CD Vs Streaming - The Results Are In!

[@carminedesanto6746]

The one issue I’ve got with streaming..is that licensing for the music is a fickle thing. I have on more than one occasion found that a song on my playlists is “no longer available “ … So , tho I have and still stream ..CD 💿/ physical media is still king 👑

[@highendaudio]

Agree. Me too.

[@peanutbutterjellyjam2179]

I see that a lot of folks here have dipped their equipment in that special oil. Hats off to all of you.

[@davidhackney8162]

Great work on this! Has there been any discussion or similar polling/testing done between CD and Qobuz purchased downloads (WAV)? I've ripped around 3,000 CDs over the years... to WAV and then later encoded to FLAC and/or MP3 320 for various transports, but have recently been looking into Qobuz purchased downloads for hard to find stuff or simply not available on CD. Thanks in advance.

[@VivianLund]

I love Qobuz for streaming. I’ve not purchased anything from them yet though.

[@jasperstromy2778]

Did you happen to try using radio paradise instead of Qobuz? I like Qobuz but when I play RP I hear a sonically fullness. Is it the way they decode? Thanks just found your channel 😀

[@chrisboylan4599]

I am a new subscriber, but definitely want to hear the power cable shootout. I will now receive ur notifications!

[@highendaudio]

Thanks for the sub!

[@tdinut]

Awesome Mike, thank you for your hard work, dedication and generosity with your knowledge and time giving honest advice and opinions!

[@freakin13guy]

CD vs. TT/Analog rig would be sweet! 🙏🏼

[@davewin1792]

Thank you for the shootout. We appreciate your professional opinion. It helps us learn.

[@simplereef4854]

Thanks for the great video. Just a small suggestion: your voice was getting in and out from the video. It was hard to hear a certain part of the video due to that.

[@OscarSanchez-tk3hx]

I'm subscribed to Tidal streaming and I'm satisfied should I switch to Qubus for better sound does the other network provides video as well

[@vaejoviscarolinanus]

I am wondering if your internet is of the same quality as your equipment? I am leaning slightly towards streaming but it is ever so slightly. I may just be lazy.

[@highendaudio]

We have fiber in the store. Fios.

[@G3rain1]

That would be irrelevant anyway.

[@razzman2987]

😅😅😅

[@user-eh3qz4zv1o]

Mike, Are you saying that if I use lets say the Aurender A30 and rip a cd in to it, it will end up sounding the same as a transport/player?

[@highendaudio]

In our situation, when we ripped the CD on the ACS10, and played it Vs the CD, we could not hear a difference. We were straining to hear a difference. I would give the CD Transport 10/10 and the ripped version on the ACS10, 9.5/10. Streaming services about a 7/10 or 8/10. Just our observations.

[@user-eh3qz4zv1o]

@@highendaudio Thanks Mike!

[@brucemcbroom]

Great info. I was just trying this at home last weekend (CD vs online streaming). I agree, closer to original source is best but usually less convenient. By the way, I like the chairs you have in the video, any idea the manufacturer?

[@SubSonic1]

Shootouts over KZbin?! Does the 250kBps bitrate limit have any effect on that?

[@garyolshan4177]

i just got an amazing Gold Note 1000 CS player and wth Paradigm speakers the sound of the CD is off the charts. I can actually "feel" the instruments

[@sivagurupathamvadivelu680]

Yes indeed. Thanks 🙏☮️

[@EvL--_--]

Meze headphones ftw! Nice to see some premium Romanian products around :D

[@WTJ3405]

Is it me or did the screen go black early in the video?

[@daveuk1324]

Mike & team - really interesting shoot out thanks for posting. I have tried it at home and found similar to you guys even though I have different gear. I have dCS Rossini player with APEX upgrade and clock. I use Qobuz all the time. CD has always been superior to streaming. However, I recently swapped Audioquest ethernet cable for an ADOT optical bridge from router to Rossini. Prior to the swap I would give CD 10/10 and Qobuz 7/10. After the switch I now give Qobuz 9/10 which is great as I love Qobuz. Interesting. By the way, I would really love to see a shoot out between CD and Vinyl. I sold all my LPs back in the 1980s but I am now seriously considering adding a TT to my system and would very much appreciate your thoughts.

