CD players are they still worth buying now theres other media

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chebby

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randydevilad:
If it works for you Chebby then im happy for you!

That was not the point.

The point is that you are mis-representing a means of reproducing hifi music. You misrepresented the facts about ease of use and quality and security/permanence of the media.

This mis-leads people - who may be contemplating computer based music + DAC as a quality option - because they assume you speak from a position of knowledge.

The fact is that with adequate backups, all your music is secure. You implied that downloading your music to a computer means not having the CDs to hand. This is tosh. I have not thrown any CDs away yet. They are as 'at hand' as they ever were.

You said that it was a pain to organise music (or find it even) on a computer and that once on the computer you would forget what music you had! (I am not even going to begin on that one. It may sound offensive if you are sensitive.) Rest assured most of us manage that task fine thanks.
 
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Anonymous

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Your making me go to sleep!

For me i DONT like storing music on computer as i like to see whats in front of me in my collection without having to go through files and files on what i have stored on the computer! Thats my preference and my reason!

Yes i play files on computer but it wont replace my Cd's!

As i said if your way works for you then im happy for you, please can we drop the subject.
 

Ajani

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randydevilad:
Now that single music CD's are being stopped, is it still worth spending out on a good CD Player! As it seems people are using other formats! I feel a bit sick as ive just brought the Rega Apollo 35th Edition play £660.

What do you guys think regarding CD's are they going to dissapear!

For me a CD player would be a waste of money, since I listen to all my music off the computer using a Streamer and DAC.... But assuming you or someone else likes using a CD player, then buying one is definitely not a waste of money... CDs will be around for sometime (possibly even after the major manufacturers stop making new CD players).....
 

john dolan

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People said records were dead 25 years ago yet still many systems still have turntables and after all these years the old lp can make better music than cd.As long as people have discs they will need players to play them on so i think the cd player is with us for many years yet.Another thing to consider is if you buy 1000s of cd you have the original hard copy and if you fall on hard times can always sell your collection for many hundreds of pounds.If you buy music in downloaded form to a hd try selling that and see how much you get for your hard drive.
 

crusaderlord

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Still a lot of heat in this debate.

I think CD's will be around for a long long time, and maybe like vinyl they will still continue even when the vast majority have moved on.

Also like turntables now there will still be some CD machines made in the future, maybe by less manufacturers but i think you will always get niche models being produced for those who want one.

Personally i have both PC music streamed and CD's - for me CD's win convincingly as i prefer everything about them, the hardware item, the package and booklet, and yes the CD player.

I just do not get the same buzz out of searching for a PC track as i do finding and putting on a disk and reading the notes / lyrics etc - sorry but thats a reality.
 

chebby

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john dolan:People said records were dead 25 years ago yet still many systems still have turntables and after all these years the old lp can make better music than cd.

Which is precisely why I have kept my turntable and vinyl.

john dolan:Another thing to consider is if you buy 1000s of cd you have the original hard copy and if you fall on hard times can always sell your collection for many hundreds of pounds.If you buy music in downloaded form to a hd try selling that and see how much you get for your hard drive.

Few people on this forum - who enjoy & discuss computer based music replay - download their music as compressed MP3's.

The majority rip to lossless formats from their own CD collection (as I do). I don't remember anyone talking about selling their CD collection just because they prefer to use them in a different manner. (Storage maybe, but not getting rid of them.)

My purchases of new CDs declined when I only played them via a CD player. I hardly bought any. Now I have found a better (for me) way of playing & organising the music from CDs I am buying them every week! (I bought four last week).

I wish people would dismiss this notion that computer based music replay is just comprised of compressed MP3 downloads.
 
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the record spot

Guest
chebby:
I wish people would dismiss this notion that computer based music replay is just comprised of compressed MP3 downloads.

Agreed, but for me it's only a convenience that won't surpass CD as my main source. Buy a CD, rip it to a Naim HDX, or a laptop, or a Sonos, or an external hard drive, fiddle about with the software and settings....not quite for me. Maybe handy for multi-room and (good quality) portable listening, but the simplicity of a well built quality CD player with a decent transport is no contest for me.

I can understand the attraction for a lot of people out there and it's horses for courses of course.
 
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Anonymous

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the record spot: Agreed, but for me it's only a convenience that won't surpass CD as my main source. Buy a CD, rip it to a Naim HDX, or a laptop, or a Sonos, or an external hard drive, fiddle about with the software and settings....not quite for me.

Interesting how people are looking only at equipment available today. I think very soon we are going to see much cheaper solutions that make it easy to acquire and play high quality audio from HDD even for the most extreme computer novice.

Not that it takes too long to rip a disc anyway and then have the convenience of that disc being instantly accessible forevermore (bar a HDD meltdown).
 
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Anonymous

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I've got a worrying suspicion i'm going to be one of those die hard types and refuse to give up my Cd Player lol thats crept up on me!

Cd's for me is of much higher quality than many downloads after all Cd's are of 320 bits when most downloads are of less quality!

It's also a good feeling going through ones Cd collection much nicer lol :)
 
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Anonymous

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randydevilad:
Cd's for me is of much higher quality than many downloads after all Cd's are of 320 bits when most downloads are of less quality!

CDs have a bitrate of 1411kbps and you can produce lossless audio files from a CD. Many think the sound quality is actually better when played from a HDD because it is more accurate.
 
