It isn't a war. Some people frame this as if you had to pick a side, abandon the other, and never look back — but most of our customers have both, and use each one depending on the occasion. The useful question isn't "which is better"; it's "what makes more sense for me".
Streaming won — on convenience and catalogue
No point pretending otherwise. Sixty million tracks, hi-res lossless on Tidal and Qobuz, quality good enough to sound genuinely great on a decent system — streaming has reached a point where it can no longer be dismissed. Feed a proper hi-fi system with Qobuz at 192kHz and you'll be surprised by the result.
The convenience isn't even up for debate. Switch on the amp, pick the album, the music starts. Thirty seconds, start to finish. There are times when that's exactly what you need.
Vinyl isn't better — it's different
There's a lot of confusion here. The "vinyl sounds better" debate is old and has never reached a conclusion, because it depends on the pressing, the turntable, the stylus, the condition of the record. Some vinyl sounds great. Some sounds bad. The same is true of streaming.
What vinyl has — and streaming can't replicate — is the ritual. Walking to the shelf, choosing a record, opening the sleeve, lowering the needle. Seeing the artwork at full size while side A plays. Some people genuinely prefer this process to swiping a finger across a screen. It isn't nostalgia — it's a different way of being with the music.
If that resonates, vinyl makes sense. If you'd rather have the entire catalogue available without leaving the sofa, streaming makes just as much sense.
What it actually costs to do vinyl properly
We'll be direct, because there's a lot of romanticising around this subject.
A decent turntable starts at €400–500. Add a phono preamp if the amplifier doesn't have a built-in phono input, a stylus that needs replacing after a few hundred hours of use, and the records themselves — which today cost between €20 and €35 each, sometimes more. A good second-hand copy might not end up much cheaper.
It isn't a prohibitive investment, but it adds up. Anyone expecting to buy a €150 turntable and get the full experience will be disappointed — and we'd rather say so now.
Before you decide, come and hear both
In the Listening Room we have both systems set up. We can put the same album on the turntable and on the streamer, through the same system, and let you hear it for yourself. No pressure to buy anything.
The team will explain the real costs, what you need to put together a coherent system, and what makes sense for your specific situation. Forty years of doing this teaches you not to push what doesn't fit.