I have been buying my music on a physical format since my school days, first Vinyl and later CD. So after 55 years, I finally caved in a bought a streamer. I buy quite a lot of music these days via Bandcamp, and I get a free digital download, with the CD. I use the download on my Astell and Kern portable music player. It is pretty amazing how many CD’s ripped to Flac can be stores on a thumb nail sized SD card.
I began to wonder if it might just be easier and cheaper to just buy and download a Wav file (and avoid import duties on CD’s that come from the UK and USA). So I found a hardly used Cocktail Audio NC25 at a really good price. So far the WAV files I have played, might even sound better than my CD player SQ. It is cool that I can control everything with my iPhone. I just miss the sleeve notes on a CD. So far I have only tried streaming with Spotify and I am amazed at how many radio stations I can listen to.
I am finding it hard to give up the ritual of going to my local record shop, who deals with minority music like jazz ( they survive on mail order). The owner frequently points me in the direction of some great stuff. I like to have sleeve notes, to explore. I have difficulty out of habit of not owning the physic music support. But downloading and quality streaming are looking very seductive.
My view is much the same as yours, I find streaming very space effective , but I much prefer to have the physical media. My last purchase was not available on Qobuz and that made me stop and think.
I may use streaming but I haven’t given up on vinyl and compact disc.
You are me about five years ago. I was also a very late adopter of CD. My first CD player was bought in around 1998 and I pretty much played equal amounts of vinyl and CD for the next 20 years or so. Much like you, I enjoyed the saunter to the rack and sifting through various album cover or sleeve notes. I kept reading about this thing called streaming and wondering what all the fuss was about. Then one day my dealer suggested I should try it using some relatively cheap entry level stuff. Within a couple of years I was up to ND555 level and loving every minute of it. The new music I have discovered is simply endless. I hear a song on the radio and 10 seconds later I’m playing the album. I’m not even missing the sleeve notes, I just look at them on an iPad instead!
Interesting post although it prompts why make any changes? Streaming is another option!
Very similar position here, still collect some vinyl if I really like the album, first auditioned via streaming. Again where an album is not available on vinyl, sometimes buy cd new or s/hand, ripping then to a Core. I also use terrestrial radio here in uk with Nat01 or Nat02 plus iRadio.
The latter two probably get more use, simply because I listen while being active.
When reading or relaxing the other sources come into play.
Never tried roon which appeals to some. otherwise I don’t follow any particular policy.
I have changed to streaming Amazon High Res service. I was also buying downloads from Qobuz but don"t find the need to anymore. I occasionally buy vinyl if its of special interest to me and because I like the tactile experience and theatre of vinyl. I listen to more new music than I ever did before streaming.
I was recently at those crossroads but the way ahead was well signposted.
The NDX and PS have gone.Qobuz cancelled.
About 700 cds that I know well will be played over the next 2 or 3 years.Hopefully longer.
I have no interest in new music. I mine a certain time period within jazz history. From Basie to Bird. I enjoy searching and looking forward to the delivery of cds I purchase from Discogs.Ihave never downloaded any music.
A new cd player is on the horizon.
Currently, I buy downloads, LPs and a few CDs with a good proportion coming from Bandcamp. I also recently joined Qobuz after friends kept telling me how good it was. This hasn’t reduced my vinyl purchasing if anything it has increased it. Bandcamp whilst expensive to buy internationally does make getting albums that aren’t released in the UK easier to purchase either as physical media or a download. I was a late adopter of streaming and ripping to store rips locally, only doing so in the last 7 or 8 years. These days I never play CDs instead I play the rips, it is so much easier.
For someone who is fairly tech-savvy and who adopts it fairly quickly in most cases, music replay is the one exception, I am not sure why this is but now I have wholeheartedly adopted streaming and ripping I think it is a great way to listen to my music of choice. I won’t however, give up vinyl because in my system I have two sources that are of a very similar level, both have slightly different strengths and I can sit down to a session happily switching between rips, Qobuz and vinyl and at the weekend I might have a glass or two of wine or a bottle of beer as a side dish to the music.
I have just bought a 2TB external disk, which is right now, being loaded with Flac and Wav files from my Astell and Kern. From a dummy run yesterday, I like how I can control and chose what I am listening too with a menu on my iPhone. I often listen to music sat out on the balcony (I live in Italy) with headphones, so maybe no more dashing in and out to change the CD. I think I am going to rip a lot of stuff to this HD, as a proper file system will be easier than finding a CD in my quite large and chaotic CD collection that is now three rows deep, in the space my wife left me for my CD collection.
