The Future of CDs

[Anonymous]

some interesting views in this thread. Can I just make the point that if download wins as the transmission medium of choice that Vinyl is hardly likely to survive any better than CD. We should remember that we are Hi Fi ehthusiasts and as such represent a tiny fraction of the market for music. The choice of formats will ultimatly be driven by the consumer. So start to worry that one day MP3 is all you might be able to get!

 

[JoelSim]

welshboy:some interesting views in this thread. Can I just make the point that if download wins as the transmission medium of choice that Vinyl is hardly likely to survive any better than CD. We should remember that we are Hi Fi ehthusiasts and as such represent a tiny fraction of the market for music. The choice of formats will ultimatly be driven by the consumer. So start to worry that one day MP3 is all you might be able to get!

ÿ

No chance. OK with a movie, I would never buy a DVD for myself as it's only watched once. Kids movies are different as they get a fair bit of use. With music, some CDs I own have been listened to hundreds and hundreds of times, the thought of paying each time is alien. ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

I very rarely use DVDs - only for new releases - I use laserdisc most of the time! I still to this day cannot believe they did not catch on in the 80s here! My player cost me £120 and cost £1400 in the late 80s and the quality far supresses that of standard DVD...far supresses in colour accuracy and detail resolution. And as I only use stereo sound, the sound is far better mixed than DVD for this purpose! And who can't love the massiveness of it and the interaction between you and it! I wouldn't trade it for a £1000 BluRay player at all! My TV is a 50" Grundig CRT from the 80s also...it is, by my knowledge, the biggest CRT ever made (but it is 4:3). I love it to bits! It's got it's own huge glass cabinet over the outside to with special non-reflective glass.

The same applies for music reproduction. The big discs are soooo much better in my opinion...CDs are like listening to sound, where as records make musical sense in my head...I can't explain it...I just love the sound to bits! Infact, my Nak cassette player makes better music than my CDs...they just don't inspire me!

Therefore, it leaves me to say that the future of music lies in downloads, and perhaps portable flash cards...but the future for me is bright; it's black!

 

[Anonymous]

welshboy:So start to worry that one day MP3 is all you might be able to get!

I'm not worrying at all - ignorance is bliss!

 

[JoelSim]

My Arcam dv79 and Panny 42" are just perfect. I can't understand why I'd need a better picture than this, Bluray or whatever surely is no discernable difference to what I have. Or even if it is, I'm not at all unhappy with what I have so where's the motivation? Music is a different matter as it's a much more evocative/emotive/involving experience and I will always strive for 2% more per component and if that comes from an upgrade, or a new cable, or a squash ball (halved), or a leather bracelet, it doesn't matter as it will be bought.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Hughes123:I very rarely use DVDs - only for new releases - I use laserdisc most of the time! I still to this day cannot believe they did not catch on in the 80s here! My player cost me £120 and cost £1400 in the late 80s and the quality far supresses that of standard DVD...far supresses in colour accuracy and detail resolution. And as I only use stereo sound, the sound is far better mixed than DVD for this purpose! And who can't love the massiveness of it and the interaction between you and it! I wouldn't trade it for a £1000 BluRay player at all! My TV is a 50" Grundig CRT from the 80s also...it is, by my knowledge, the biggest CRT ever made (but it is 4:3). I love it to bits! It's got it's own huge glass cabinet over the outside to with special non-reflective glass.

The same applies for music reproduction. The big discs are soooo much better in my opinion...CDs are like listening to sound, where as records make musical sense in my head...I can't explain it...I just love the sound to bits! Infact, my Nak cassette player makes better music than my CDs...they just don't inspire me!

Therefore, it leaves me to say that the future of music lies in downloads, and perhaps portable flash cards...but the future for me is bright; it's black!

Hughes - laser disc? How are you 15??!!

 

[Anonymous]

Gerrardasnails:

Hughes - laser disc? How are you 15??!!

Laserdisc is where it's at! Have you ever put one in upside down and you get the upside town turtle? How cute is that! Don't get that with a DVD! "Cannot read" or "error" is what they say!

