Streaming, what a wonderful thing to have access to thousands of album’s with a click of a button. Seems like technology like this should be the most satisfying invention ever but yet it isn’t, at least for me.
I suspect I’m not the only one who finds myself constantly flipping from one track to another trying to find that one that has the exact combination of aspects that I think I’m looking for. It’s easy to get carried away like constantly licking the frosting off of cake. I’ve been giving this some thought lately and I would like to offer a few suggestions and hopefully someone will contribute an idea that I haven’t considered.
My streaming service Qobuz drops the weeks new releases on Fridays. I sit down and give each one a quick listen of a track or two. My opinion is that there is a lot of crap out there and it doesn’t take long for me to decide if an album is worth my time. If the sound seems good and the music isn’t an instant turnoff I’ll save it to my favorites. On a good week maybe I’ll have saved four or five to return later to and decide if it’s something I want to keep. Some weeks I don’t find anything. A problem is finding some means to classify the album. How can I differentiate the albums I really like from the ones that I just kind of like? How can I distinguish them by genre? Finally I save the songs I like to my favorite tracks list. I have a separate playlist that I created yearly reserved for the songs that are of the highest quality.
I have found that an absolute must for streaming satisfaction for me is to invest in the highest quality hardware and streaming service that you can afford. Last year I added a Eversolo A6 Master Edition streamer and a few months ago a DS MKll DAC with Massive firmware. The sound quality now using my Qobuz service truly has elevated my streaming satisfaction to new heights.
Lastly I’ve got to mention that I kind of miss the satisfaction that I have enjoyed from physical media over the years, both the collecting and pursuit. Part of the beauty of streaming is the you can leave all the costs and storage aspects behind if you choose. I don’t think I’ve gotten to that point yet. I still like the experience that physical media gives me. I just acquire it less often now.
Since investing in JRiver Media Center, Roon and Qobuz (and Tidal formerly), I have bought more physical media in the last five years than I had in the previous twenty. Go figure.
Like exploring new to me music and rediscovering old favorites streaming through my library and Qobuz via Roon and JRMC…
Roon Radio is a fabulous gateway to musical exploration.
FWIW
Roon Radio my friend. Pick a song you love and let Roon Radio take over. At my house it blends in very new releases in the style of music I want to listen to. I have no trouble leaving it be for many hours on end.
Yer working too hard, relax and let Roon Radio soothe you.
I used to use the radio feature, of a sort, where Qobuz would play like music to the album that just finished playing but the Qobuz app built into the Eversolo doesn’t seem to support it. I really miss that. Hopefully Qobuz will finally release their Qobuz play so I can start using that feature again.
You shouldn’t believe there is any strong similarity between the Qobuz function and Roon Radio. Roon Radio is quite a bit better. But you don’t Roon?
@rkindel, suffice it to say Roon Radio is the best of its ilk, in my experience.
The “algorithm” manages to keep me interested without wandering too far afield of the content that it is riffing on.
FWIW.
I would use Roon for the recommendation function you describe only. Don’t subscribe to any service other than Qobuz. I haven’t purchased any downloads and I don’t have a NAS. And, as you described me once, I’m a cheap date. I really don’t want to add the Roon subscription costs to all the others that I shell out for like the outrageously expensive YouTube TV service that I feel compelled to get during College football and basketball seasons. If Roon ever came out with some kind of “lite” subscription I might consider it.
Roon’s money-saving “lite” option is called “Lifetime” and it’s a one-time payment vs a subscription 
I don’t have many downloads either, but I have 1300 CD’s ripped to a hard drive. Roon sees them and integrates them with Qobuz/Tidal offerings into one seamless library.
Seriously, it was a life-changer when i discovered it about 5 years ago.
I still use pandora’s radio functionality, for what it’s worth. I think their algorithm is second to none. For me, anyway. YMMV.
I used to stream Pandora for free back in the olden days. Can’t abide with the ads and sound quality in modern times.
yeah, i pay the $5 or whatever the monthly is. And I hear ya on the SQ, but it’s not for critical listening. I think it sounds just fine in a noisy car or for background music at home.
I have a Pandora Jazz Guitar station that’s perfect for chill listening. Sometimes with roon radio, even if I start with Joe Pass or Grant Green, I’ll get some jarring avant-garde tune in the mix, and I can’t get to the remote fast enough.
Pandora seems to keep with the right groove.
I suppose one needs to figure out what their musical listening goal is.
I am not really into pop music, so listening to most new music is not my goal.
