What direction would you take now if you had no existing music collection

If I started from scratch today I would do what I am doing. Stream nearly everything from Qobuz Sublime +, and only buy where that was not possible - Hyperion and Linn Records for example. In these cases I would download where possible, otherwise buy the cd. Qobuz lets you have a large offline cache, so if for some reason the internet failed one would survive. If Qobuz fails I’d look at Tidal, if that failed I’d buy cds from Amazon (often now at give away prices for back catalogue) and rip them. Or download. Vinyl is of no value to me as virtually no music I am interested in is released in it, or has been for decades. I guess I am not really a collector, more of a listener. One of the great pleasures of streaming is how many new performances and pieces you can listen to, which changes the way you use your hi-fi - you get out of the rut of listening to the same old same old. 

If I had to build from scratch, I'd do exactly what I am currently already doing today:

1. Each month, set aside X budget for buying music.
2. From either the Naim iOS app or Amazon, look at related music from my existing collection (even if it was only one album I owned that I like) and start picking things that interest me. e.g. Oh the keyboardist from Parliament was Bernie Worrell  and he has some solo albums - I'll give one a try. Build a short list of things to buy.
3. Search for anything on the list as an HD download. But of warning here as most music is not actually available for HD download and a lot of what is is of dubious quality.
4. Buy what I could as HD download and buy the rest on regular CD and rip them.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat. With each iteration, the collection grows and there are more points of interest to work off of and soon the problem becomes deciding what not to buy. I found that after getting my new Naim system, my music collection from the past 35  years doubled in size in the following 2 years!

I went all streaming years ago and never looked back but it is all home streaming. Only you can decide what your streaming mix looks like. I live in paranoid fear of online services going offline from anything to them going out of business to internet lines being cut due to war. Therefore, I want to store my collection locally where I can effectively go off grid and stream even without the internet if needs be.

I would most definitely consider something like this Roon Nucleus. This would allow a few options to listen and build an owned and rented library of music

I listen exclusively to classical music. In my younger days I took great in delight in regular upgrades to my hi-fi system—eventually banishing the clicks and pops of vinyl for the miracle of CD when that first appeared. How good it was not to have to turn the record after the first two movements of a particularly lengthy symphony!

For many years I lived happily with a reasonably basic Naim CD system with Naim pre-amp and amp. However, slowly I found myself listening to less and less music. The CD player was the other side of the room, it wasn’t that convenient to rummage through drawers of CDs…and it was so long since I last played something that I couldn’t recall how to program on the CD remote the tracks I wanted to hear.

I’d always ripped CDs to play on portable players or in a car so ripping held little fear but I still can’t remember quite what persuaded me to investigate the Nova. I’ve never been the slightest bit interested in Tidal or Spotify—I like to own the music (and performances) that I love. However, long before the Nova eventually made it to market—and without even auditioning one—I ordered it.

I’ve probably already posted too frequently about the transformation to my listening experience wrought by the Nova and an attached NAS. It is not an exaggeration to say it’s revitalised and revolutionised my love of classical music. Music is easy to select and glorious to hear. How good it is not to have to replace the CD after part of an opera!

What would I do if I were starting again with no music collection? I’d get the hardware I have now and start buying and downloading classical music just as fast as I could.

Stephen

I think it very depending on what type of music is your main...

if it is classical I would go for cd or even a sacd.... lots of good value for classical cds... 

if it’s jazz - old classics specially - I would go for vinyl and get new excellent pressings of classic blue note albums...

if it is rock/pop I would go for streaming or download, it is practical and you don’t vinyl to enjoy GnRs

Tidal is a must for selection and new discovery and djing  

Any streamer device that I've heard is not coming even close to a good CD Player or a LP12 (including the NDS+2X555 PS DR).
It just sounds flat, uncommunicative and boring. It sucks out the emotion of the music, and I'm get bored.
The CD player and TT catch my attention and it's a great experience to listen to almost any LP or CD that I own (4000 LPs + 2000 CDs, most of them are classical music).
If the streaming music will sound like a good CD player in the future I will not buy any more CDs (i.e. no sentiments attached to the physical media).

