Why are digital files different in sq?
Streaming From Amazon Bob Seger Greatest Hits and thinking this sounds more open than I remember it, must be the new streamer set up. Remembered I had a CD rip, so put that on just to check. The same format and cd quality as the AZ stream but now sounding a little flat and ‘compressed’. That doesn’t make sense. The local file sounds poorer than the AZ cloud copy streamed from a zillion miles away. How is that? I will now have to drag the cd out from the box in the barn and check. Devil makes work etc 
Different releases usually. I find with matching releases cloud is very close to local streams.
I always level match with Roon and it’s amazing how much of a difference a couple of dB makes.
I did check the levels (just with a phone db meter) and the effect is still there. The only thing I can think of at the moment is the local file is on an ssd usb in to the streamer direct. It may be an artefact of usb vs wifi stream?
Different master?
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Possibly but I wouldn’t have thought so. I’ll try and check the info on the cd tomorrow if I get time.
I’d say so. According to Roon the digital wasn’t released until 2021. I think the CD is from 1994.
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Strangely enough I decided at the weekend to add to my Amazon stream library all of my previously ripped cd’s, ie duplicate them on to Amazon cloud so I can listen on the move. It will take a while and I was thinking if they would be as good a sq as the local rips. I don’t think I need to worry.
My local sounds noticeably better than the cloud with the same releases. Something’s likely off if your cloud streams are sounding better.
Ah, that makes sense then.
That throws a spanner in the works.
I’ll check my cd and re rip in the next few days.
Yeah, confirm you’re comparing the same release and the rip is a good one and that should give you a baseline for comparison.
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Assuming you have done a secure rip with dbpoweramp or similar then a re-rip shouldn’t be needed or indeed make a difference. You could always check the ripped files against the AccurateRip database just to be sure and saves on re-rippping.
You’ve ripped to FLAC Level 5 - yes? 
dbpa and flac yes but which settings are lost in the fullness of time past. many of these rips were made long ago on different pc’s and have been copied/transferred/backed up to various bits of kit over the years.
Copying won’t degrade the file but if you’re not sure what settings were used then do a re-rip.
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I’d just re-rip it to be sure. I do this from time to time for older rips.
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It will be just a different master. It works both ways. I have some cds that the version used to make them in the 90’s is far superior to remasters available now. But some newer releases via streaming are better than the original cd I have. Their is no constants here it’s all about the quality of the mastering used to make the media your listening to. You can’t compare like for like unless you can guarantee they are exactly the same release mastered from the same source.
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I’ve never heard a 90s CD that sounds better than a more recent master.
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Hark! Is that the sound of a gauntlet being dropped…? 
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I’ve been playing rips (Core) v Qobuz streams v cd (played through my Audiolab CDT6000 into my NDX2) and I find there’s differences between all of them. So far the cd/cdt6000 combo is slightly ahead.
I try hard not to let it worry me too much though one could go mad or end up dissatisfied with everything in end.
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This streaming and ripped cd’s etc is a strange one and many things can change the out come.
Qobuz is getting more and more 24bit quality and this is bringing a more dynamic sound over the 16bit cd standard.
For me and my experience of all this has been a journey with some very interesting results.
To start with back in the day i was using tidal and a NDS and a melco N100 with all my ripped cd’s from a cheap melco drive on it, this set up the ripped cd’s was the clear winner.
Then i swapped the NDS for a dCS rossini and started using Qobuz, this changed things as the rossini upsamples everything that goes through it, so the ripped cd’s got upsampled and so did Qobuz, Qobuz sounded better than Tidal and the difference from both now so close i wouldn’t like to say what i was listening too, so much so i almost sold my melco.
Them i re ripped all my cd’s from a melco D100 to a melco N10, this was an inpovement, not huge but it once again pushed my ripped collection to the top.
Fast forward and the rossini has gone and a vivaldi has joined the party, this doesn’t upsample and now Qobuz is top.
So as you can see things can change with what and how you go about it all, if you have a large CD collection ripped then unless you can upsample it, then using Qobuz is probably going to give the better performance as it running at a higher bit rate etc, but not everything is at the higher bit rate, but its getting more and more each week.
I am also getting a dCS upsampler, this will upsampler everything once again that goes through it to what I set it to do, this should then once again make the ripped cd’s sound best
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