And vintage hi-fi is also where it's at...shiny silver and VU meters!

 

[Alantiggger]

I'd imagine that cd's and downloading will be here forever myself. The main reason to do with downloading being soooo popular is that put simply the music industry ''would be'' fat cats priced themselves out of it.... and it serves them right now with everyone downloading music (or movies for that matter).

 

[Anonymous]

The quality of the average cd is perfectly acceptable to the average listener and that goes for the dvd vision wise.

I'm sure perfect vinyl does sound better but then it comes with static, scratches, warped records and all the other things I personally could not cope with and my brain could not filter out. If sound quality is the issue then what goes with it is also an issue.It was with me and I dumped my complete vinly collection 20 years ago without regret.

Vinyl and cd both have the collectability ,tangable and physical appeal ,vinyl due to their size and art work probably more so but with that comes "tattyness"and deeper shelves. Cd is more portable and has more applications (ie cars)

For me cd is king and will be for a long time to come. I cannot see a record industry being able to wean the general public off of their collecting habbits and I cannot see a new format being accepted as a direct replacement.I own 1 sacd but have not bought into the format simply because if feel ultimately it will die and not be catered for. Having heard the new cyrus cd8se which I believe will not accept sacd I'm sure I'm correct in my thoughts and whats more the sound quality of this player with cd blew me away so why change?.

As for downloads....they are without soul or physical form and for that reason only they will not become the only method ever of obtaining music.Too easily erased , too easily lost and as already mentioned largely not insureable .

 

[Anonymous]

maxheadroom:
The quality of the average cd is perfectly acceptable to the average listener and that goes for the dvd vision wise.

I'm sure perfect vinyl does sound better but then it comes with static, scratches, warped records and all the other things I personally could not cope with and my brain could not filter out. If sound quality is the issue then what goes with it is also an issue.It was with me and I dumped my complete vinly collection 20 years ago without regret.

Vinyl and cd both have the collectability ,tangable and physical appeal ,vinyl due to their size and art work probably more so but with that comes "tattyness"and deeper shelves. Cd is more portable and has more applications (ie cars)

For me cd is king and will be for a long time to come. I cannot see a record industry being able to wean the general public off of their collecting habbits and I cannot see a new format being accepted as a direct replacement.I own 1 sacd but have not bought into the format simply because if feel ultimately it will die and not be catered for. Having heard the new cyrus cd8se which I believe will not accept sacd I'm sure I'm correct in my thoughts and whats more the sound quality of this player with cd blew me away so why change?.

As for downloads....they are without soul or physical form and for that reason only they will not become the only method ever of obtaining music.Too easily erased , too easily lost and as already mentioned largely not insureable .

Reading your post I came up with an idea that would give better quality cds. It's so obvious, I'm surprised no-one has tried it yet. Put Losslessly compressed music on a cd. This way you save about 40-50% space, which could be used for higher resolution, better quality files like 24 bit-96 HZ.

 

[jubair]

maxheadroom:

The quality of the average cd is perfectly acceptable to the average listener and that goes for the dvd vision wise.

I'm sure perfect vinyl does sound better but then it comes with static, scratches, warped records and all the other things I personally could not cope with and my brain could not filter out. If sound quality is the issue then what goes with it is also an issue.It was with me and I dumped my complete vinly collection 20 years ago without regret.

Vinyl and cd both have the collectability ,tangable and physical appeal ,vinyl due to their size and art work probably more so but with that comes "tattyness"and deeper shelves. Cd is more portable and has more applications (ie cars)

For me cd is king and will be for a long time to come. I cannot see a record industry being able to wean the general public off of their collecting habbits and I cannot see a new format being accepted as a direct replacement.I own 1 sacd but have not bought into the format simply because if feel ultimately it will die and not be catered for. Having heard the new cyrus cd8se which I believe will not accept sacd I'm sure I'm correct in my thoughts and whats more the sound quality of this player with cd blew me away so why change?.

