So the other day, I was listening to some CDs (mostly used) that I had recently purchased and a little aural experiment occurred to me: since I have the capability, why not compare the sound of the CD vs streaming and do it simultaneously? Would I hear a difference and how dramatic/subtle would it be? Well, since digital is digital is digital (according to some) there should be none whatsoever (when reasonably level matched) so no harm, no foul.
My equipment used during this fun exercise is as follows: Pioneer Elite UDP-LX500 universal player, Bluesound Node streamer, Parasound NewClassic 200 Integrated, Elac Adante AS-61 speakers. The random CD selected (it was on top of the stack) was
Jazz Samba by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd, a 1997 Verve reissue, and the track was “Samba Dees Days” (most should be familiar with “Desafinado”, but this track has some interesting stuff going on, great for “critical listening”, whatever that means).
I loaded up the CD and listened for a bit, then cued up the song on Tidal and did the same. Nothing immediate but I thought I heard
something… So, I cued up both and pressed “play” on my Blueray player and then on my phone, giving a +/-3 second delay. I switched back and forth through the inputs on my integrated via its own remote. After several to-and-fros, yeah, I did hear some differences, with the Pioneer possibly providing more detail (which I’ll briefly get into) and I preferred it - slightly.
At this point, I could hear some of the AH faithful (you know who you are) screaming “What about level matching!!?!”. Don’t burst a blood vessel. I then decided to break out my trusty dB meter app via Toolbox Pro on my iPhone and pressed “OK”. The results over the complete song - just switching inputs, no volume adjustments - were as follows:
CD: AVG 61.8dB, MAX 73.4dB (yeah, I don’t listen all that loud unless I get really excited or spirits are involved – or both – and I’ve been dry for years).
Tidal MQA: AVG 62.0dB, MAX 74.6dB
Of course, Tidal has a CD version (I usually listen to MQA when I can because… heck why not?).
Tidal CD: AVG 62.8dB, MAX 75.3dB
Interesting. So, we are pretty closely level matched with Tidal via my Node 2i being ever so slightly louder. Perceptibly louder? Nope. Still I preferred the Pioneer. Doh! I then realized I was going through the Bluesound app and not Tidal Connect! I read on some forums (not this one, mind you) that Tidal Connect “sounds better” – I dunno, but might as well use it. Switching between the two on my phone is a pain and kind of defeats the “immediate” purpose. Also, I prefer the Tidal native app over Bluesound’s. In any case, I still preferred the UDP-LX500. Results:
Tidal MQA: AVG 61.6dB, MAX 71.4dB
Tidal CD: AVG 62.9dB, MAX 75.5dB
Again, very close.
So what did I hear that was different? It was mostly in the rhythm section and plucking of guitar strings. The easiest way to describe it on a macro scale would be that via the Pioneer, the percussion section was using wood tip drumsticks and via the Bluesound, they wrapped said tips with felt. This, obviously and simplistically, is an exaggeration to make an illustration: the tiny, metallic “ting” of the initial strike on whatever brass they were hitting was less apparent. Another, overt exaggeration: guitar strings went from steel to nylon. Yeah, no, but again, the “steely” plucking transient was reduced. In any case, the Pioneer seemed to produce those specific sounds a little bit (I mean wee tad) clearer and more immediate. I then started thinking about exploring sound stage width/depth/height, P.R.A.T and any number of audio reviewer tropes, but I got bored and did something else.
A big TL/DR – if someone asks, I can say I prefer the sound of my Pioneer UDP-LX500 over a Bluesound Node 2i
when listening to this specific song. Do I really care? Not especially (well, enough to write this and share). Is it more accurate or closer to what the “artist intended”? I don’t know and neither do you. I stream mostly when I am lazy or am in exploration mode or when my attention is elsewhere – it is indeed wonderful for that. I play CDs (or *gasp* LPs) when I want to sit down and listen and nothing else. I like the act of thinking about a piece of music, extracting it from my CD/LP collection, loading it in/on the player and pressing play/lowering the tonearm. That my Pioneer player sounds that “smidgen” better is just icing on my audiophool cake!
PS - I was thinking about doing this same exercise, CD vs LP, but I really have either/or with a few notable exceptions. Seems kind of waste to buy both... Of course, I could have compared how my LPs compared to streaming but, like I said, I got bored...