BP.

Most of the musicians i go to see sell CDs (and some vinyl) at shows. Buying CDs directly from the artist is a great way to support the people who make all this possible.  For that reason alone I will always have CDs and a means to play them.  

Ian Brown posted:

Most of the musicians i go to see sell CDs (and some vinyl) at shows. Buying CDs directly from the artist is a great way to support the people who make all this possible.  For that reason alone I will always have CDs and a means to play them.  

I just rip them on a computer and then play by streaming.

No hassle with deteriorating CD players as they age, no need for on-the-fly error correction, just great sound...

I am effectively 100% vinyl and always have been. I started my collection some 45 years ago, and when CDs became all the rage in the 80s I ignored it for all the marketing hype that it was then. I have some 3000 LPs now. I also have a digital streamer now. That sounds great with high-res FLAC audio (24/96, 24/192, ripped CDs etc), but it doesn't get much use at all. I think vinyl done right sounds so much more awesome, natural and engaging and that's what I spend my time listening to when I use my Naim system.

However, doing vinyl right is expensive and tricky. Turntables require competent setup and isolation. Records are expensive, fragile, and a PITA. They have to be cleaned and maintained, and handled carefully. Storage consumes space too. I'm not looking back or forward any differently. I love vinyl and will continue to collect and play it as a preference. However, if I were starting from scratch today I would probably just invest in a top notch digital front end instead of the analog front end I have (which is about $17K US at today's retail prices). It's not to say you can't do vinyl very well for a lot less, but one has to be prepared that vinyl is a costly endeavor if you want it to be on par with today's digital offerings.

RaceTripper posted:

I am effectively 100% vinyl and always have been. I started my collection some 45 years ago, and when CDs became all the rage in the 80s I ignored it for all the marketing hype that it was then. I have some 3000 LPs now. I also have a digital streamer now. That sounds great with high-res FLAC audio (24/96, 24/192, ripped CDs etc), but it doesn't get much use at all. I think vinyl done right sounds so much more awesome, natural and engaging and that's what I spend my time listening to when I use my Naim system.

However, doing vinyl right is expensive and tricky. Turntables require competent setup and isolation. Records are expensive, fragile, and a PITA. They have to be cleaned and maintained, and handled carefully. Storage consumes space too. I'm not looking back or forward any differently. I love vinyl and will continue to collect and play it as a preference. However, if I were starting from scratch today I would probably just invest in a top notch digital front end instead of the analog front end I have (which is about $17K US at today's retail prices). It's not to say you can't do vinyl very well for a lot less, but one has to be prepared that vinyl is a costly endeavor if you want it to be on par with today's digital offerings.

This is a Great and well considered comment on Vinyl RT. It’s a uniquely gripping and truly involving way of experiencing music in the home (and having just reentered the fray I am stunned afresh at how involving it is), but it definitely has a lot of foibles that make it only for the hardcore enthusiast. I think it’s also going to be difficult for anyone without an existing vinyl collection to assemble a wide ranging and worthwhile music bank.

CD’s - most likely ripped - are more viable in my view. I’d guess it’s not difficult these days to average £5 a CD even allowing for some esoteric selections, so a 1000 CD collection can be had for the price of a good Naim Power Supply. Add a few hundred£ for a NAS and you have a great hardware/ software resource. Starting from scratch I think I’d recommend a softwareless newbie to just snap up a bargain streamer (NDS ?) and go streaming..

Probably phone /ipad dac and speakers - yep i now  Philistine. 

This one:

CDs are plentiful and cheap and (so far) last a long time. Find what you want to own via Tidal etc then own a copy on CD if you can. That's your backup. You create your own library that will still be there should Tidal etc disappear. The alternative would be to own HiRes downloads.