Physical media (CDs, vinyl...) versus Streaming

This is my dilemma. I’ve got Roon on my Mac Mini and been experimenting with loading different services like Primephonic, idagio etc on my iPad and feeding my speakers using that but something in my nature fights the concept of paying a subscription to a music service and never owning my music.

When my subscription ends, my listening ends. Furthermore, CD quality subscriptions are just too expensive: £20 per month. For this money, one could buy 2-3 used CDs.

The world has just relinquished CDs but we are now in a retrograde step with most music streaming services offering standard subscriptions in MP3. 10 years ago, the norm was CD quality and now the norm is £10/month and compressed lossy.

Aside from the pain of storing CDs, once bought they last forever and are so simple to use, even beautiful/mesmerising to use if you have a Beosound 9000.

I buy the CDs, rip them and tag them properly and correct missing artwork, load them on my NAS only to find the Beosound Moment can’t find the art work or it hangs/freezes or is discontinued.... None of this drama and hassle with a CD or a record.

So you buy a Beosound Moment but it only allows Deezer. Perhaps you buy a Roon Nucleus, but it only allows Qobuz or Tidal. What if you love classical and want Primephonic. None of these devices cater for Primephonic. Steaming machines are closed and limited to a select few providers/genres. A CD/turntable player plays all genres.

As I just wrote in another thread; I put on a record and press play.
What I want.
As I want it.
When I want it.
No hassle.
No worries.
No subscriptions.
I'm in total control.

Martin

Ain't it wonderful: The record's high frequency S/N degrades slower than one's hearing, so you don't even notice!   Plus the shuffle-play feature keeps us pipe&slippers brigade in shape doing "phono calisthenics"...

Dillen:

As I just wrote in another thread; I put on a record and press play.
What I want.
As I want it.
When I want it.
No hassle.
No worries.
No subscriptions.
I'm in total control.

Martin

Lucky you!

A lot of the albums/the music that I want to listen to, I’d have to go shopping for first and wait untill I have found and bought them, if they had to be on a physical media.............which might take days.

On the other hand - if you just want to listen to what you already have in store, you are good to go.

However, I am far to curious and ‘hungry’ for that to work - there is so much (new) music out there.

Spotify has not let me down once in all the years and my BS Essence MK2 hasn’t either.....so no worries here.

I only go for a physical media, when the wanted music is not available there - or for multichannel recordings.

You do it your way - I do it my way.....no reason for being (almost) religious about that.

Different user cases - maybe we can agree on that (?).

MM

seethroughyou:

£20 per month. For this money, one could buy 2-3 used CDs.

Steaming machines are closed and limited to a select few providers/genres.

Agree!

I buy cd/bluray/etc and rip these. 

But 

seethroughyou:

tag them properly and correct missing artwork, load them on my NAS only to find the Beosound Moment can’t find the art work or it hangs/freezes or is discontinued....

I'm more "lucky" as I do get all tag info and artwork on my Moment, BS5e, B&o app (Iartist pictures was nice to have but, I do not find it necessary).

Note: I experienced (in general) that embedded album covers surpass 1000x1000px are not shown 

 

I am at the moment working through the album collection of RUSH - that is about 30 titles.

Imagine what that would have costed, if I had to buy these.

And the space, that I would need for them.

And what the guys (read: my children) should do with them, when I am dead and gone........there are enought things to clear out here anyway.

Most of them I’d probably just listen to once or maybe twice.

 

Happily streaming ;-)

MM

I agree with Dillen best thing I ever done....kept all my vinyls.

All these poor people that sold them and now gulp at the price of the re press of there favourite album.