The negative positive

[Hifi_swlon]

....
So if I am right and streamers and music server have an advantage with the basic technology available, why is it CD players are still considered king with respect to sound quality?  

Any ideas out there?  I find this one a little baffling.

I often think about this.... especially if we're talking about CD player as digital transport.

Unless the scientists and engineers that designed CD technology and players (and evolved them over the years) are all dead and the knowledge lost, the first gen computer based playback should surely have been better than high-end CD players since we've got the benefit of 20 years worth of learning.

All I can think of is either there was a huge amount of custom hardware in CD players that wasn't easily replicated in computers, or engineers underestimated the negative effects of the computer, or we cared more about SQ during that era (not just as audiophiles but as consumers, music industry etc) so there was more emphasis put o it rather than the 'convenience' of modern playback and iPods etc. Or we're just imagining it - which seems 100% correct or 100% incorrect depending on who you ask, so it doesn't seem like we really understand ourselves that well even in 2016.....