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Anonymous

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Thats interesting but does that aply also to high end cd players?
 
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Anonymous

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randydevilad:Thats interesting but does that aply also to high end cd players?

Do you mean how does a high quality CD player compare to playing lossless audio from a HDD?
 

chebby

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Octopo:
randydevilad:Thats interesting but does that aply also to high end cd players?

Do you mean how does a high quality CD player compare to playing lossless audio from a HDD?

2 channels x 44,100 samples per second per channel ž 16 bits per sample = 1,411,200 bits per second = 1,411 kbps.

That is 'Red book' stuff and applies to all stereo audio CD players of any quality.
 
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Anonymous

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chebby:Octopo:
randydevilad:Thats interesting but does that aply also to high end cd players?

Do you mean how does a high quality CD player compare to playing lossless audio from a HDD?

2 channels x 44,100 samples per second per channel ž 16 bits per sample = 1,411,200 bits = 1,411 kbps.That is 'Red book' stuff and applies to all stereo audio CD players of any quality.

A*ÿ

(Though I think he's asking about the DAC?)ÿ
 
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Anonymous

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Well put it this way. If you already have a computer with a hard disk and you had spent your £600 or so on a DAC and didn't mind the switch you would have a better sounding system given the rest of your system is up to it. In this way computer audio also offers stupendous value for money - especially if you buy an industry DAC rather than an audiophile DAC as the mark up is not as great.
 
T

the record spot

Guest
Well, instantly accessible is one supposed argument in favour of, but by the time you've skirted round your selection, and pressed play, there's no great advantage to the physical act of looking at a storage area, opening up the jewel tray and pressing play.
 

chebby

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Even the most basic stand-alone USB DAC will do 16 bit/44.1 khz and have the ability to stream way way faster than the required 1.411 kbps.

When I check the info on my lossless files (not downloads) they vary but are mostly around 980 kbps or higher depending on the complexity of the music.

Most of these audio DAC designs started life inside CD players anyway. (Burr Brown, Wolfson, Analogue Devices etc.)

Putting them in a box on their own has been common practice for many hi-fi companies for most of the 26 years CD has been around. (The trend towards using computers/Blu-ray/PS3's has just given the seperate DAC a couple of new jobs to do.)

Shifting the source of the bits (from the same CD) from a player to a PC/Mac makes no difference to a DAC.

However, the correction has already been done on the computer file whereas on a CD player it has to be done by the software/algorithms in real-time in a 'death or glory' fashion! If it fails then it has to 'make it up' or present minute gaps in the music! This does not occur with losslessly ripped files assuming correction is turned on.

Also good stand-alone DACs will tend to have more refined solutions to clocking and jitter (the data is received as a bit perfect, asynchronous stream and the clocking is left to the DAC which is better than the PC and better than the clocking in many budget/mid-priced CD players.)
 
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Anonymous

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I have a searchbar that normally gives me my album of choice within 5 key presses. Don't get me wrong I am not lazy but I consider listening to music a relaxing experience and to me getting up, opening a jewel case, bending down, putting a CD in the transport, walking back to my seat sitting down, probably being asked to make a cup of tea whilst I'm up is not relaxing.
 

Tony_R

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I wonder if 30 years ago, the question "Turntables, are they still worth buying now we have cassettes?" was asked...

Anybody remember the good old cassette?

That certainly survived the test of time in spite of being 'inferior'.... (not least because so much car audio had support for casettes)

My guess is, so long as cars are still built with CD players (but for how much longer!) this will keep the demand up and therefore keep the sales of CD going for a while longer.. Not to mention all those DVD players out there that happily play CD's too of course.

Sorry for the interuption, just thought this was topical..
 

chebby

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Octopo:I have a searchbar that normally gives me my album of choice within 5 key presses. Don't get me wrong I am not lazy but I consider listening to music a relaxing experience and to me getting up, opening a jewel case, bending down, putting a CD in the transport, walking back to my seat sitting down, probably being asked to make a cup of tea whilst I'm up is not relaxing.

Absolutely! Couple of clicks and bosh, glorious hifi quality music.

If I want to change from cheesey 1970s to Thomas Tallis I can either flick to - and click on - the cover or just type 'tal' in the search box and it will home in on Thomas Tallis instantly. Click and it's going. Seconds or less.

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The CDs are still safely in their labelled storage boxes and they are gradually being moved to a dark, cool, dry, cupboard under the stairs. This - on top of my regular system backup regime - ensures I will always have my music secure. (Even a copy offsite as I mentioned earlier.) The backups occupy drives smaller than a *** packet and take up about 10 minutes a week. They would be done anyway. Music or not.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Well for me the CD died a death over a year ago...

I ripped all of my CDs and sold them on ebay, (sold hundreds but kept about 10ish for reference purposes), I did this because I didn't have the space for them all and I REALLY needed the money (student in Architecture!)

I have all my music backed up TWICE. I am thinking of selling my CD player but I think I'll keep it as so many people I know have CDs, so there will be many opportunities in the future to play some.ÿ

If I'm honest I hated CDs anyway -

1. Take up space (an issue when you have hundreds and no room)

2. Scratch too easily

3. Get lost easily

4. Those stupid cases with those teeth that always break

5. Not as easy to transport

ÿ

Music is for your ears anyway, not your hands BRING ON THE HARD DISK REVOLUTION!!!ÿ
 

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