs will continue to serve me? More and more are being donated to the library as the tax deduction is better than selling them at a used record shop.

Depends on genres, Marty. Plenty of cds in all kinds of styles still available. Maybe some classical is scarce. In Japan and Europe, cd still makes up 50-75% of the market. And without dredging up the usual naysayer replies, there are more impediments to superlative sound off streaming than there are off a cdp.

 

[spiritofmusic]

The great majority of streaming is on lower quality services. Its the new radio. Quality wise its a race to the bottom. I know there are a few HD quality sites, question is can they last charging money when the free sites dominate the market.

I'm holding on to my lps and discs. No doubt the future for the masses is streaming.

+1, 1500x over (my cd collection). I cannot believe how rapidly the high end community has dumped cd, like a group bad date.

 

[dminches]

+1, 1500x over (my cd collection). I cannot believe how rapidly the high end community has dumped cd, like a group bad date.

I think many of us have ripped our CDs and store them on hard drives for listening. That started a number of years ago. The growth of streaming has been exponential, so it seems.

 

[Grady98]

streaming....what a shame. Somebody has to do something. maybe its time for superman!

 

[Ron Resnick]

Has the old concern about “CD rot” been debunked, or is it a real phenomenon?

 

[dminches]

streaming....what a shame. Somebody has to do something. maybe its time for superman!

Why is it a shame? It gives people access to tons of new music.

 

[microstrip]

(...) The only discs I play are mostly SACD but I wonder how long my silver discs will continue to serve me? More and more are being donated to the library as the tax deduction is better than selling them at a used record shop.

Aren't people supposed to keep the CDs when they rip them? I still play a lot of CDs and will probably play them for a long time.

BTW, can I ask you how much you get for each CD you donate?

 

[microstrip]

Has the old concern about “CD rot” been debunked, or is it a real phenomenon?

It was a real phenomenon wit a few CDs issued by a specific factory in a certain time. I had a few Hyperion CDs that suffered from this problem. I had a few exchanged, but as it involved returning the CDs I decided it was not worth the work. They distort miserably after the first half of the disk, the rotten zone starts from the CD periphery.

 

[Al M.]

Has the old concern about “CD rot” been debunked, or is it a real phenomenon?

I had one Hyperion 3-CD set that fell victim to the dreaded 'bronzing'. Other than that single instance, no issues over 30 years.

It seems to have been a very limited phenomenon, see also:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_disc_bronzing

EDIT: Microstrip's and my post crossed in time.

 

[Gregadd]

What is streaming?

 

[Al M.]

The great majority of streaming is on lower quality services. Its the new radio. Quality wise its a race to the bottom. I know there are a few HD quality sites, question is can they last charging money when the free sites dominate the market.

I'm holding on to my lps and discs. No doubt the future for the masses is streaming.

Yes, when I stream, I do it on YouTube. When I want to listen at high quality, I put a CD in the transport.

 

[dminches]

There are different classes of streaming/streamers.

There are audiophiles who stream from sites like Qobuz and Tidal and do that instead of listening to their own high resolution sources.

There are also those (probably younger) who stream mp3-quality recordings and that may be their only listening source.

And there are those who may stream mp3-quality recordings as a way to check out music but it isn’t used for quality listening.

 

[howiebrou]

+1, 1500x over (my cd collection). I cannot believe how rapidly the high end community has dumped cd, like a group bad date.

To me playing a CD and streaming (from a HDD or internet) is pretty similar in sound (system dependent of course) but with all the inherent disadvantages of a physical media such as storage space, having to listen to one artist until you change the CD etc. There are absolutely no benefits unless you think a transport sounds better or you can't find the music on a streaming service (which is negated by the fact that you can rip all your cds anyway). There are plenty of benefits such as exploring new music, convenience and saving of space.

With analog there is no 'streaming' equivalent, the sound is quite different, which is why i stream and play LPs. Vinyl also has a tactile element which, to me at least, does not apply to a plastic jewel case which always breaks at the hinges with a tiny booklet which you can't get out unless you have long fingernails...

Why anyone would still play Cds today, acknowledging the sound issue, is beyond my ken....but to each his own!

 

[Al M.]

To me playing a CD and streaming (from a HDD or internet) is pretty similar in sound (system dependent of course) but with all the inherent disadvantages of a physical media such as storage space, having to listen to one artist until you change the CD etc. There are absolutely no benefits unless you think a transport sounds better or you can't find the music on a streaming service (which is negated by the fact that you can rip all your cds anyway). There are plenty of benefits such as exploring new music, convenience and saving of space.

With analog there is no 'streaming' equivalent, the sound is quite different, which is why i stream and play LPs. Vinyl also has a tactile element which, to me at least, does not apply to a plastic jewel case which always breaks at the hinges with a tiny booklet which you can't get out unless you have long fingernails...

Why anyone would still play Cds today, acknowledging the sound issue, is beyond my ken....but to each his own!

To me it was also a matter of not just effort, but also finances. To get a server that can compete with my CD transport would have been very expensive. I am glad that I put the money into a new preamp instead (Octave HP 700), which transformed the sound quality of my system.

 

[the sound of Tao]

Yes, when I stream, I do it on YouTube. When I want to listen at high quality, I put a CD in the transport.

The fabulous thing is these days we can also listen in very high quality via a streamer Al. We all choose our own way but high quality is very available across all formats these days.

It all just depends on the way you have chosen to optimise....and as long as you are engaging in great music it’s all good. To think that it might get better still. Absolutely amazing.

 

[the sound of Tao]

The great majority of streaming is on lower quality services. Its the new radio. Quality wise its a race to the bottom. I know there are a few HD quality sites, question is can they last charging money when the free sites dominate the market.

I'm holding on to my lps and discs. No doubt the future for the masses is streaming.

Streaming is the race to the bottom? So not reflective of reality. Our hobby barely hangs onto itself at the very edge of complete generational irrelevance and here we are fighting over the medium...and so turning our backs on fundamental music accessibility.

We should be banding together in the opportunities to share in celebrating great music in high quality in all its forms and formats and not isolating ourselves into ever more ridiculously small and segregated audiophile factions.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Graham, us cd fans are not decrying streaming per se. Hey, in a specialist hobby sector of a declining lifestyle in the population generally, that would be stupid. Esp since in the UK and US, if you talk cd, you might as well be talking Ancient Greek.

Us cd stallwarts obviously have issues w streaming SQ. I've heard a few streaming setups incl bespoke highly specced ones, and I invariably walk away disappointed in SQ, esp when a direct comparison to cd is being made. The only exception to this rule is the SGM that I've got to know over 3-4 yrs, and even there imho there are some caveats versus cd.

So, it's not an anti streaming rant from us, it's a genuinely held belief that cd transport offers something different and superior in most cases. And in a forum called What's BEST, it's fair game to make the call.

I mean, if streaming had obliterated vinyl to no real existence, it would still be fine to extol 12" discs, yes?