[@highendaudio]

Thanks for the comment. I will do the shootout again, with a few changes. Stay tuned. I want to get streaming to 9/10 like you.

[@bricedoan6695]

Same here i use Paul Pang Quad Switch to Sonore Optical module Deluxe v2 + LPS + Pink Faun LAN cable to streamer.

[@comet91]

I've always suspected the source used by streaming is different from CD. Sometimes it's indistinguishable and others time it's not depending on the album I listen to.

[@GeirRssaak]

You are a healthy person! I have the same experience!

[@HoomanR17]

Based on your explanation of the results, makes me wonder if the the streamed versions, while possible at similar bit depth and/or rate as the CD version, may not be in fact the same mastered digital file or whether even Qobuz does any post processing on any/all their files. Without knowing that , how would you know whether the anomaly you're experiencing is due simply to the network congestion? I'm not suggesting because I know something specific, I'm stating because I don't sense there's enough information(behind the curtain information) to make the conclusion one way or another. By ripping the CD, you definitely eliminate the question of the source.. but that doesn't automatically make the transmission medium(ie network, etc.) the culprit. I have to believe that your streaming platform can buffer enough data to minimize any of the network jitter coming from your router - specially since you are going over the same internal network(ie switch) when playing the ripped file off the server. Just stating that it would be great to know more!

[@sc0or]

Nobody blames a "network congestions". The result confirm what I knew for a long time: streaming services continue to broadcast the heaviest compressed music when there is NO need for that (that's not a radio station user can tune or not). They continue to choose the latest release despite a fact that for every album there is one the best, and in most cases it's not the latest one. And of course their engineers suppose they are better than colleagues from a recording studios. So, that's not about a media, but about lack of streaming service professional stuff.

[@simplereef4854]

I tried Deezer Hi-Res a long time ago and compared it with my CD. The music from Deezer definitely had boosted base and more forward mid-range, and that was through a very cheap stereo system. So, yes definitely, the service provider did alter the sound some how. That is why I never sign up for any of them.

[@HoomanR17]

@@sc0or For clarification, the gentleman from Suncoast Audio who recorded this video made the comment about why the streaming sounded inferior due to "...how far the signal is going.. all the junctions.. noise,.. etc." , therefore he is not part of the "Nobody" that you are referring to..Clearly that is a thought form that exists. My comment was in response to his statement and not what everyone anywhere else is saying or not saying. I tend to agree with you that the issue here is more mastering related and not so much the transport. I looked at the original shootout video, and the title said "same mastering" but we were not given the mastering details. From my vantage point, I would only be able to conclude my preference, but I wouldn't be able to conclude the reason behind it without further information.

[@joel_hifi1994]

The point about the mastering is a good one but usually differences between an original mastering and a remastering or different remastered versions are not subtle. I’m assuming that Mike & team at Suncoast Audio would have immediately picked it up if they were not playing the same versions… the explanation about SQ difference likely lies somewhere else Edit: actually Mike does clarify this point when answering to Geo a few comments down

[@HoomanR17]

@@joel_hifi1994 Thanks Joel for the headsup on the response below. I do see if and will make a comment there. You do make a good point. I did look at this record, and interestingly enough, it was only issued in 1991 in CD and never "remastered" which removes mastering completely from that equation. It still does not mean that Quobuz does not do any manipulation to the file .

[@InnovativeBuildersmd]

CAN YOU DO AURENDER N30SA VS MSB CD vs TAIKO

[@highendaudio]

We can do N20. I stole the N30SA for my home system. 🤪

[@Random-kq4pz]

Excellent information, thanks for performing this test!

[@tigertiger1699]

Cheers, interesting.. does the streamer buffer and reprocess the stream like Auralic / others do? Then would there be any external noise from tidal etc? I imagine at the level of that streamer it would??

[@problemslayer3538]

More than happy with my Sony XM4s over bluetooth.

