Going back to CD a good idea? hmm

[fenderibo]

 

[BigH]

Back from what?

 

[fenderibo]

from digital files..ripped WMA lossless

 

[BigH]

There are some advantages, cds are cheap to buy, used cds esp. can be had for around £1, you can also rip them. Why are you thinking about it?

 

[Macspur]

What's the rest of your set up?

Any idea of budget for a CDP?

Mac

 

[fenderibo]

Sorry about the empty post for some reason the text has not shown up. Yeah im thinking of going back to CD...as for a few years now i have had my music on my hard drive ripped as WMA lossless, but for some reason im fancying going back to CD..for optimal quality and it would be nice to make use of the 2,000 + CD's i have rather than just having them as back ups, and theres something attractive about playing a CD rather than clicking on a file...

 

[fenderibo]

Setup at the moment is CD's ripped to a hard drive then PC connection to the amp..not ideal i guess? but its probably whats not right or wrong but what works for you? application being the word

 

[BigH]

The sound should not be better but that will depend on various factors.

Sounds like your PC dac is not very good.

 

[fenderibo]

Yeah i dont use a DAC Big H, it s not so much a quality thing but more me looking at the application of things and thinking "id like to play a physical CD" that way my CD's get the use and i see the album art etc...sounds a bit romantic i know but hopefully you get where im coming from..i find i play didgital music in a jukebox fashion, and am thinking it would nice to put a CD in and listen to the whole album..does that sound credible or ******** lol!

 

[fenderibo]

Yeah i dont use a DAC Big H, it s not so much a quality thing but more me looking at the application of things and thinking "id like to play a physical CD" that way my CD's get the use and i see the album art etc...sounds a bit romantic i know but hopefully you get where im coming from..i find i play didgital music in a jukebox fashion, and am thinking it would nice to put a CD in and listen to the whole album..does that sound credible or ******** lol!

 

[fenderibo]

damn double post..sorry..

 

[fenderibo]

damn double post..sorry..

 

[CnoEvil]

IMO. A CDP is a backwards step, in sound quality (at a given price range), versatility and convenience.

Buy your CDs, rip them in lossless and get a reasonable streamer.....you can still see the album art / read the cover and handle the CDs, it's just you don't place them in the machine.

 

[chebby]

It depends on how much trouble you've made it for yourself.

I made it easy. (iTunes, AirPlay, iPhone and iPad).

And my Marantz still gives me the ability to play CDs. (I still have them all.)

Some people go to enormous efforts (and expense) to play their digital files and demand the quality only 24/192 or 24/96 files can give them. I have seen essay length explanations on how to set-up, rip, catalogue and backup files and still people regularly post things like "help, i've lost all my music". (Probably sold all their CDs too )

I am happy with Apple Lossless and 320K AAC and I like seamless operation and gapless playback via (or from) my iPad or iPhone.

I can still 'flick' through the covers too...

 

[drummerman]

It depends on how much trouble you've made it for yourself.

I made it easy. (iTunes, AirPlay, iPhone and iPad).

And my Marantz still gives me the ability to play CDs. (I still have them all.)

Some people go to enormous efforts (and expense) to play their digital files and demand the quality only 24/192 or 24/96 files can give them. I have seen essay length explanations on how to set-up, rip, catalogue and backup files and still people regularly post things like "help, i've lost all my music". (Probably sold all their CDs too )

I am happy with Apple Lossless and 320K AAC and I like seamless operation and gapless playback via (or from) my iPad or iPhone.

I can still 'flick' through the covers too...

I also still buy cd's. I want something in my hand, something I can feel, smell (well, sometimes) and physically turn over pages and read.

Sure, I play spotify, downloads etc and they are great for convenience (and more in case of spotify) but the media packaging is imho part of the artist performance/artwork.

I just looked at my Yellowbrick Road lp gatefold and personally am glad, these things still exist. That includes the humble CD.

regards

 

[MakkaPakka]

I went back to CD having had a Squeezebox Touch.

My problem with streaming is that I don't have a NAS and I don't want one. I want to switch on and press play. I bought the SBT so I could use it with USB but the software was very buggy for that application.

I'll go back into 'streaming' when someone makes a product that works reliably from a USB hard drive. Have tried the computer route using foobar but I find that too much faffing about.

 

[BigH]

And I was thinking of ripping all mine to HD and then I will more space, maybe even sell the cdp. Having ripped mine I can't hear any difference in sound quality. I don't think I would buy a dedicated cdp now, I would want something more versatile. Can you not play the whole album now? CAn you not look at the cd case? Or artwork on your monitor.

 

[ESLee]

I love CD's. I certainly dont agree with it being a backward step. In fact I wouldnt agree that listening to music in any format is a backward step.

Theres alot of nonesense talked about playing so called 'high res' files. Most of which is talked about here. Some of you have probably read it. http://xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html

A well recorded CD on a well built player will always have a place in my sytem.

 

[fenderibo]

Yep my thoughts exactly Eslle...seems to be a bit of a divide, but i guess its what suits the individual. Yep CD player for me i have had enough of folders and ripping etc.. lol

 

[BigH]

What about the new Blu-Ray Audio format?

 

[DIB]

I love my CD player, I wouldn't be without one. Since the recent arrival of my Creek Evo 2 CDP to match my Creek amp, I've been on a CD playing binge. I don't think my turntable has been switched on in a fortnight.

.

 

[ESLee]

By the time I've booted my mac, clicked the Chordette on, opened audirvana and browsed a million files I could be enjoying a CD,

I dont know about anybody else but I also question ripping CD's as a concept. I understand a 24bit master from HDTracks but IMO a rip of a redbook CD cannot be as good as the original article IMO. Alot of fuss for supposed convinience.

 

[AmigaNut]

My own opinion is dump digital files and go CD.

I prefer the physical medium and although I am a gadget person, mp3 and other formats don't float my boat.

I am back in to vinyl but am still keeping and purchasing cds, Im not doing the flog it all route and then going back to buying again as I did when vinyl went to CD.Im keeping both this time,

Digaita files NAH forget it.

AmigaNut

 

[BigH]

Hardly use my cd player now, mostly stream Spotify and Rdio.

 

[CnoEvil]

By the time I've booted my mac, clicked the Chordette on, opened audirvana and browsed a million files I could be enjoying a CD,

I dont know about anybody else but I also question ripping CD's as a concept. I understand a 24bit master from HDTracks but IMO a rip of a redbook CD cannot be as good as the original article IMO. Alot of fuss for supposed convinience.

The reason that the a rip should sound better than a physical format (CD) in a CDP is twofold.

Firstly it usually gets a perfect rip, as it can re-read the disc as many times as it needs to, whereas a CDP has to read it in real time.

Secondly, a streamer has no electrical and magnetic noise from the motor.