As for downloads....they are without soul or physical form and for that reason only they will not become the only method ever of obtaining music.Too easily erased , too easily lost and as already mentioned largely not insureable .

excellent post. sum's up my thoughts when it comes to choosing a format. i love collecting cd's as physical objects, so downloading will never do it for me. i think a lot of other people feel the same way. vinyl takes up too much space and is difficult to look after. cyrus still seem to believe in the future of cd's otherwise they wouldn't have invested so much in developing these new cd players. i have cyrus cd6se and it does play my CAN hybrid sacd's without any problems. in fact i've not had a problem playing any cd's (cd-r's included) on it.

 

[Anonymous]

jubair:maxheadroom:

The quality of the average cd is perfectly acceptable to the average listener and that goes for the dvd vision wise.

I'm sure perfect vinyl does sound better but then it comes with static, scratches, warped records and all the other things I personally could not cope with and my brain could not filter out. If sound quality is the issue then what goes with it is also an issue.It was with me and I dumped my complete vinly collection 20 years ago without regret.

Vinyl and cd both have the collectability ,tangable and physical appeal ,vinyl due to their size and art work probably more so but with that comes "tattyness"and deeper shelves. Cd is more portable and has more applications (ie cars)

For me cd is king and will be for a long time to come. I cannot see a record industry being able to wean the general public off of their collecting habbits and I cannot see a new format being accepted as a direct replacement.I own 1 sacd but have not bought into the format simply because if feel ultimately it will die and not be catered for. Having heard the new cyrus cd8se which I believe will not accept sacd I'm sure I'm correct in my thoughts and whats more the sound quality of this player with cd blew me away so why change?.

As for downloads....they are without soul or physical form and for that reason only they will not become the only method ever of obtaining music.Too easily erased , too easily lost and as already mentioned largely not insureable .

excellent post. sum's up my thoughts when it comes to choosing a format. i love collecting cd's as physical objects, so downloading will never do it for me. i think a lot of other people feel the same way. vinyl takes up too much space and is difficult to look after. cyrus still seem to believe in the future of cd's otherwise they wouldn't have invested so much in developing these new cd players. i have cyrus cd6se and it does play my CAN hybrid sacd's without any problems. in fact i've not had a problem playing any cd's (cd-r's included) on it.

Many thanks for that...brilliant if it will play them and I stand corrected..... My one sting sacd is getting exited as I type......I still will not buy any more though as the rest of the cd players in the house and car won't.

I should explain that I only bought that one as it was 99p on amazon and curiosity got the better of me!...come to think of it listening to new equipment out of curiosity is what causes most of the troubles in my life!

I once (and still have) an Arcam delta 190 cd transport , Meridian dac and cyrus 2 +psx which I listened to as a main cystem for 13 yrs .I was really happy with it and I made a point of not making comparisons or listening to new kit.......then I broke the golden rule!

 

[Anonymous]

CDs have no future and main reason for these are greedy music industry.

There is no one reason to cds cost as much as they cost. For example, you can buy 25 pack of high quality empty cds

for few euros. Also the bands and singers/songwriters didn/t get that money (have a friend in music industry).

On the other hand you have Internet and you can download whole discographies of yours favourites band in few hours. And it can be in format of high quality mp3's or even in loseless formats.

So why would someone want spend his hard earned cash and put it in pocket of some high class owners of music companies?

 

[fr0g]

For me the direct replacement should be solid state. Most of us wish to keep the tangible, collectable product, which is one reason I still buy CDs (among many other reasons).

I noticed you can get a 1GB pen drive from Aria.co.uk for under a pound... The price of these things is still falling rapidly...so why not sell them as albums?
All we need are a next generation of players, equipped with the facility to play them back. Maybe they would all come with a simple USB connection. All computers have USB slots, and many hifi and av products come with them too.

I would love to see the option of a high end solid state player. Maybe simply a USB slot to take the files. No moving parts...It could be audio nirvana.