[@mattkozink7488]

I appreciate your comment as to how indistinguishable (is that a word?) the difference between a ripped optical disc (CD in this case) and the original CD played though this rig. With a large CD collection I was starting to use my Aurender N20 only for casual listening/convenience. The increased musical enjoyment I have realized with the K-01XD is just too irresistible for me. Hearing your thoughts on the sonic quality of ripped files has convinced me to purchase a ripping platform for the CD collection. I will be in touch!

[@leomignonneau1765]

Wow! How did it come about for you to decide to invest these significant sums in these Players? Considering they're anything but affordable. May I ask how much you spent on your System? Greetings Leo

[@billarmstrong5568]

I'm in a similar position. Have two thousand (ish) CDs that I would love to have fingertip access to, but when I play them on my Mark Lev. No.512 they just sound so bloomin' good! Also, can I really be bothered burning them all, and oh yes, the SACDs... (Had an Esoteric X-03se for many years, another great player🍻)

[@mattkozink7488]

@@leomignonneau1765 Hey Leo, all I can say at this point is life is too short to concern myself with the things that don't matter. I can always get more money but I can't get anymore time. Cheers.

[@mattkozink7488]

@@billarmstrong5568 Hey Bill, I'm just out of space and I need the room for my LPs!

[@billarmstrong5568]

@@mattkozink7488 Ha😅

[@davidwald2938]

Through the same DAC I can't tell a difference with same master using a transport vs. streaming. Qobuz hi res 192 can sound dramatically better than 44.1 or cd but could just be better masters. I don't download but can't see why streaming would sound any different unless there's buffering issues. My Forte IVs with tube dac are very revealing and some higher res files sound very dynamic, 3d, and lifelike compared to cd quality. Just my experience with node 2i and a good dac with nos tubes. When I listen to a Heart song like Straight On in 44.1 and then switch to 192 version there is a huge difference across the spectrum but it was subtler before I got the Klipsches. Wish I could analyze the waveforms to see which is more dynamic cause I sure can't get the same effect by just turning up the volume on the 44.1

[@Nephilim-81]

Physical media rules!! Wire me up baby!! :)

[@davidfromamerica1871]

Did you ask the 8 billion people living on Planet Earth..??? Yes it’s now 8 billion..😳

[@nasdkhan254]

Always stuck with CD. Every time I heard streaming it sounded thin. Btw best streaming device I heard was Dcs

[@StrangeBrewReviews]

Physical media played in system right at the moment will always win vs. some streaming over the internet or BT,wireless.or even ripped files., Be it CD/SACD/LP/TAPE there is just a "liveliness" to the sound, you can hear its right there in the system.

[@ericstefko4852]

1:09 I2S is fibre optic?? I thought it was an electrical connection using the HDMI interface

[@gettcharged4982]

You are correct. If they were using TOS link I would seriously SMH, I'm not sure this guy knows what he's talking about.

[@jaakanshorter]

It's converted from wire to glass fiber ( not tos link ) and back to wire. External I2s connections could be rj45, HDMI, glass fiber, etc.

[@bigbuckoramma]

@@gettcharged4982 He doesn't. As he thinks "the internet" ,what with all it's fancy dancy newfangled junctions, switches, interconnects doodads, and hoozamuhwhatsitz between the server and the source taints the audio signal. As if the source isn't receiving an error corrected digital bit stream, and then converting it to analog on the fly. This is as absurd an analogy as running you water through a magnet to "align it's ions for healthier water". This is beyond garbage science, to straight ignorance. The only thing this video proved, is that he doesn't like the DAC in the streaming device. That's it. I never stop being fascinated at the number of technically illiterate people that push this level of nonsense in the HiFi community. But I suppose the old adage is true, if there were no ignorant people to sell this stuff to, there would be no audiophile market. Like the guy above who sands and degauss his CD's to make them "sonically better". Then only listens 7 minutes before needing another dopamine hit of snake oil, to "remove static" from the CD. Again, as if the optical nature of the CD wasn't the very thing that electrically decouples it in the first place. As best you're removing some wobble. This channel hurts my brain, in a way I only thought flat earthers could.

