Do you still prefer your CD player to other sources?

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alan harknett

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CD's for me ,I'v just upgraded my Cyrus 8x player to 8se2 and although I rip every new CD I always prefer to listern to the CD over the Streamer. More musical in just about every way,use riped music for all air devices and back ground music but when it comes down to serious listerning it's either Vinyl or CD.
 

ESLee

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I still much prefer using CD's for a good listening session. IMO my Arcam is still better (to my tastes) and my Sony is on a different planet to my Mac Mini/DAC combos I've tried.

I recently demoed a Benchmark DAC-1 with both players and didnt keep it.

I dont think I'll be buying into 32bit DACs anytime soon. Though I may try and track down a nice old Philips player or if budget allows, a Studer.
 

TimothyRias

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I don't really get all the nostalgia for CDs. I sort of get the nostalgia for vinyl (even though I have never owned, and probably will never own, a turntable), as it can actually sound different from CDs and digital files. But CDs and digital files (of the same resolution) will sound exactly the same modulo whatever coloration your player adds to the equation. (But that is not something intrinsic to either medium, but inherently a property of whatever equipment you own).

Most of the CDs that I buy never even leave the cellophane, given that somebody will have done the ripping for me.
 

floyd droid

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eggontoast said:
BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW said:
eggontoast said:
Err no, I sold it over 3 years ago :)

confused.gif

what are you puzzled about BBB

Got a more than sneaky idea that I know exactly why BBB is puzzled.
 

ESLee

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For me, it's preference. I dont deny that CD's have a number of flaws but they are flaws I embrace and enjoy. There are people out there that will sing the virtues of Reel-to-reel, Vinyl and high resolution digital files and thats great for them, they have found a way of listening to music they love.

I love my players and will always own one or two. Some are never satisfied with any format and upgradeitus drives them mad and empties their wallets very quickly.

I'm well in the minority but CD's are actually my format of choice (slating expected). :)
 

adamrobertshaw

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ESLee said:
Some are never satisfied with any format and upgradeitus drives them mad and empties their wallets very quickly.

I suffer from upgradeitus; started when I bought Cyrus separates and contracted a serious dose of their ''modular-upgrade-your-kit-easily-jedi-mind tricks :oops:

I think I feel the onset of a serious relapse and will be forced to send them my CD T transport for upgrade to CD Xt Signature.

Is there a support group for upgradeitus sufferers? Can anyone help me? :help:
 

ESLee

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Unfortunately there is no cure. Whenever I feel an episode coming on, I avoid auction sites. I'm liable to start buying 80's CD players by the dozen! I've given up on DACs for now and am happy with the other elements of my sytem. It's more curiosity than upgrading, I suppose. Luckily my Sony ES gear is so massive and heavy, I havent got much more room!

When funds allow I seriously want to purchase some Accuphase stuff and have a listen.
 

James7

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Interesting thread. I am surprised to find such a groundswell of support for CD - I thought I was alone in this. Personally I just don't enjoy spending much time on computers and am appalled at the thought of spending my precious freetime sat in front of a screen downloading software, ripping, sorting metadata ... In fact, my computer gets switched on about once a month. Perhaps if all my music miraculously appeared on a NAS all neatly organized I would take advantage of it - I do own a Squeezebox Touch and (in contrast to my computer, much used) iPad so could stream if I wanted to. Instead I listen to internet radio and spotify via the touch as background music in the lounge, but for serious listening head to my listening room upstairs where I spin CDs and SACDs. I listen mostly to albums when listening serionsly and enjoy both choosing the physical disc and placing it in the tray. Downstairs via spotify I find myself listening to more singles, flicking through stuff and generally focusing on what to play next rather than listening properly to what is playing. Either that or withdrawing from the decision making process totally and putting on Radio Paradise or Linn Classical or whatever.
 

steve_1979

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ESLee said:
Unfortunately there is no cure. Whenever I feel an episode coming on, I avoid auction sites.

