Change in purchasing habits sink in

[Still-One]

Until this afternoon I hadn't actually spent much time thinking about how drastically my music purchasing habits have changed in the last six months.

I have been pretty consistent in my posts over the last few years stating that I prefer to own my music, ordering CD's from Amazon and burning them to Sooloss and now also Roon. I would also purchase the occasional hi-rez title and have downloaded a few MQA titles. At one time or another I have used a variety of streaming services to search for new artists or albums. If I liked the title I would purchase the CD and if it was so-so or only had one or two good tracks I might tag that album for future play via Sooloos. These services (Rhapsody, Spotify, Tidal) saved me from purchasing a bunch of so-so albums.

So what has happened recently? I just checked my Amazon account, I haven't purchased a CD since before Christmas!!! Tidal's SQ is so good that I didn't realize I was just tagging new music for future play rather than ordering the CD. This was not a concious decision. In fact if you had asked me I would have incorrectly stated my purchasing habits hadn't changed.

I have known for some time that Tidal's SQ was so good I have no preference whether I was listening to a Tidal track via Sooloos or Roon or the same CD tracks burned to one of my drives. If there are differences they aren't working looking for.

I still like the "idea" of owning rather than just renting my music. Yet in reality I seemed to have moved towards renting without making a conscious decision. I guess I will have to look at these "rented" titles to see if I will go back and purchase "my" copy.

[mtroo]

Originally Posted by Still-One

Until this afternoon I hadn't actually spent much time thinking about how drastically my music purchasing habits have changed in the last six months.

I have been pretty consistent in my posts over the last few years stating that I prefer to own my music, ordering CD's from Amazon and burning them to Sooloss and now also Roon. I would also purchase the occasional hi-rez title and have downloaded a few MQA titles. At one time or another I have used a variety of streaming services to search for new artists or albums. If I liked the title I would purchase the CD and if it was so-so or only had one or two good tracks I might tag that album for future play via Sooloos. These services (Rhapsody, Spotify, Tidal) saved me from purchasing a bunch of so-so albums.

So what has happened recently? I just checked my Amazon account, I haven't purchased a CD since before Christmas!!! Tidal's SQ is so good that I didn't realize I was just tagging new music for future play rather than ordering the CD. This was not a concious decision. In fact if you had asked me I would have incorrectly stated my purchasing habits hadn't changed.

I have known for some time that Tidal's SQ was so good I have no preference whether I was listening to a Tidal track via Sooloos or Roon or the same CD tracks burned to one of my drives. If there are differences they aren't working looking for.

I still like the "idea" of owning rather than just renting my music. Yet in reality I seemed to have moved towards renting without making a conscious decision. I guess I will have to look at these "rented" titles to see if I will go back and purchase "my" copy.

What about analog? Do you still purchase new albums, or is the convenience of Tidal trumping even analog?

[nicoff]

The other day I found an old and forgotten "wish list" from Amazon and realized that I had tagged about 8 CDs for future purchase. After a short search in Tidal, I located all 8 CDs and added them to my Roon library then deleted them from my Amazon list. From my perspective, I now "purchased" these 8 CDs and saved myself money in the process.

One more thing: Tidal has newer/remastered versions of CDs. I like those remastered versions better than the versions in the CDs that I had once purchased and ripped. So I made the Tidal versions as the Primary version in Roon and marked my old ripped CDs and duplicates (and hid them).

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by mtroo

What about analog? Do you still purchase new albums, or is the convenience of Tidal trumping even analog?

I purchase very few albums. The last one was Leonard Cohen's "You Want It Darker". It sits unopened in the pile. I not sure my TT has been used since the first of the year.

[mtroo]

I am just heading down the LP rabbit hole. Be interesting to see where this takes me.

[crwilli]

Jim, I was thinking the same thing this morning when I received another email from HDTracks with a 20% off promo. First thought was they seem to be offering more and more 20% off discounts (15% used to be the norm) then I thought that it doesn't matter as I can listen to that music on Tidal.

I think I am down to the off SACD or DSD download.

Thankfully, I can still easily resist the LP rabbit hole.

[Weirdcuba]

I still hear a distinct difference between tidal and hi Rez and vinyl and good fm on my system. So, I use tidal to sample music, but if it's good, I'll buy it in whatever format makes sense for that title. Lots less mediocre music purchases though.

[Weirdcuba]

Am getting Ethernet cables rather than wifi next week, so maybe tidal will start to sound better for me.

[Wasatch]

Originally Posted by Still-One

I purchase very few albums. The last one was Leonard Cohen's "You Want It Darker". It sits unopened in the pile. I not sure my TT has been used since the first of the year.

[imprezap2]

For me "digital" front end all the way, I can't be bothered in buying a TT and records again.

In the last two/three years I see the TT revival when I visit shop demo's, and very rarely I enjoy the TT/records better than the digital front end they switch to.

I don't have a MQA DAC (yet), so I am not fully taking advantage of what Tidal can give me, but I have also reduced my CD buying habit.

Jim, Have you compared other DAC's to the Meridian 808V6 that you have ?