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Old 01-21-2020, 07:12 PM
nicoff nicoff is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2012
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I have done all of the above: physical discs (CD, SACD), streaming (Tidal, Qobuz), Hi-Rez downloads, and rips of both CDs and SACDs.

I much prefer streaming or playing ripped discs or downloads over physical discs.

Sound wise, Qobuz streaming sounds equal to my ripped files. In fact, often I find a remastered version in Qobuz that sounds better than my ripped CDs. So Qobuz is now my primary source.

As far as hi Rez downloads, I have found that most of the "hi Rez" downloads are available via streaming from Qobuz. So why bother paying extra?

Also, unless the recording was truly recorded in Hi Rez, it is hard to tell what get when you purchase a "hi Rez" download. I find that I can use a 16/24 version and upsample it (hQPlayer) to 352PCM or even 512DSD and get similar sound that those so called "Hi-Rez" downloads.

For me, streaming from music services or from files locally stored in my computer is the best way to go.
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