[@highendaudio]

@@gettcharged4982 www.msbtechnology.com/dacs/prousb/

[@davestevens4193]

You don't say how much money each rig costs. I would venture that in high mid fi/low high end dollar systems the difference would be much less noticeable.

[@highendaudio]

The basics stay the same.

[@artyfhartie2269]

Depends on what cd player you play the cd. Also the cd belongs to you.

[@docskeekmo]

Hi there. Do you have any isolation/audiophile switch on your Ethernet? Or is the Taiko just running to a standard router/switch?

[@highendaudio]

GREAT QUESTION. Our Nordost QNET was on loan to a customer to demo (he did order one). We just got it back and I was thinking of doing round two with the QNET in the mix.

[@madcrabber1113]

B sounded very sibilant to my ears through my headphones etc. Sometimes in my systems streaming sounds better than my cd depending on which version of cd since there are many available of most of the more popular ones anyway, that I use and which streaming source I use. I like both for different reasons. It would be boring to me if it was as simple as one is better than the other period.

[@vicentvanmole]

True streamer sound more narrow or close while CD is open in space by comparison.

[@forty5cal1911]

I rip all red book media to uncompressed FLAC stored on media server. No discernible difference to a high quality digital transport as long as your media network infrastructure is hard wired.

[@MichaelDavitt1]

next comparo betwixt cassette and mini disc inquiring minds want to know !

[@highendaudio]

LOL. 8 Track too? 😉

[@MichaelDavitt1]

@@highendaudio No that's car-fi . . . . Love your channel ! keep the great content coming !

[@380stroker]

You guys are comparing data files to the red book standard CD (no data files...its a continuous bit stream of audio). Data files whether on usb, hdd, ssd or streaming (hard drive) have data extracted in a non-linear fashion which is the opposite on the Red book Standard CD. Data extraction plays a big role and the data file will always pale in comparison. Every time. Sorry, not sorry. "Unlike on a DVD or CD-ROM, there are no "files" on a Red Book audio CD; there is only one continuous stream of LPCM audio data, and a parallel, smaller set of 8 subcode data streams." -Wikipedia

[@ericschultz9925]

I find untreated CDs to be unmusical. I sand the outer and inner edge.....black the inner and outer edge and most of the top of the CD with a black Opaque oil based paint marker, treat the CD on both sides with ultrabit Plantium Plus fluid, and destatic the CD with an Ionoclast. The destaticing enhancement lasts only about 7 minutes of play time before you need to re zap it. However, it makes the CD way more real sounding. I also use the little carbon fiber CD mat from Herbies to good effect (best mat I have heard including Marigo). So......do you guys do any treatments? Works the same for SACDs and even Video discs.

[@ruz5499]

Yes, all this is good, you should also place isolation blocks under the CD transport to ensure that no vibration can flip the 1s to 0s lest all your treatment of the disc itself go to waste. Gold plated optical cables should also be used connecting the transport to DAC to provide a richer sound if not wallet.

[@offtom]

Is flac and wav compressed or truly lossless? Are there any audible difference between the two? Sorry. Yes I did listen thru this video, twice. If I rip cds in flac to a PC ssd. - the signal is the same as with burnt cds right?? (not thinking of dac quality now but I understand it has to be similar to compare)

[@RennieAsh]

They cancel out when inverted and mixed, so the file contains the same musical information.

[@mikeeygauthier2959]

Just saw ur q. WAV is totally uncompressed, FLAC is compressed.

[@imosolar]

Compare CD vs turntable and ripes taiko

[@Coneman3]

Yes, simpler is is usually better. Same with movies.

[@chewychews221]

Yeah I still don't understand. All this high end super expensive streamers and DAC's that sound worse than a CD. Makes no sense.

[@jamesschneider3828]

If you are going to do these, get a remote microphone. I can hear you, I can't hear you, I can hear you.

[@SamuelStorch]

To my ears, the sound quality is more dependent on the recording and mastering. On my Naim system (NSS, PS 555 DR/Unitiserv SSD) playing CD's ripped into a Certon NAS some pieces sound better on CD and some better on Tidal HiFi.

