CDs versus Streams: Which is better?

Even if streaming companies make available 44.1khz/16-bit flac files to stream, the sound still won't be as good as the original 1st print CD, nor as good as the downloadable wav file. The streaming flac files available from Tidal or Qobuz typically have transfer bit-rate somewhere around 700 - 800 kbps for their supposedly uncompressed 44.1kHz/16-bit lossless streams. CD disc playback and wav file playbacks transfer bit rate are constant at 1411kbps. Streaming still has that threadbare flavour and loses in imaging focus, dynamics and harmonic richess.

THANK YPU SO MUCH FOR THIS 🙏🙏🙏

ALL STREAMING SERVICES NEED TO BE BANKRUPTED! THEY ARE STEALING BILLIONS FROM THE ARTISTS!

UNFORTUNATELY MOST PEOPLE PUTTING OUT STREAMS THEIR MUSIC SUCKS! FLOODING THE MARKET WITH 💩

UNFORTUNATELY ALSO MOST MUSICIANS ARE DESPERATE SHEEP FOR ANY KIND OF ATTENTION!!

The fan engagement and promotions: Iron Maiden fan here,

My friend got 72 Seasons from Metallica the other day on CD and I was like I have a CD player in my car (and a crazy aftermarket audio setup) so lets just pop it in. The sound quality I ehard from a CD was ridiculously good. I even Have many Iron Maiden CDs just to hold on but never listen to and when I popped them in my car to listen to rather than using Apple Music/Spotify it was soooo much better in sound quality and I feel like I have been missing out

So one of my Iron Maiden CDs I put on my PC to rip WAV files and I was actually greeted by something mysterious. They have an entire "DVD like menu" when you load it onto a PC. You can go through album artwork, music videos, band information etc., and I was just ADDICTED. They even have a section called "Eddie Artwork" and you are not allowed to access it unless you guess a song that is on the album (you have listened to the album right? If not no access then!). That itself is hilarious and funny and really gets you to listen to the whole album.

If you by all the 1998 remasters on CD the plastic cases will show an entire picture of Eddie on the bezels and looks amazing.

I know many bands do similar stuff but with all that in mind, what does streaming a song do compared to everything I just discussed with a CD? And I just learned all this a few days ago from exploring. I am officially a CD collector now!

Great video. Insightful and helpful. Bravo

Streaming from a local source on a hard drive is just as good as CD assuming the CD was properly copied bit for bit using with something like EAC app. In fact I would say if you can stream your CD FLAC file it would be better than a CD transport. Since you've already removed the jitter from optical reading during playback and buffering issues. The network can handle a CD data stream very easily and have it buffered for smoother playback.

Streaming is like online shopping and physical media is like shopping in person. Simple.

If your music collection exceeds 1 TB of data then carrying your entire collection on your phone isn't going to work. If you own a phone that cannot have its storage upgraded or augmented with external storage (Apple for instance) then you're still kinda out of luck. A CD collection that is ripped at 320 Kbps and numbers around 20,000 tunes can easily reside on a single 512 GB USB Flash Drive, memory card, USB SSD, HDD, etc. With optical disc media you can make your own more permanent backups of your songs from your CD collection. With the digital format it is easier to carry with you to enjoy your music skip free. Streaming, digital playback via computers (Pocket/PDA/Smart Phone/MP3 players), CD/DVD players, playback over the car radio via streaming or satellite radio service, home PCs all work hand-in-hand to compliment each other.

Steaming has its place and I only use it to discover newer artist whose music I might be interested in. The way I see it artist who I really like an artist then their music is worth buying in the physical form. I often buy their work on vinyl which usually come with a download card. I got into the CD game yearly so I own a lot of CD. Then my CD collection grew even larger when they start appearing at thrift stores cheap.

sound qualtiy will alays be comprommised on steaming whether its on any dieveice cause its stil compresed the hitgh bitrate is a lie for peoep e liek me it really matters cuz ever bit lost matters i cant hear any litlle detail uncopressed sound its ur there vs a simulated sound or like super comrpessed hitres audio streaming and alos flac is vetter cuz it is still compressed bbut its not steamigng and the aq iis lightyears above any streaming service outther notmatter hwat wuality i can set my flac copy of my vinyl and cd to the hithest quality rip and its wayyyyyyyyyyyy better

CD..you own it and you don't rely on a connection or corporation. If I want to explore I can do it on You Tube.

