Roon and all its ecosystem seems to really make sense if folks want to store and maintain their own local music library, and perhaps combine with streaming services like Tidal.
I am actually curious on peoples motives to store your local music library? Is it sentiment, and digital copy of all the CDs that you have been collecting over years? Is it music and albums that cannot be found on streaming services? Tidal claims to offer over 80 million songs, so it’s hard to believe that they would not have almost everything.
Thanks for your answers, I am curious on why you decided to maintain Roon and all its software and hardware.
Hi
Personally it’s because I got into streaming in 2007 or so - there were no streaming services available to me at the time, so I had to rip my entire collection of 1500 (or so) CDs.
I still rip any bought CDs as, until the arrival of ARC, the only way I could listen to my collection away from home was to use PLEXAMP.
If I was starting now, chances are I’d go through my collection and see if my CDs are on Qobuz. If not I’d rip, if they were I’d just favourite the online version.
Internet not always available is the primary reason (obviously not using Roon in that case), some CDs and vinyl rips not available on streaming is secondary.
I keep a local collection, and still buy CDs for a variety of reasons:
supporting the artist more directly, streaming services aren’t famous for their generosity, see @Michael_Harris’ comments about Bandcamp;
albums or particular (superior) masterings that aren’t available on a chosen streaming service;
streaming services removing albums/masterings as rights change; and
I like an offline portable copy of my collection, you can’t put streamed content on an SD card or portable drive to play anywhere using generic software or players and I like to spend time in more remote spots listening.
Roon offers a great interface whether you’re streaming or playing locally, streaming services are try before you buy for me.
I keep a local library because of my 100,000ish tracks roughly 30% (I’m guessing) aren’t on streaming services and because streaming services tend to only have the latest master which is almost always the worst sounding master.
But I often play the streaming version in an effort to toss some pennies at the artist.
I have quite a bit of music that’s not on any streaming service, that includes tour-only CDs or songs that were written for special occasions and never officially sold anywhere. Then some alternate takes or unreleased songs from Patreon, etc. Or live shows that I bought from Nugs that won’t be on any other service because Nugs wants to sell their own subscription (which I don’t want or need).
Even aside from such rarities, the streaming services don’t have everything. Tidal doesn’t even know the name of one of my most played indie artists. Qobuz at least has her debut album, but not the superb EPs and singles that came after. Apple Music is complete.
With my favorite Twitch singer/songwriter it’s the opposite: here Tidal is complete and Qobuz only has three singles, not even an EP or full album. Again Apple Music is complete, too.
Apple Music seems to be the most complete for me, but it doesn’t stream lossless to my DAC so it’d be good for mobile listening only. And it kinda bothers me that the soundtrack of my all-time favorite video game I listen to very often is only available in CD quality on Apple while every other service has it in hi-res.
After getting headaches from evaluating streaming services last year and trying to find the “perfect” one that feels like it’s actually worth the money, I appreciated how a local library allows me to build up exactly what I want and have it in one place, and now I have it available also on the road thanks to Roon ARC.
The other aspect is artist support, as already mentioned. I prefer buying from Bandcamp on Bandcamp Fridays, too. However, I could still buy on Bandcamp and listen on a streaming service for ultimate support I guess.
There’s a whole bunch of variables that can come into play, with respect to streaming versus local but, everything else being equal, there shouldn’t be any difference in SQ.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. What is amazing to me is that everyone so willingly surrenders their personal musical “story” to the vagaries of corporations. I have LPs I purchased as a child, which I remember best. I have rips of CDs (having surrendered the bulk of the physical artifacts a decade or so ago to the resale market) that I have carefully moved from HD to HD for decades. These things are in a sense my musical “history.” It grew to be massive (about 185,000 tracks) over the years. These things are my life, my story in a nutshell. Yes, millions of tracks are available streaming-- but they aren’t “mine” and can disappear in a moment if contracts shift. I could go look for something I’ve listened to for years to find it gone without my consent or notice. This bothers me deeply. I’m amazed that it doesn’t seem to bother anyone else.
I am fully with you on this Jeff.
I would say that 95% of my library is mine and I mainly use Streaming to sample new music (though also intrigued by the work Tidal is doing in the area of artist compensation).
My general rule is when I have listened to an album 3 or 4 times then I buy it and remove the streamed version from my library. Not hard and fast because sometimes I am not sure of if I like an album on the 3rd listen but it can be a grower.
I have been buying music since I was 12 and when I grow up I want a library like yours is. I am only halfway there
I went through a five year period of streaming instead of buying and find it lacking in the same regard. I love the convenience and ultra portability, but having a library is like having a photo album of my music history with all of its ebbs and flows.
Call it nostalgia or olde age or whatever. I wouldn’t change the photo album of my daughter with one offered by a fleeting online service either. In fact, this is what has brought me to Roon. My last foray into electronically storing my CDs was with XP/MC, so I must say there has been some considerable improvements over the last decade (understatement intended). I am even re-ripping all of those originally done in WMA. It’s a fairly minor inconvenience and sorting through the discs has already brought back some fond memories. Ownership Bonus Level unlocked!
It’s partly how I “grew up” in the hobby. If I really liked the music, I bought the album. Compared to many here, and after 50 years of buying record album, 500-odd albums is not a lot. The pattern continued in the CD era. When computer audio began to be viable, file storage was not as robust or as inexpensive as it is now. The pattern continues- if I like the music, and if it’s not available in vinyl, then it’s purchased in hi-res download format. I have an own rather than rent mentality, and it’s applied to music. Streaming is great for auditioning and background sound, but the format/mentality implies a disposable entity and it seems that it ends up being treated as such.
Maybe it’s not that bad. If something goes away and it bothers you deeply, it’s a good indication you really want it and you can buy it then. It may never happen. It is more amazing to me when people own analog media and they don’t plan to digitize it or get digital copies. I believe that presents a much higher risk of loss.
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Bill_Janssen
(Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)
19
Exactly. There seems to be an erosion of the significance of music exacerbated by its distance from the physical objects used to contain it. After a long hiatus from collecting vinyl records I returned to it with a renewed passion after realizing that my experience of the music is more powerful when I can connect it with a real physical object. It gives things a greater illusion of permanence. My past isn’t disappearing with my imperfect memory of experiences, but still exists in physical evidence. Digital files are an imperfect, but important stand in. Basing memories on remixed and constantly altered streaming files is experiencing your history as something outside your control, and I’m not ready to surrender to that.
