CD like HDD but slower, and more prone to error. It wasn’t designed as an optimal format for data transfer, more the best that could be done at the time.
Generally this is not the nature of computing, deterministic results are usually the order of the day.
I’m afraid you did not understand my post.
The issue here is not format itself but how that file is processed by an application.
Regardless of your arguments, the differences are audible
As Wolfgang Pauli famously said, this is “not even wrong.” Where to start? Digital representations of sound (PCM, DSD) are kept intact until they reach the actual digital-to-analog circuitry within a DAC. There’s no digital difference in what a CD player or a streamer supplies to a DAC. The only differences that could exist are in the analog domain: different DAC electrical or optical inputs involving different clocking of the actual A2D conversion, or electrical noise from the wires carrying the digital signal contaminating the D2A circuitry. Nothing to do with differences in floating point processing between Excel and Access. Nothing.
This thread is very entertaining.
I still remember the times, when virtually all audiophile publications touted the advent of hard disk and memory based replay as the holy grail, and now we’re back to CD being hip again - reminds me of the LP resurgence, somehow…
Now this is usually contentious but I’ve found network isolation to be useful. I use an EtherRegen. Network connection is via the fibre port. Short cable A side to my silent NUC where my local files are stored, short cable B side to my streamer. I won’t claim this narrowed a perceived gap between streamed and local content, but it certainly elevated playback to a level that made the device a keeper within minutes of me sitting down to listen. My testing files are on a B&W playlist on Tidal and the difference is obvious to me. Uptone operate a 30 day refund scheme if not happy so risk is minimal.
So long as all the links use TCP, yes. But doesn’t RTSP use UDP packets after the connection has been established? If you’re streaming over Airplay to a speaker, for instance? Maybe i’m misremembering…
after experiencing the same thing and finding a solution that works for me, I am inclined to agree with @Henry_McLeod here. I took a number of steps to reduce the electro noise with streamed media. These included : a better network switch, optical isolation of the incoming internet connection from my ISP, optical isolation between the network switch and my streamer / dac setup, and improved power supplies.
In this current period of streamed media maturity, this all gets quite technical . So staying with CDs and waiting for network stuff to mature is also a good option.
Don’t knock it until you try. It wouldn’t take more than 5 seconds from the needle drop to hear at least in my system that my vinyl rig that is 1/3rd the cost of my digital rig is better. CDs played from the transport too vs same song streamed. Very easy to hear it is clearly better than the streaming. Puts the fun back in it for me too, it’s nice to sit down with an album cover I really miss that with streaming only and looking at a digital picture on a small screen
RAAT has been pure TCP/IP for several years. Yes, RTSP would have the issue you describe. I don’t use AirPlay for music so I don’t know if it matters in my setting, though.
you’re not imagining it, and i made a similar point here:
(tl;dr: Tidal<Qobuz<Qobuz HiRes<AIFF<MQA)
I was told it was because of the internet connection–that the system lowers the resolution in order to produce a continuous stream, rather in the way that youtube does. Check whether a youtube file plays naturally at high resolution or low.
You were told wrong sorry, variable rate streaming for music isn’t a thing. It’s baked into the video formats but not music ones.
I also have the Ether Regen. Sorry for the noob question, but can you please explain how you connect with fibre? What do you use to convert to fibre from your router? TIA
Can you please elaborate on optical isolation and what you use to achieve this? Also which power supplies have you introduced and to what?
At the router end you need a fiber media converter such as this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003CFATL0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
Then you need two of these SFP modules, one for the fiber media converter and one for the EtherRegen:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003CFATYM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
For the fiber cable you need multimode duplex fiber optic cable such as this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B1JEWM/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
I use a 10Gtek gigabit Ethernet media converter powered by an Uptone LPS-1 I had not being used. The 10Gtek comes with a SFP module, I bought a matching one for the EtherRegen end.
Ryan…I came to the same conclusion. Tried friend’s Audiolab 6000CDT in my system and it blew away streaming from Qobuz and Tidal. Playing AIFF files from hard drive is close to playing a CD though still not identical.
It’s just the nature of the beast. I think this gap can potentially be bridged but at a very significant cost. There are too many variables.
From purely convenience and new music discovery streaming just can’t be beat.
I’m interested now in a better CD transport. I like you say blows away because it really does blow away the sound of streaming. It’s actually much like vinyl which to me is still better yet. Seems like all the guys crying about how this can’t be are just speculating that it can’t sound better and haven’t actually hooked up a transport and compared. I happened to have a CD I really wanted to hear that could not be streamed anywhere even on YouTube so I bought the CD transport to hear it. Streaming is great and I still probably use it most but if I really like something and want to hear it for real it’s got to be from the CD or the vinyl. Acutal files are a little better too. I had a favorite album I had streamed many times so much so that I wanted to support the artist and went to her band camp page and bought the WAV file. I noticed right away that sounded better than the streaming did from TIDAL.
For me it was the first movement of the Sibelius concerto on this album. The CDT just took it to a hole new level and presented Hahn as a soloist with clarity, texture and colors to the sound of her violin that streaming just couldn’t approach.
There are very good options out there for transports (Jay’s, Pro-Ject to name a few).
One other discovery was when I tried Tidal and heard improvements in sound quality over Qobuz. More alive. I have confirmed it in my system multiple times in the last 2 months.
Amazon use it I am afraid but not mid song, but it drops it’s quality dependant on the data connection especially on mobile.
