When the HDD is installed inside the NUC, the ROCK O/S does not deliver any SMART info to the user as far as I am aware. And the O/S does not support running a scan or chkdisd type program (not sure of the Linux equivalent) on the storage drive. So one does not know if there is an potential problem occurring. I’m about to buy a new storage drive to replace a failed drive, and I only knew the internal 2TB HDD was a problen when it completely dropped out of the O/S.
If you have digital copies of your CDs and DVDs, you need to keep the originals to prove you own the rights to the originals. If you are streaming everything now, it doesn’t matter so much for movies, but you are at the mercy of the streaming services for mastering choices. Those choices are usually not the best choices.
I have no digital copies of anything except a few songs I purchased from Amazon and iTunes. I fully understand copyright laws. Streaming services are absolutely the best choice for me. My goal is to own nothing but a little cash and IRA’s.
So you are streaming everything now. That’s great for the “minimalist lifestyle”, but not so great for listening enjoyment. What good is any lifestyle that compromises the quality of the music you listen to???
I don’t think Tidal and Qobuz compromise anything. Spending $50,000 or more for a sound system that makes absolutely no difference is not my idea of listening enjoyment, nor is ripping 1000’s of CD’s. I don’t drink the purple cool aid.
I have used both Tidal and Qobuz extensively and most of the masterings they use are NOT the best masterings out there. At least not for the music that was made pre-1990. If you only listen to music made in the last 20 years or so, then Tidal and Qobuz are just fine.
I mostly listen to 60’s as that is what I played when I was an active drummer. Tidal and Qobuz are excellent. If you think you can hear a difference, good for you.
There are HUGE, and I mean HUGE, differences in masterings available on CD and SACD versus what Qobuz and Tidal offer. I am not talking about subtle differences here.
But hey, if you can’t hear any differences between compressed masterings on Qobuz and Tidal and the old uncompressed masterings you can find on old CDs and some SACDs, you can save a lot of money on music and equipment…
Shall we all get some popcorn and sit back and watch this back and forth volleying?
How many times is this topic going to be dredged up on this and other forums? Different folks hear things differently as well as value different things about music and music systems. Nothing wrong with that. This is an incredibly subjective discussion. There is no right or wrong answer/solution/position, etc…just personal, subjective opinion.
Of course, that’s just my opinion. 
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Thanks for the information. May be worth the investment. I’m continuing to burn what will take in the interim.
Please…there are real differences between masterings that are easy to hear.
That’s like saying if you don’t drive a $100,000 car, you can’t enjoy driving a $70,000 car. Bull. We all have different values, goals, and objectives in life.
Google the “loudness wars”. A lot of pop CDs remastered over the past few decades have had horrible dynamic range compression applied to them. This is not subtle.The difference between a 320kpbs MP3 and FLAC is subtle (if you don’t believe that, you’ve never done an ABX test comparing them). But the difference between some of these remastered albums and the originals is not subtle.
This is, by no means, uniformly true. But a lot of “classic” rock albums have been ruined this way. And — it’s true — you rarely get the choice of different masterings via the streaming services.
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Easy for YOU to hear. Not necessarily EVERYONE hears the differences the same way or at all either due to their level of physical hearing ability or their individual audio system.
Some people can clearly see incredibly subtle color variations and others just see blue or red or whatever. Same with hearing.
Recent tests have shown that some, even many depending on the testing, but NOT ALL people can hear the difference in CD vs HiRes music.
And even if they can hear the difference, it might not be relevant to them. If they are perfectly happy with what they are listening to, good for them.
Subjectivity is subjective after all.
Again, we all have different values, goals, and objectives in life. Streaming Tidal and Qobuz is my choice versus owning 1000’s of CD’s. I don’t own DVD’s either. I’m not trying to tell anyone else what to do.
I am not talking about the subtle differences between different resolutions of the same mastering. Resolution is not nearly as discernible as mastering differences.
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I get that some people may not hear the differences that compression may cause in the music due to personal hearing or equipment used.
However, with some re-masters are also re-mixes. And a re-mix is essentially different. When the new mixes are used as the basis for streaming services, then, that is all you will get. The new Sgt. Pepper and White Album remixes are a case in point. Whether you like them or not, Giles Martin’s version is different than the original. So, to all the Wilson Yes, Jethro Tull, and Gentle Giant remixes.
It’s not just compression differences in different masterings of the same mix. There is also EQ, sound levels, adjusting stereo imaging, noise reduction, etc. Remasters of the same mix can sound vastly different based on just EQ.
Yes, there are huge differences in masterings available, but you started talking about format - streaming vs CD/SACD. There can, and are, “perfect” masters on streaming.
Of course, you can’t have 12 different “pressings” of your fav prog album in streaming, but that is another hobby than listening to music.
I was not comparing formats. I did say that physical formats often have much better masterings than you can find on Tidal and Qobuz. That is not comparing formats. Rarely are the masterings on Tidal and Qobuz the best for pre-90’s content.