Streaming or Local music storage?

[yanc]

Just wanted people's opinion on this subject.

I have owned 10k+ LPs (first) and CDs (next). 
I have about 5k ripped discs and downloads on my local hard-disc based system, and keep listening (and buying new music - mostly from bandcamp) which ends up on my local store. 

i.e.
No need for streaming or sharing (my music is not the best for dinner parties, though I have some of that too )
No need for Spotify, Deezer, etc (what I call music by the kilo)
No need for elaborate LAN and flimsy UPNP clients, transmitting tons of music over air etc.

am I the odd one out? (at least amongst people the care about fidelity)?

[BoyScout]

Just wanted people's opinion on this subject.

I have owned 10k+ LPs (first) and CDs (next). 
I have about 5k ripped discs and downloads on my local hard-disc based system, and keep listening (and buying new music - mostly from bandcamp) which ends up on my local store. 

i.e.
No need for streaming or sharing (my music is not the best for dinner parties, though I have some of that too )
No need for Spotify, Deezer, etc (what I call music by the kilo)
No need for elaborate LAN and flimsy UPNP clients, transmitting tons of music over air etc.

am I the odd one out? (at least amongst people the care about fidelity)?

Maybe you are... yet.
In my case, after many years and tons of LPs (first) and CDs (next), i decided to make my life easier and more comfortable and I almost completely joined streaming, and i care about fidelity.
Has all that quality? No. But the difference is made up for by accessibility and availability, everything is more immediate ... and the quality is improving day by day.
That´s all about personal choice.

[musialsuspect]

I'm in your camp as well, yanc. I have many LPs, CDs and TB digital files stored on a NAS. I'm gradually digitizing my collection, though I'll always keep a subset of the LPs and CDs. A decent percent of my collection isn't even available through streaming services, which probably explains why I don't see a current need for it.

The world's a wonderful place, with varied tastes and preferences. Even our own preferences often change over time!

Enjoy the music you love, however you choose to love it.

[Manfred]

I have digitized my CD, DVD, BD collection with JRMC. Audio Files: 14063, Video Files: 4243, Image Files: 20 377.
I use also Qobuz - but rarely - and for video Amazon prime & Netflix.
I see me as hybrid user because I had invested a lot over the years in physical media before streaming was so popular.

If I would start from scratch I would not have all the content local but some. If I compared the SQ of my ripped music concerts through JRMC to the streaming versions the SQ of the local content is much better. Also I have a lot of DSD albums and the only chance to play them is through a local player.

Also some of my most loved CD's are not available through streaming.

[chrisc]

Tried streaming via Tidal. The hi-res recordings are very good. Also have a 5Tb NAS system full of music

A problem with Tidal is their billing system. Three times I would find myself unable to connect as the account had been suspended. Then followed a week or more exchanging messages, to receive generic responses. I have not changed banks for at least 11 years so could not understand their reasons for what they called "returned cycles". The last interruption was in March and now I am seeing Covid-19 excuses. So I have given up

[BoyScout]

Tried streaming via Tidal.  The hi-res recordings are very good.  Also have a 5Tb NAS system full of music

A problem with Tidal is their billing system.  Three times I would find myself unable to connect as the account had been suspended.  Then followed a week or more exchanging messages, to receive generic responses.  I have not changed banks for at least 11 years so could not understand their reasons for what they called "returned cycles".  The last interruption was in March and now I am seeing Covid-19 excuses.  So I have given up

Never had a problem with Tidal in three years (lucky me), and the hifi option has quality enough for me.
The unavailable titles that i have in CD are ripped to the server and that´s it.

[Jean-Marie]

I’m in the non streaming camp.

I have all my music 100% dematerialized on the ssd of my laptop (mostly from ripping my collection of CDs or buying new albums on Qobuz).

I favor listening to pieces of music I know, therefore having them stored locally is much more efficient than streaming it 10s of times.

In addition, I would hate not to be able to listen to my music just because the internet is not working.

In full disclosure, I took an Apple Music subscription for the family, which means that I use streaming a bit, but it is to ‘test’ if I like a new record or an artist I have heard of. If the answer is yes and if I really like it, I’ll buy. If not, I will stop listening to the pieces.

Therefore I’m probably using streaming less than 1% of the time.

Jean-Marie

[purplerain0330]

I’m in the non-streaming camp, too. I am done paying for all kinds of streaming services. Hate it when all kinds of streaming situations pop up.

[David A]

Just wanted people's opinion on this subject.

I have owned 10k+ LPs (first) and CDs (next). 
I have about 5k ripped discs and downloads on my local hard-disc based system, and keep listening (and buying new music - mostly from bandcamp) which ends up on my local store. 

i.e.
No need for streaming or sharing (my music is not the best for dinner parties, though I have some of that too )
No need for Spotify, Deezer, etc (what I call music by the kilo)
No need for elaborate LAN and flimsy UPNP clients, transmitting tons of music over air etc.

am I the odd one out? (at least amongst people the care about fidelity)?

Streaming is the playing of music or video stored on a computer or server over a network connection so technically playing music from a local hard drive and playing music from a service such as Tidal, Spotify, Deezer, etc are both streaming. The only differences are the location of the server and whether you access it from a drive on your own local network or  over the internet from a drive on someone else's network, and how you acquire access to the music, whether that be by ripping a disc to your drive or paying for a download of the files vs paying a fee for access to a streaming service. If the resolution of the music you stream is the same, then the fidelity of the music should also be the same. If you care about fidelity and you're using a streaming service then you'll be streaming music at CD quality, 44.1 kHz sampling rate and 16 bits or better, rather than mp3 or some other lossy file format. Streaming music from a streaming service does not have to compromise fidelity and it doesn't require an "elaborate LAN" or "flimsy" clients. there are a number of robust and reliable client applications which you can choose from.

Most of what I stream is music stored from my own hard drive but I also have a Tidal subscription. I only use Tidal to audition music I haven't heard before and, if I like it, I try to buy a download of the files or the CD which I then rip to my drive, or for playing music which I cannot buy in one form or another in at least CD quality. Probably 90% or more of what I play is streamed from my own hard drive.

[K4680]

In the last 5 years I have ripped around 5000 CD's and saved them on different data carriers (USB-HDD, SSD)! Ripped with dbpoweramp and MacMini / Apple DVD drive! I use CCC (CopyCarbonCloner) as sync software! The backup files of the flacs are stored outside the house, syncro takes place quarterly. Local or stream is balanced, and a little from the CD player!