[@SamuelStorch]

Have a happy Thanksgiving.

[@rickmilam413]

I don't disagree with the voting or your own conclusion but I'm a bit mystified as to how it's that perceptible on KZbin channel. If the internet is the issue, it should be the same disadvantage as streaming. Plus, how you can tell that much on the quality of signal that KZbin provides is also mystifying to me. Again, not arguing with the conclusion - I just don't get how it is that apparent in this context. And no, I didn't listen to the test and obviously should. Even if I hear it I'll still be unable to understand why it's so audible via KZbin. Thanks. I've been a high end dealer for over 30 years although i'm on the exit ramp these days.

[@highendaudio]

Rick, if you’re ever in Sarasota, come on in for a listen. I know everyone likes to shit on KZbin, but you know what, it’s what we have if people aren’t willing to get in a car or plane and travel. Heapdhones with KZbin can go a long way to deciphering differences. But there is not substitute for in person!

[@rickmilam413]

I watch things on KZbin a lot. Sometimes I'm surprised at how much I enjoy live music recordings there even thugh the sound is nowhere near my personal system. It was not my intent to shit on anything, just ask what I thought was a valid question. If I'm ever in your area I'll take you up on it. I used to have relatives on Longboat Key but no longer and that was my only reason for visiting. I'm severely visually impaired these days so taking a fun trip and driving to different locations is no longer an option. I do still love my vocation, rapidly becoming my avocation...@@highendaudio

[@REX4340]

Dang it, I wanted the Qobuz to win!

[@MaxiMe-et4zs]

Local files are best

[@barskuleli8612]

I am sorry but internet streaming is not working as you said. It is not a radio signal. There is no EMI or RFI on internet streaming. And sorry again but it is technically not possible the cd is better than 24bit 192kHz. Cd is giving 0 and 1 values and it is same for the streaming. Your age has finished already. People don’t believe these kind of subjective “test”s. If you want to make test show us signal graphs from both source under exactly same conditions.

[@scottrippon5039]

I really don't understand this. Just play records people....der.....

[@highendaudio]

LOL. Truth.

[@MobileDecay]

Screw cds. Streaming is way better because I hear bands I would've given a shot for no extra money. If I have to press my ear up against a speaker to tell the difference in audio quality it's no big deal. For a small fee I can listen to almost anything I want to including underground and independent artists. I'll take that any day over buying cds.

[@highendaudio]

Streaming does offer a nearly limitless selection. What’s your system if you don’t mind me asking?

[@Jordan-fn5rj]

Streaming trash they can lose internet

[@MobileDecay]

@@Jordan-fn5rj English?

[@Jordan-fn5rj]

@@MobileDecay cds are better kid! streaming is garbage

[@stafonvoncamron]

Streaming media is like: WiFi vrs Ethernet or Corded vrs cordless, of course Ethernet and corded items are going to give you 100% of the media source, however some might like the convenience of only getting 50-80% of a source if they don't have to bring a cord with them. Convenience = just being lazy.

[@edverbeek6292]

Interesting. The fact that the ripped CD via the streamer sounds the same as the CD via the transport, makes it worth to upgrade the internet modem (with low noise power supply) and especially use separate audio switch (with even better power supply). At my home this made a significant improvement of the SQ! Greetings from the Netherlands

[@jstpsgthru]

I like the fact that you attempted to equalize electronic paths, but your "test" is far from scientific. There are differences between CDs and between players. Also, there are differences between streamers and between streaming services. Your intimation, that this was conclusive, does not leave me convinced. I do like that are one source of testing. Plus, there are other considerations for music purchasers besides staged comparisons. I, for instance, have an older Denon CD player which is out-performed by a new streamer and either Tidal or Qobuz (at 24 bit 192kHz.) The difference isn't worth consideration (either way) at lower resolution. I would need an expensive upgrade to my system (high end CD player, and HR CDs) to get a better result. I get that a music lover would be well-served by employing BOTH CDs and Streamers. There is no contest regarding convenience; streaming will beat the holy crap out of CDs for ease of use. I don't have a lot of CDs. I normally find only one or two selections, on any CD, that I want to save forever. And, there are always those songs that are awful, which I have to endure or skip. On the other hand, I have loved CDs that I can't find reproduced on Tidal or Qobuz. Beyond that, many "remastered" albums just don't retain the same ambience of the original. I highly value my CD collection, but I haven't played a CD since I got my streamer, a Cambridge Audio 851N. One might find that you are a great source when building a new system from scratch. I assume you would cater to individual consumers' needs.