For me, I only buy the CDs of the artists and albums which I really love. I only stream when I want to discover if its worth buying the CD😂

I do feel CD is superior to the digital streaming services since it does sound and feel like its proper source

CDs all the way!! Because you own the music. Streaming isn't permanent.

CD audio quality crushes streaming.

Streaming is good for knowing whether to buy the CD or not.

Streaming at work or in my car. I copy my cds to flac on ssd drive for home stereo. I can find cds at yards sales for $1 and $5 or so at my local record store..

i do not sub so i would rather own my collection even if that meant going back to physical media.

For me streaming is to check if the album good or not, if good i will buy their cd

I prefer streaming. The only caveats are the monthly payments.

I prefer physical media - records, cos, even tapes - because I want to listen to music without having every click of my mouse traced and tracked, and have some bot constantly offering me "suggestions" that have nothing to do with me. Also, once I buy a record (not all records are vinyl!) or cd, it's done. No ads. No monthly fees to avoid ads. No feeding the machine that rips off artists more than the record industry ever did (and that is saying something, because that was an awful scene, too.) Streaming sources offer little-to-no information about the personnel; you don't know who's playing in the background.

Crawdad that’s a fair point, I stream and if I love something? Then purchase on CD, and Vinyl, the downside being some new vinyl is poorly done

I prefer CD

Good take on diversity... but you forgot one thing

"Content" (CD's wins hands down) (but i guess that would come under Music Discovery)
While convenience always seems to win online, music does also disappear from streaming services... So that has must be added to from a music fan/listener perspective.. and would dictate what platforms listeners choose (CD or streaming)

The problem is music can disappear on services and at any time due to copyright or profit (your being payed more on x service, your more likely to go there as a creator), and with this unforeseen music/track disappearance, CD's are a clear winner here, You have the product and nothing will ever change. (...until the CD get scratched)

It seems although people are always unhappy about steaming music vanishing, but they don't care because they'd put convenience and cost (so many thousand tracks) first

I think one major difference you didn’t mention is the fact that having the physical disc is the only true ownership of that music because streaming has a monthly subscription payment and once you stop paying that you stop having access to the music. And even if you “buy” a song such as on the Apple platform sometimes they will take that music away from you depending on their contracts so there is zero real ownership of music for the listener unless you have the physical media. That is a huge difference that I have realized over the years.

Edit: to continue this thought I still have CD’s from the 90s that I can still listen to that I bought for $10 or so back then and have lifelong access to assuming I take care of the disc which isn’t that hard to do. So increased quality and guaranteed access makes CDs superior in my opinion but in all honesty I do also pay for a streaming service due to the access of millions of songs and only buy the media for the artists I know I will listen to long term.

CD wins. No contest.

I choose to buy Hi Res flac files. Sometimes SACD or Blu Ray.

use your website to promote and sell your music/product

I don't require physical media though I do have a lot of CDs, vinyl, cassettes and even reel to reel tape. I even buy new CDs and vinyl, though usually at a concert or club where the artist has them available. But what I dislike about streaming is first, your point about streaming audio quality which is okay in the car, but lacking at home in the quiet, and second, I want to control how I access and use the titles I acquire.

My clear preference for owning copies is to have the digital files: flac, wav, or even higher quality MP3 if it's not offered in a better file format.

Which is better ? Vinyl !!!

Streaming is a non starter if you have no connection to the server..

A CD being a physical media doesn't suffer from this vulnerability..