Whenever I start to feel the symptoms of upgradeitus coming on all I have for do is look at one of my bank statments. That's guarenteed to cure it straight away every time.

:help:
 

eggontoast

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floyd droid said:
BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW said:
floyd droid said:
eggontoast said:
BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW said:
eggontoast said:
Err no, I sold it over 3 years ago :)

confused.gif

what are you puzzled about BBB

Got a more than sneaky idea that I know exactly why BBB is puzzled.

wink.gif

Hee hee , keep schtum and let him stew on it. The penny may drop :twisted:

Unfortunately for you I'm not as stupid as you look.

I know what he's getting at, I just wanted to see if he could come out with it instead of the childish snips, as usual he can't ;-)
 

MajorFubar

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TimothyRias said:
I don't really get all the nostalgia for CDs. I sort of get the nostalgia for vinyl (even though I have never owned, and probably will never own, a turntable), as it can actually sound different from CDs and digital files. But CDs and digital files (of the same resolution) will sound exactly the same modulo whatever coloration your player adds to the equation. (But that is not something intrinsic to either medium, but inherently a property of whatever equipment you own).

Most of the CDs that I buy never even leave the cellophane, given that somebody will have done the ripping for me.

With all due respect in the world I doubt there's much then you can add to this thread because if you just don't get it, you just don't get it.
 

cse

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matthewpiano said:
CD always was, and still is, a brilliant format. Superb sound, easy to store, and complete with artwork, booklet etc. For classical music I personally think there is no better format. Streaming just doesn't cut it as meta tagging becomes so messy and drawn out if you are going to have any chance of navigating a large collection with multiple different recordings of several works.

Absolutely. Many new classical releases are only available in CD or SACD format. I recently went to a pre- auction viewiing, where a house clearance revealed around 250 Vinyl Classical albums, all stacked in alphabetical order and in excellent condition. When I inquired as to their lot number and quide price, I was told that they would not be part of the forthcoming sale and I could take them off their hands for £50. Unfortunately I don't own a turntable, so I declined, but I felt rather sad afterwards that somebody's lifetime,carefully stored collection, could be of so little value. When I returned the next day to make further enquiries and posssibly make an offer, I was told that they had been disposed of, as classical vinyl had no commercial value.
 

SiUK

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I was told that they had been disposed of, as classical vinyl had no commercial value.

Gulp! That's almost like book burning to me. No commercial value? Wow! I find that incredibly hard to believe (that they have no value) given the vinyl revival at the moment. Shame you missed out and didn't save them from the land fill.
 

drummerman

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SiUK said:
I was told that they had been disposed of, as classical vinyl had no commercial value.

Gulp! That's almost like book burning to me. No commercial value? Wow! I find that incredibly hard to believe (that they have no value) given the vinyl revival at the moment. Shame you missed out and didn't save them from the land fill.

+1

Although I have to say this has probably little to do with the format, vinyl in this instance. There are many, many classical CD's around with little 'commercial value'. (Rare recordings aside) I think that is pretty much the same for any kind of recordings, whatever format. Once bought, second hand these are worth as much as the person buying them deems. - Is it any different for downloads?

Personally, I have to say that vinyl has re-kindled my love for classical and I collect it wherever I can find some, within reason. Classical vinyl has almost certainly been better looked after by their previous owners than many rock albums.

I've just mentioned one of my recordings on 'what vinyl are you listening to' over on the TT section. Absolutely magical and superbly recorded. It really took me to another place ...

regards
 

adamrobertshaw

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At the risk of causing offence to vinyl enthusiasts and general music tastes, I listen to a lot of dance album mixes on CD :oops: .

Quite often I hear the snap, crackle and pop of the needle resting upon the spinning vinyl that sits under the professional mixing hands of the DJ in the recording studio. A bit like hearing a potter's clay-wheel.

I find it both intrusive (as it is an unexpected noise) and at the same time relaxing, as it reminds me of my youth when it was what you heard at the start, song gaps and end of the vinyl playback.