[@anthonymartino9917]

cds are better done!

[@DanielMendozaDev]

So much BS snake oil on this comment section it’s actually insane. Even the video doesn’t seem to know how the internet works; there’s no noise on a TCP signal; you either get bit perfect from end to end or “noise” (Tx/Rx error) that the source is notified of a bad Rx and the lost bit packages are re sent. You can have the cleanest power supply for your modem/router/iPad but it won’t make a difference, it’s the same level of asinine ignorance as audiophile grade SD cards.

[@shahrainabubakar209]

With all of the audio equip there.. can't even get a mic for yourself ?!

[@BoudewijnvanHouten]

I've two Wadia WT2000s transports, a Spectral SDR-3000 transport a Sony CDP-557ESD CD player and a Levinson 390s CD player. They're all gonna die soon because the Laserunit wil worn out or the transport itself those bits that are spinning and new Laserunits are not made anymore. So this discussion will ultimately being solved that you simply have no choice anymore I'm afraid. Oh yeah streaming sucks especially ergonomically.

[@riotmalevolent7061]

cmon i dont know what all that tech jumbo means just get to the point

[@connorduke4619]

Very interesting comparison. Btw the technical reviewer here says he can get streamer to match or better CD with enough LPSUs, network switches and OCXO clocks in the streaming chain: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKu4e4aPZs-VaJY

[@380stroker]

The dude is so dumb.

[@AmazonasBiotop]

Sounds just like a made up thought that sounds logical to him. "The closer you sit to the source the better or all the junctions streaming needs to get trough.." If we think little bit more on that. When I am in a video chat overseas I will probably look amazing and get a special artifactual skin glow because of "all the junctions" and because I am far away..🤣 Or all billion window computers will get a slightly different Windows update depending on how far people are from the download server. 🤔 Yes it sounds stupid if you look it from that point of view.. Can it be that the different record labels that supply the files to Qobuz. That those files are DELIBERATELY not the SAME as what the record labels supplied to the CD pressing plants! (I am not saying that CD pressing plants got better or worse quality just different and it will and can vary from record label to record label therefore from album to album.) But it is easy to test if "all the junctions" are to be blamed! Just take your ripped file and send it to a friend on the other side of the world and stream it from there. And compare against the original you have on your hard drive. And make a poll out of it. If Internet is as good as your local hard drive then we can be more certain that it is record labels that are PLAYING us all along! 😤🤬😡 Sorry for the rambling below: That is the interesting part to know. Because then we know as we learned in historical that new formats with better capabilities do not mean NOTHING if record labels supply medioker sounding files, that format will then NOT sound better even if it could hold better resolution (shit in shit out). That happened with many albums that ended up on CD. When computers made it easy to add loudness by running them trough a batch job on a computer to make them sound louder, and then supply those to CD pressing plants. We bought that super duper CD format and collected all our albums again. But they in practice just made us spend money. Then HDCD, SACD, BD-audio, DVD-audio, streaming, MQA, high res streaming and on and on they are almost scamming us. But they know if they give us the "untampered" digital copy then we have no reason to buy the next best thing.. and they have potential killed the revenue stream for that album when it is possible to do a one to one bit perfect copy of that file if it is in the wild..

[@davidcross890]

Interesting Thoughts...if they can't record it Perfectly without introducing error domain distortions and they can't transmit it without introducing error domain distortions what gives anyone without extremely advanced intimate knowledge of this very specific subject matter the insane idea that they can be doing any area of the audio chain real justice in regards to at least ultimate level fidelity? May be an opportunity to ask who actually really knows.