I have thousands of CD's and a few hundred LPs, and I am still buying. I use streaming (Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music) mostly for the convenience factor and to discover/test ne music. The truth is that some of my most cherished CDs are not available on streaming platforms, and that's a game changer for me. Great video! Thanks for sharing.

I think a more relevant comparison should be CD vs FLAC

It's all about sound quality all the way

love my CDs. But you haven't lived until you heard Toto's Africa streaming in 24 Bit.

I don't use Streaming. I never will. CD is my "perfect" format. I buy CD's and convert the audio for my digital audio player. This is a huge benefit which wasn't covered in this video. So when I buy a new CD, using a program to move all tracks to a portable audio player is a 3 minute job. No loss of quality.

It's such a shame that many young people don't care that indie artists can't earn money on streaming platforms. If streaming platforms had to pay a decent amount per play to the artists they couldn't make millions and wouldn't bother.

I do buy digital albums if there isn't a CD version, or if the CD is rare and very very expensive (used) due to it being out of print. Tbh, I don't now own a CD player. So, I convert all my CD's for DAP listening.

CDs for me have over 1000

I only stream podcasts or music I don’t want to pay full price for, otherwise it’s Vinyl 1st, FLAC/ALAC/MQA 2nd, CD’s 3rd, and horribly compressed MP3’s somewhere behind jamming an icepick in my earhole.

I just borught The Wall double CD second hand on Marketplace (I live in Johannesburg). How awesome it was to go collect it at the local post office then come home, open the packaging, lovingly read the booklet then play the CD on my vintage but brilliant hifi system. Streaming is for the campfire and my bluetooth speaker. If nobody can play the guitar, that is.

Modern streaming is very good! However, it never outperforms the cd!

Cds all the way

The price of New vinyl is ridiculously expensive, I shop around and buy 2nd hand , streaming has its uses and the sound is good if you have a good system

Lossless compression used by some streaming companies doesn't change the sound, it's the exact copy of the source recording / mixing just as CD. BUT don't forget that MQA is lossy!

My resistance to digital libraries is the wordage used, saying that, yes, the downloads are yours, but if they get pulled from our server, you will lose those files. Spotify, direct wired to the right amp, is more than adequate to most. A physical library is a must imo...

CDs 💿 💿 💿

With music, I do it like with movies. Streaming is a great way to watch or hear something you don't know and to discover New things. But if I really like a Song or a Band (or a movie or TV show), then I will buy the CD/DVD/Blu Ray. I want to own the things I really love. With the Cover, the Booklet and everything around.

Most albums have only three or four good tunes! I have discovered more artists through AUTO PLAY!.

I really enjoy all of the Leisure Band's songs and hope they re-release their four albums on cd's. I like the sound, physicality, portability, hands-on, liners with the lyrics, etc. which are associated with cd's. and Leisure Band has such a smooth vibe, which I would enjoy even more when driving, entertaining at home with friends/family, etc. if their music was also available on cd's. I have an awesome collection of cd's including music across multiple genres and would like to add Leisure Band to my collection!

I still buy so many cds, but Qobuz is my go-to with a wiim mini that helps me reach that 24 bit 192 khz. Qobuz has the best price for the hifi quality. I buy the stuff I like on streaming on cd or vinyl and get to hear the rest of what I can't buy. It's a wi. Win.

I built a system to maximize streaming. I am using Qobuz, Roon, a network switch, a dedicated streamer, a digital to digital converter, I²S to a quality R2R DAC. My modem, Network, Roon Server and Streamer are all on separate linear power supplies. The rest of my system is above average quality. I have about little over $20K invested. I LOVE how it sounds with quality recordings. I can't tell much difference if I play a CD through it. This is just "my" experience…and as said in the video…no two listening experiences (comparisons) are ever going to be the same. TOO many variables. 😂 …as long as we are all having fun that's all that really matters!

Both format complement each other, as a younger audience i always discovers music from streaming. Once i really like the artist or the album, i immediately get the physical media, mostly CD to engage more to the album and play the music most of the time from the it.