Do you still buy hard copies to support your artist even with a streaming subscription?

I’m stupid too then. Yes, absolutely…why? Not only to support the artist but to guarantee that I own a physical copy vs. hoping a given streaming service will still have a license to stream your fave tunes.

I buy physical copies of all my favorite music even with streaming. You never know when they will suddenly not be available for streaming.

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Yes I do. I buy lots of used CDs, as well as new vinyls and CDs. I also like buying Blu-ray audio discs for multichannel music. I buy digital HD versions in FLAC or DSD format, too.

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I’m stupid too!

I’ve never stopped buying vinyls and CDs, partly to support the artists I love. I use Qobuz for discovery. And honestly, sometimes the vinyl—remaster or not—just isn’t available online. For example, I managed to grab a copy of the remastered MC 900 Ft Jesus – One Step Ahead of the Spider by DFW Legacy (one of only 600), and it definitely made for an outstanding experience (the Audio‑Technica’s Shibata‑equipped cartridge did not hurt).

That said, after spending three months (!) ripping all my CDs so I could add them to Roon, I now face the next big challenge: digitizing the vinyls…

I also buy digital albums from bandcamp if I can.

I’m so stupid too!

It’s for the artist’s and myself. I want my own music forever and everywhere in the best possible quality. 90% of my buying music is HiRes (stereo and multichannel)

Absolutely, yes. Musicians creating the music I enjoy make virtually nothing from streaming. That’s why I support them whenever I can by seeing them perform live while on tour and/or purchasing physical media (particularly vinyl and the occasional CD). So much wonderful music being created. We must seek it out and support the music that brings us emotion and joy to our lives.

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Yes, Bandcamp is a wonderful resource.

I sure do for my favorite band (Spock’s Beard/Neal Morse).

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I buy the digital downloads from bandcamp, vs physical copies. I think the royalties to the artists are the same either way.

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Here is a real-world example of revenue distribution on Bandcamp

Apart from “Bandcamp Friday” which is 0%, it’s 10% for physical and 15% for digital.

Just want to point out that tomorrow is a Bandcamp Friday!

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I do the same, not stupid in my mind. Income from streaming even from services like Tidal are probably pretty meager for most artists. I buy on BandCamp where possible (first choice) or Qobuz download store.

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I use ROON for discovery and background listening. I buy vinyl because the mastering is often better than CD/downloads. I like the physical rituals associated with vinyl. The inconvenience, expense, noise and distortion really make it worthwhile. :wink: SACD’s are a go-to when available for a reasonable price.

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It seems we have an overwhelming show of support with owning physical copies and streaming both. I am old enough to remember discussions similar to this regarding cassette tape vs. LPs. In my head they coexisted for different reasons. It seems to me streaming vs. CDs do as well.

Last thing, so called friends who called me names like ‘stupid’ in my life quickly turned into ‘people I used to know.’

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Yes, I still buy records (not “vinyls” :roll_eyes:) for when some foreign entity takes down the Web and we’re living like cave people again. :sweat_smile:

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same as above: I buy a lot of new and old cds, partly to support the artists and partly to ensure I can get cd-quality versions of stuff I really like.

I bet your friends buy some things you or I would think is stupid too, just saying :man_shrugging:

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There is a large amount of very informative and useful advice here. I have tried more than my share of equipment swaps, format changes, equipment upgrades and on and on…

None of them, and I really do mean NONE of them transformed the listening experience for the better as room treatment does. Room treatment doesn’t make your system sound better. It makes the space your system exists in sound better.

That is sort of a peculiar notion to wrap one’s head around for the uninitiated. Depending upon room size room treatment WILL make more of a fundamental improvement than any and EVERY electronic or electrical change.

Allow me a long winded story to try and elucidate.

In my former living room, 19.5’ X 17.5’ w/8’ ceiling, typical sheet rock wallboard (or gypsum wallboard) and hardwood floors. Leather couch, fabric chairs window blinds. Several area rugs. I bought GIK bass traps to shield a back wall flagstone fireplace. Circular bass traps for front corners. Hemispheric columns for first reflection points. All of this walls only, no ceiling treatment.

At nominal listening volumes the ROOM was quieter. That is, I could hear far more sound emanating from the speakers and very little of the room echoing or ringing from the acoustic energy in the space.

I would play the system loudly enough to fill 2,070 square feet with music. But when I’d walk into the living room suddenly I’d hear the unexpected QUIET of the room despite the fact the volume was louder here than anywhere else in the house.
The amount of reduced room noise was surprising. Yes, as audiophiles we all intuitively know the listening space sings, we’ve all been in noisy restaurants where the reflected sound can make you partner across the table hard to hear. But when you quiet your own listening space the clarity of your reproduced music gets immeasurably better.

The improvement is far better than the nuanced comparison of this streamer to that one or CD vs. streaming. Far greater than 16/44 vs 24/192.

I wasted years of hunting for needles in haystacks ignoring room treatment. I wasted oodles of dollars chasing rabbits down holes. There is NO nuance in a fully treated room compared to the same room without treatment. Treated is better.

It ain’t sexy. It ain’t status brand driven. It ain’t look at my pretty silver (or black, or ???) new box. Hell, it ain’t even cutting edge. But once you’ve done it you’ll never look back.

I got mine from GIK Acoustics. I have zero relationship with them and I’ll likely never buy from them again so I have no interest in their success or failure. But I found them easy to work with, careful in helping me to choose among their options and hesitant to just sell me more.

For me, room treatment was a game changer.

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Fellow stupid here :waving_hand:

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CDs if no other choice

I push them to bandcamp where I have c. 500 albums

I’ve spoken to multiple artists who use it & confirm prompt and decent payment I’m told about 88% goes to artist

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