My goal now is to find good new music to me. Music that I may have missed out on because I was not open to other genres when I was younger.
For example, it is only in the last year or so that I found out about taking a “Time Out”, or about that one “Friday Night In San Francisco”.
Also, I usually try to listen to an entire album and not just a track or two.
When I was buying vinyl media, I rarely, if ever, bought 45s.
And yes, streaming is a double edged sword. you can find just about everything that you search for, but it is then too easy to jump to the next one.
One thing I miss about physical media is that I used to play the same album over and over again. and really got into the music of that album.
But streaming does allow one to hear an entire catalog of an artist. This way, I can “catch up” to what I have missed.
If streaming music is all that we have to complain about, I think that we are doing okay! 
Yes, streaming is an embarrassment of riches. Nothing to complain about here really. Just trying to make it live up to its full potential satisfaction wise.
Okay. Fair enough.
Obviously tactile, sensory input can be missed from streaming music when compared to consuming music from an album or CD.
Maybe one just needs to create physical routines to do while consuming streamed music?
- Be more conscientious while you listen. Sure, a lot of the time, music is played in the background while doing other things. But I don’t think that is what is being considered now.
Sit and listen as a primary function. - Read up before hand on what you are going to play.
- This might be considered as joke, but if you have the physical copy of the music, even if you stream, take out the LP or CD and handle it. Look at the pictures. Read the info, etc.
I have often kidded myself that I would buy LPs just to do that, even though I do not own a turntable. - Prep a beverage to enjoy while you listen.
- Make mix tapes.
Okay not tapes. But lists. Make yourself a spreadsheet to keep track of what you heard and what you liked and did not like, etc. - Add build a routine as needed…
All just brain-dump suggestions.
But I think the biggest thing missing from streaming is feeling more involved with the process.
A physical routine might help?
Disclaimer:
If I own the music and have stored it on my network, for critical listening, I tend to listen to it via JRiver Media Center. The files are on my iMac (which hosts JRMC and Roon Core) and a Synology NAS.
That said, one of the other highlights of Roon (in addition to and related to Roon Radio) is the great information it provides about artists, recordings, discographies, etc. If you like perusing the “cover art” and “liner notes” while you listen, browsing through this information on a tablet controlling Roon while Roon Radio takes you on a journey of “new to you” musical exploration is a pretty darn nice way to spend a Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon.+
FWIW.
+For example:
In the past, I had an extensive physical music collection, both vinyl and digital. The arrival of a Directstream dac combined with a then top of the line Melco streamer brought digital music playback more or less on par with vinyl. This experience surprised me so much that I started to wonder to what extent it made sense to continue investing -also in terms of hardware- in both vinyl and digital playback.
Realizing that my budget is insufficient to get the most out of both, after long consideration, I decided to say goodbye to the old medium by selling my complete vinyl record collection, record player, phono preamp and accompanying cables to use the proceeds for reinvestment in optimal digital playback.
At first it felt painful to abandon this significant part of my life’s work, but the current setup that I’ve been able to achieve because of this surpasses all my previous music experiences and makes up for everything. Streaming via Qobuz is now at extremely high quality level (equivalent to playing cd’s and local digital files, so I even sold the cd-collection and -player). Where in the past I regularly spent money on the purchase of favorite music, the arguments are now missing…
Taking everything into account, I am extremely happy I made this decision, long live the digital progress!
Edit: current setup is PSA P10, AurenderW20SE, dCS Vivaldi Apex, AR Ref 160S & ML
You might be on to something there. Finding the correct level might be key. The rituals involved with vinyl is too much for me as a steady diet. Playing CDs are about right. Maybe when streaming a new album I just have to stand up and slowly spin around twice. 
Simon says… 
Wijber your experiences seem to mirror mine. My setup transports me to musical worlds via streaming I never thought possible before. The quality is now second to none IMO. But I hate selling stuff that I collected over decades, especially at pennies on the dollar. I’ll leave that painful chore to someone else after I’m gone. I enjoy all my different media in slightly different ways. It’s all good.
A word about Qobuz Connect: Current priority as always. It’s still too early to give a precise release date for Qobuz Connect, but the club will be the first to be informed with more information when the time comes. Currently, we’re ensuring that the development of our product is fully compliant with our high standards of innovation and quality.
Received this via email from Qobuz today. If it actually happens hope it well be available on Eversolo products right away. Eversolo app is pretty awesome but I would like all the features of the Qobuz app.