Global Music Consumption

[admin]

Another interesting info graphic that I found. Looks like direct purchase of music is only 10% of all music consumption (and that includes digital downloads).

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/a-v ... nsumption/

[AnotherJohnson]

Tidal and Qobuz must be minimal.

I like Qobuz best. But I use Amazon HiRez too. I use SiriusXM and TuneIn a lot too.

I’m not surprised that Spotify and Apple are so popular. Most people just want good background music. Audiophile quality will always appeal to a small number of dedicated aficionados.

I’ve been choosing to audition music recommended by Stereophile and TAS reviewers lately, but often find their assessment of the music content to be optimistic based on what appeals to me. Their assessment of sonic quality is usually closer to the mark.

dCS has now (today) released their Bartok Apex models. I am looking forward to comparing the Bartok Apex to the pre-Apex Rossini.

In any event, I’m convinced that true audiophile streaming is harder than it looks. I think the importance of the actual streaming device may be given less attention than is warranted.

[admin]

Quboz is a small blip.

Here is another one that shows where music is streamed from by people: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/top-on ... rvices-us/
This includes both paid and free so it's hard to lump them in the same category, but it is interesting nonetheless.

If you get to listen to the dCS units, I would definitely be interested in hearing your thoughts. Maybe you can take your Node in just for comparison? I'm sure the dCS is going to out perform it but the question is by how much and whether it is worth the price difference.

[AnotherJohnson]

“Worth the price difference” is in the ear of the beholder. RJ says he wants a 40% improvement to upgrade. I don’t even know how I would begin to evaluate 40%.

For me the question is “is the difference truly audible in a way that matters to me… and is the difference there for a wide range of programs?”