Perhaps Franco would be kind enough to share the titles, versions etc of a few of the tracks he has directly compared with the same on Qobuz. The eagle-eyed might be able to spot the odd case of a different mastering… or indeed Franco might already have doublechecked that the streamed and locally stored versions are identical.
I’m always interested in knowing what music others use to test changes in their system!
What he said (and Pete)
I remember back in my days of vinyl collecting (and 7k albums later) learning there are zillions of different mastered versions of each album. When buying records I discovered each different country frequently had its own version of a record, mastered by a different engineer. For example many were enamored with the mastering by a certain George “Porky” Peckham - all of my Clash UK pressings were done by him. My USA Clash pressings were mastered by someone else.
It is impossible to compare a streamed file to a ripped one. Furthermore I would venture to say the possibility exists of each streaming service (Qobuz, Tidal, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer etc.) having completely different mastered copies one from the other.
The only way one could perform an accurate test would be to determine, with certainty, which mastered version the streaming service was using and then track down the physical copy of that disc, rip it, and then compare.
discogs.com info: (Album Quincy Jones, You’ve Got It Bad Girl)
My LP is 1973 from Germany, A&M Records 86 772 IT (AMLH 63 041).
My CD is 1986 from Japan, A&M Records D32Y3083
Spotify’s CD is 2009 Reissue Remastered from Europe, Verve Records 0602517910416.
I did order the 2009 CD Reissue Remastered. I shall see, whether the CD will outperform Spotify’s 256k mp3 free stream.
Here is a link to the current Spotify web page concerning streaming quality. mp3 is not used and they have been using Ogg Vorbis. However that web page says they are now using AAC.
Thanks Pete.
Audio quality is set to high, which seems to be AAC 160kbits/sec.
In any case it is not lossless.
Ogg Vorbis at 320kbps always sounded much better to me than it had any right to.
Assuming we’re talking Premium not free, highest is “equivalent to 320” not 160. However AAC only goes up to 256 IIRC so maybe Ogg Vorbis in disguise…
We are talking free in this thread, not premium:
Just or the record for clarification AAC is available @ 320kbs, I listen to it every day with BBC Radio 3 . Quality is so good e.g .the current Proms that without direct comparison I would defy anyone listening “blind” to know that it is lossy. However that rate is not available with Spotify who claim, depending on medium, “equivalent” to 320kbs max and 160kbs free. Whatever that means 
.
All of which reminds me about the promised Spotify HD. No progress on this that we can see. Given that they ran a test in California some years ago and given the time that has elapsed since then and since last year’s press releases I wonder if this supplier to the masses has found that there is too small an interest for it to be commercially viable for them?
Not that it really concerns me . I just renewed my Qobuz subscription for the 8th year 
Try Audrivana, IMHO same as UPnP minim serve/nas but way better UI
Love it but I can’t get it to stabilize , worked with everyone. Used it yesterday after an hour it dropped off again.
This is an excellent point. Mastering quality is a key determinant of sound quality.
I consistently post the same thing when I read people claim their ripped CDs sound better than the streaming services.
One must make sure they are comparing apples to apples and not apples to oranges. Frequently it is difficult, or impossible, to determine which mastered version the streaming services have. Furthermore, I wouldn’t be surprised if one streaming service (Tidal) has a different mastered version than another (Qobuz). I will not even mention Spotify as I laugh if people compare their stream to a ripped CD (for the obvious reason)
If people want to compare their CD rips to what they hear from the streaming services, they must determine if the two versions are the same - apples to apples.
I have a large and extensive vinyl collection. You better believe when I want to listen to The Clashes London Calling I pull out my UK mastered version and leave the US mastered version on the shelf. Different mastering engineer to boot.
I do not care, whether the versions / masterings are the same (quite often it is really hard to find out).
All I want to get is the best available SQ for any given piece of music.
In most cases CDs will have the lead over lossy compressed streams.
If using Tidal or Qobuz, streams are not “lossy and compressed”. They are full cd 16/44 resolution…and better.
If you are referring to Spotify let’s just say you should not be streaming it.
If I put on any CD of Bob Marley and The Wailers studio albums and then compare it to Barry Diament CD, guess which wins (if not Google it). The Diament MASTERED cd. Not even close. Yet they are both the same Bob Marley cd.
Apples to Apples, not Apples to Oranges
Full CD 16/44k1 resolution alone is no guarantee for better SQ.
All depends on how the mastering and the copying to the server were done.
I wonder if you misspoke here? @glevethan’s post is spot on but might not have been typed if you’d said “All I want to get is the best available SQ for any given recording”.
This takes away the mastering and even the resolution (unless one were to be very picky about what “recording” means) and says you simply want to hear track X/album X at its best.
I agree with Gregg re streaming rarely these days being lossy and/or compressed; it just isn’t on the whole.
Correct. Same recording, same mastering, same resolution should sound the same.
(Apples to apples.)
What if it does not? Does the difference come from streaming vs CD or are the above mentioned criteria not the same?
I did not say ‘recording’. I deliberately said ‘for any given piece of music’. This was meant to include the entire production, same recording and same mixing and same mastering and same resolution.
Please see my post 194 above.
And the point is that to most people I’d wager “piece of music” means, say, Beethoven’s Fifth rather than Beethoven’s Fifth performed by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Karajan, released on Deutsche Grammophon and mastered in 24/96.
If you’re listening to the same production, mastering etc using the same connection type/cable into the same DAC and comparing “transports” - physical in the case of CD, virtual in the case of streaming - then it is quite possible to get at least broadly comparable sound quality.
Broadly comparable is not identical; that was my point.
You miss mine but we’re good.