Hi DDK,
Great thread! Just found this quote from Jonathan Valin, an extremely talented human in his way with words (when he doesn't come across as a cheap peddler of hifi drek), which brilliantly captures what many experienced folks feel about streaming:
"...Switching over to hi-res streaming via Qobuz was, once again, a shock. I'm used to streaming; I've grown to like it (or, at least, to tolerate it). But in comparison to the physical disc, the sound of the Qobuz stream of Blues for the Soul through the Dream-Play XC DAC
was like the taste of a glass of 2019 Chateau De Beaucastel Chateauneuf Du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin into which some fool has poured an equal amount of tap water. Everything was weakened, watered down, diluted in color, flattened in body, made ordinary, listless, digitally flavorless. ..."
And Roy Gregory says something similar in this thread:
https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...dax-cd-transport-and-decide-against-it.37961/
Experts aside, I have heard the "mighty Taiko" in a few friends' places, in systems I am familiar with. And despite the enthusiasm in their orgiastic thread, the mighty Taiko gets blown away, not just by the newish $3K transport from China, but also by a 20 year transport using the esoteric mechanism. Just as Valin described. (For guys who are insecure when others don't share their preference, yes, I heard the taiko with Ruoon, their proprietary software, their switch, etc., and it still sucks!!!)
These guys streaming in their systems costing hundreds of thousands dollars may as well be playing MP3s. What a waste. Guys driving their Bugatti in the parking lot... what a waste ...
But obviously other people have had different experiences to form their opinions - either via different perception or via being experientially impoverished.
And the experiences people have in their minds are completely different from what others have in their minds. Disagreements will go on foreever ...