I suppose I'm actually listening to digital electronic music music recorded in analogue form, played back in analogue to be re-recorded digitally but ultimately played back in analogue :?

Maybe I do like vinyl :O

But turntables to me do seem like hard work / upkeep compared to a CD player.

Much the same as ripping and correcting meta data feels so much faff compared to just playing a CD straight from the jewel case.

So I'm sticking to CD until the end of the year.

I've also come to the end of far too much forum waffling this weekend. :wave:
 

Milo_Myage

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Dougal1331 said:
Milo_Myage said:
Often think about upgrading my player but my £40 Marantz CD6000OSE is serving me fine for now.

You got a 6000OSE for £40? Wow.

If it still works fine, I would say there's no point in upgrading- it's a great player!

Proof that bargains can still be found on eBay, was incorrectly listed and very badly photographed. Took a punt and got a winner.
 

Macspur

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ESLee said:
Unfortunately there is no cure. Whenever I feel an episode coming on, I avoid auction sites. I'm liable to start buying 80's CD players by the dozen! I've given up on DACs for now and am happy with the other elements of my sytem. It's more curiosity than upgrading, I suppose. Luckily my Sony ES gear is so massive and heavy, I havent got much more room!

When funds allow I seriously want to purchase some Accuphase stuff and have a listen.

Any thing in particular by Accuphase... amp or CDP?

Seen a couple of SH of their highly rated players around recently.

CD's all day long for me, greatest invention ever!

smiley-smile.gif


Mac

www.macsmusic.blogbubble.net
 

mikeparker59

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Actually I'm torn between CD and FLAC downloads.

I have quite a large CD collection, and storage has been an issue, though to be honest I don't buy as much music as I once did, I guess I've reached the age where contemporary music doesn't interest me as much as when I was 20 or 30 years younger and have amassed quite a sizeable collection of Classical CD's that span the repertoire I'm intersted in.

Any music I now buy tends to be in FLAC format from The Classical Shop generally on their 50% off offer or as part of my subscription to B&W's Society of Sound. I play the FLACs via an external hard drive connected to my NP30 rather than mess with streaming and as far as I'm concerned the sound quality from FLAC is as good as CD though as I'm in my 50's my hearing probably isn't as acute as it used to be.

There is a great convenience factor in using the NP30 but the main advantage is in the saving of storage space which outweighs the faffing around of backing up etc, though with the Classical Shop you are apparently able to re-download at any time, as long as they stay in business of course.

Which do I really prefer? It has to be the physical disc everytime not so much for quality of sound but it's so satisfying to hold a cd, see the artwork, and read the booklet and know it's mine, rather than a set of files on a hard drive.

I also have my pre-cd collection of vinyl, that still gets an airing now and then, but I wouldn't buy any new vinyl. The thing that really used to p me off about vinyl was the crap quality, crackling, popping, warped records etc. I used to be a real pain returning records that weren't perfect but would often find the same fault in the replacements, I actually couldn't wait to get my hands on a cd player when they came out and just stopped buying vinyl. I remember my first CD purchase was Avalon by Roxy Music....ah nostalgia!
 
B

BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW

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eggontoast said:
floyd droid said:
BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW said:
floyd droid said:
eggontoast said:
BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW said:
eggontoast said:
Err no, I sold it over 3 years ago :)

confused.gif

what are you puzzled about BBB

Got a more than sneaky idea that I know exactly why BBB is puzzled.

wink.gif

Hee hee , keep schtum and let him stew on it. The penny may drop :twisted:

Unfortunately for you I'm not as stupid as you look.

I know what he's getting at, I just wanted to see if he could come out with it instead of the childish snips, as usual he can't ;-)

I don't need to come out with it, when not coming out with it works so well.

Now, is it MP3? FLAC? Cassette? 8 Track? Hiring the bands to come and sing the songs live in your front room? I'm very interested to know.
 

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