I agree with most of you, that I will be still buying physical copies of stuff I really like a lot. But I will buy downloads of music I am curious about, or like some of the Jazz in Britain or Edition stuff, that has been sold out on CD.
Next step I quess will be to bite the €10 a month bullet and sign up to Qobus.
There are some positive aspects of streaming for sure. I use streaming on our narrowboat all the time when not listening to the radio. The lack of a need to store and use up precious space with physical media is a big advantage.
However, at home in our house I have never kicked the habit and enjoyment of physical media I have been buying since the 1970s. I mainly have LPs but I do have some CDs too. I enjoy all aspects of playing an Album even the need to get up and flip the record over. It’s all part of the process that I love. I also like looking at the outer and inner sleeves.
I find that the best reproduction of te music comes from my LP collection which in part could well be becuse I have spent the most time, energy and of course money in getting a turntable (and all the other things that go with it) setup that sounds great to me.
I have streaming at home and I do use it but not a great deal. I generally use it to listen to albums I am not familiar with to hear if I would like to buy the LP/CD or just to have something on in the background while I do something else.
As far as quality of reproduction is concerned I find it lacking as a hifi source and will never for me replace LPs.
Probably very similar responses to what people have said above, but I would add that now if I buy a CD in addition to streaming, it’s because I like the artist, want to own a bit of their media, be able to play it in the car (via SD card), but most importantly pay the artists a better rate than they receive via streaming. Bandcamp is good for that.
If you have a local record shop then you are more fortunate than most. I would keep visiting and making purchases. I live in Canada, which seems less fastidious in collecting import duties than Italy. I mostly buy CDs and downloads from Presto in the UK, and because I don’t live in the UK I don’t get charged VAT and, as I say, the powers that be don’t seem interested in my music purchases, so I don’t pay any tax or duties here either. Works for me!
Rips/downloads go on my Core, CDs go on the shelf. I also stream quite a bit using Tidal. Mostly when I am just searching round for different things to listen to.
Whilst I like vinyl album sleeves, and the ‘magic’ and physicality of playing vinyl. CD micro case inserts never did it for me. I switched to streaming from my own store of ripped CDs, ripped vinyl, and downloaded music (all in .flac format) a decade ago now, and have had no reason ever to look back. Better sound quality, easier storage, and ability to play double and triple albums without a break are just three of the many benefits.
Also, there’s a world of brilliant music that I engage with in a different but also great way with you tube on my TV plugged into my NDS DAC via a Chord optical toslink cable, with a YT Premium account to avoid ads and save material (not just music) I like.
Yes, I am lucky that I have a local record shop that specialises in Classical and Jazz. I have known the owner for thirty years and he often points me in the direction of music I would not have ever considered. So I will still be buying CD’s.
It is for the Bandcamp stuff, that I need to break the phycological barrier of not having a CD/LP.
A lot of my music comes from the UK, and the EU countries are still pretty angry and spiteful over Brexit. So even low value goods are rigorously taxed on arrival. Bandcamp CD’s come by post, and the postman collects the duty. CD’s from the US usually have no duty to pay.
Thanks for sharing, not sure why you are at a cross roads, it sounds like you enjoy collecting and listening to physical versions of your recordings.
With regard to non physicals,loss less digital downloads are good, but yes you typically buy from an online shop, and they do often have booklets you can view or print out, but they can be expensive compared to CD.
Streaming is great, but I treat is an OnDemand online radio… titles and releases can come and go… versions and remasters tend to be limited… so it’s great for general listening and listening surfing and discovery… but I don’t to use it to replace CDs or downloads (for hidef), I currently don’t have a record deck so not buying more vinyl. I have been caught out too often with favourite releases disappearing from streaming services.
I am in the process of having some nice upgrades done to a 40 year old Pink Triangle. I am looking forward to doing some LP and ripped/streamed comparisons. It must be over 15 years since I purchased a new CD, having discovered streaming, and being a fairly early adopter of Roon, I have a lifetime membership. My chosen formats will be older (analouge mastered) vinyl, and digital downloads. I am saddened by the HMV adverts “Have you heard it on vinal?” With a suitcase record player next to it, or even a Bluetooth record deck, I cringe!
