To an extent. But it wouldn’t surprise me at all if sometime in the near future they force the use their own DNS servers within their browser instead of respecting your network configuration.

The best solution to circumventing Chrome’s bad behavior is to not use it.

Edit: speiling

As long as the record is in good condition, I find the sound comperable. I’ve played the same song on a high bitrate digital audio file and on vinyl and I found both equally pleasing to listen to.

I have a Fluance RT80 turntable, and am using the built in preamp. It’s connected to a home audio receiver (Sony STRDH590) with a 2.1 speaker setup (Polk Audio Monitor 60 Series II Floorstanding Speakers and a Polk Audio PSW10 10" Powered Subwoofer). A pretty midrange setup in others words. And I’m no audiophile, so weigh accordingly.

Edit: I realized you asked specifically about streaming. This link https://support.spotify.com/us/artists/article/audio-file-formats/ indicates that Spotify does up to OGG 320kbps/AC3 256kbps which is comparable to my personal audio library. So, statement holds.

I got caught up in the vinyl revival, so I enjoy collecting that media. But even then, I consider it more of a novelty.

Generally speaking though, I prefer locally stored digital media without DRM over physical media. It’s just more practical.

That being said, I’m glad that physical media exists and hope it continues to be made. Choice is good.

This sums it up. I’m too lazy and there’s too little incentive.

I use rsync for this purpose and the only notable bottleneck is my download speed, fwiw.

I had the same problem with enshrouded, including desktop sluggishness. I “fixed” it by fiddling with detail settings until I found one thing that had a significant performance impact. I want to say it was something to do with shadows? I’ll try to remember to look when I’m at my desk. Hopefully someone has a better answer/suggestion, but something to try.

Also, did vulkan shaders run and complete? Mine don’t on Enshrouded, get stuck at 99%. I know that can have a performance impact.

My suggestion just changes your threat model, so may not be a good one based on your wants.

Perhaps consolidate systems? Managing less devices = less points of failure. But adds the risk of any given failure being more severe.