[@AmazonasBiotop]

@@davidcross890 My examples is proven points that transmissions over the internet (tcp ip) is more or less in normal operation flawless if not something is broken of course. Remember we installed computer operating system (OS) and other software on CD discs. That means that each bit on the CD or streamed is as it should controlled by mathematically checksums and difrent stages of error corrections until all checksums is correct plus it is interleaved. That secure that all the intensional bits is there they were put by the developers of various Linux distros, Microsoft and apple of their variant of OS software. As in software there is no tolerance for missplaced binary code. That will immediately result in errors and unexpectedly behavior from the software and OS. For example I worked as a developer for 10 years on test equipment for optical media (CD, SACD, DVD-A..). That drive manufacturer needed to verify that they could read a CD that is following the specifications and CD manufacturers also that they produced discs that followed the same so they could make sure that they could be played. And I hope it is comfortable to know that according to Sony and Philips red book the standard for the CD. The record is for example not allowed to have any error of the type E32. E32 is a uncorrectable error that means the transport is unable to calculate or correct so the data is intact. That disc is according to the specification (red book) out of spec. There is of course many other parameters that needed to be within their limits also.

[@davidcross890]

@@AmazonasBiotop 1st. Thank You for Your well thought reply. While true in a much more general sense the columns of data in data out are required to balance there is room within binary code communication for back door firmware and code or even on chip command authentication. With any of those or other technologies there are ways to escort code modifiers in transmission and receiving. Zero Knowledge point on data has always it's originated point even if it's multi quadrant encrypted. Even that is breakable and referenced code.

[@larryh.4629]

Sorry man I can't a.b. off my phone. Just not happening .

[@G3rain1]

That explanation is total nonsense. Noise and jitter are irrelevant unless it's making it to the DAC. It's a digital signal, degradation does not happen in a meaningful way. And the fact that your ripped file sounds identical proves that. Clearly what they are streaming to you is not the same source as what's on the CD.

[@highendaudio]

It IS the same.

[@highendaudio]

You’re wrong. Everything affects the sound, including noise. Unless Qobuz is compressing their files somehow (even though they show up as 16/44), they are identical files since this album - which I picked specifically because it hasn’t been remastered - is a great example. Reducing noise in audio is key. The ripped version is far less susceptible to noise and isn’t traveling across the world.

[@davidcross890]

Mike is Factually Correct regarding Noise

[@G3rain1]

​@@highendaudio You're wrong. Noise in the digital domain does not equate to noise in the audio. Noise does NOT effects digital signals, it infact CAN"T effect it. It's kind of the entire point of digital in the first place. The only way it gets into the audio is if it reaches the DAC, but any moderately high-end gear should eliminate it before that through galvanic isolation and jitter compensation(buffering/re-clocking etc) . Either that's not happening in one case here, or the source data is different.

[@highendaudio]

@@G3rain1 you’re wrong. There is no different source. If your theory is correct than a raspberry pi will sound the same as a $30,000 Taiko or Aurender and they do NOT. Also, if you’re right, all playback software would sound the same right? It doesn’t! Even on the same device!! We have proven that with the Taiko and the Innuos where you can switch on the fly between noisy roon and XDMS or Innuos software. Noise affects Everything! Even Ethernet cables and switches make a difference! Good switches eliminate what? NOISE! Phase noise and jitter via network audio is real.

[@boscodooley8561]

I find it funny that an audio channel has shit audio.

[@highendaudio]

Must be on your end. Must be your shit audio.

[@boscodooley8561]

@@highendaudioNaaa When the audio drops out because of mic placement it is not me.

[@highendaudio]

@@boscodooley8561 no audio drop outs my friend. It is on your end.

[@boscodooley8561]

@@highendaudioYou keep telling yourself that PAL. There are moments that you are barley audible. But you do you buddy.

[@highendaudio]

@@boscodooley8561Pal, it’s on your end. Just watched it again. Zero issues. Funny, it’s your shit audio.

[@centaurojz]

Your audio is not good