Forget talk of all we will have is MP3. MP3 is a great format, for current portable devices, but higher than CD quality downloads are expanding, not shrinking, and with that, and as I said, maybe a memory stick style format, then I believe the future of audio is a bright one.

 

[jubair]

i think sales of commercial cd's will decline, because poeple who buy this music only want the hits (not full albums, as the rest is often just filler) and they don't value the artwork or sleevenotes. i still see the album as the definitive artistic statement so i'll always be prepared to pay full price for original high quality cd's of great albums. i could easily download these albums for free using file sharing software but i like whole package not just the music, so will always buy the cd. not everyone feels this way about the music they consume, but i like to own a good quality hard copy of the music i like.

 

[Quickben]

I would love CD to last forever (not least because I'm about to buy a NAD 542). I love the collectability aspect. If it were to die a death as many here prophecise, I'd like to think it will be replaced by another physical format, not a soul-less virtual whatever.

A solid state/memory card type thing would be good aslong as it was read-only and came in a nice case with album-art.

 

[Anonymous]

jubair: i could easily download these albums for free using file sharing software but i like whole package not just the music, so will always buy the cd.

There is no excuse for downloading music illegally, whether you only want "the hits" or not.

 

[Anonymous]

Hughes123:jubair: i could easily download these albums for free using file sharing software but i like whole package not just the music, so will always buy the cd.

There is no excuse for downloading music illegally, whether you only want "the hits" or not.

I remember Napster long ago. At that time I was to buy maybe 5 albums a yera.
I began with download from all around the world.
I also with many other applications to download.
My love for music grew again back.

I still download some thing without paying, but also spend many times more money on cds. I would say the more I search other people collections, and try new , the more I buy. and now maybe i have 5 or 10 albums in a month I am buying!

Maybe it is not right with the songs i have from internet but all downloading is not an equal.

and in many places the law says it is notright to even copy own bought things...is that okay for you?
If you say no, then you keep to do that then you are breaking law
some people break the law and use internet for music like newsnet
it is not up to one person in a forum to say the morals of others

 

[Anonymous]

Curious:Hughes123:jubair: i could easily download these albums for free using file sharing software but i like whole package not just the music, so will always buy the cd.

There is no excuse for downloading music illegally, whether you only want "the hits" or not.

I remember Napster long ago. At that time I was to buy maybe 5 albums a yera.
I began with download from all around the world.
I also with many other applications to download.
My love for music grew again back.

I still download some thing without paying, but also spend many times more money on cds. I would say the more I search other people collections, and try new , the more I buy. and now maybe i have 5 or 10 albums in a month I am buying!

Maybe it is not right with the songs i have from internet but all downloading is not an equal.

and in many places the law says it is notright to even copy own bought things...is that okay for you?
If you say no, then you keep to do that then you are breaking law
some people break the law and use internet for music like newsnet
it is not up to one person in a forum to say the morals of others

This is a hi-fi and home-cinema forum: We cannot let such comments go un-noted; to download music in the U.K for free is illegal - there is no excuse for it. And I am sure that I am speaking for most members on this forum.

Moderators, am I wrong?

 

[Anonymous]

Hughes123:Curious:Hughes123:jubair: i could easily download these albums for free using file sharing software but i like whole package not just the music, so will always buy the cd.

There is no excuse for downloading music illegally, whether you only want "the hits" or not. I remember Napster long ago. At that time I was to buy maybe 5 albums a yera. I began with download from all around the world. I also with many other applications to download. My love for music grew again back. I still download some thing without paying, but also spend many times more money on cds. I would say the more I search other people collections, and try new , the more I buy. and now maybe i have 5 or 10 albums in a month I am buying! Maybe it is not right with the songs i have from internet but all downloading is not an equal. and in many places the law says it is notright to even copy own bought things...is that okay for you? If you say no, then you keep to do that then you are breaking law some people break the law and use internet for music like newsnet it is not up to one person in a forum to say the morals of others
This is a hi-fi and home-cinema forum: We cannot let such comments go un-noted; to download music in the U.K for free is illegal - there is no excuse for it. And I am sure that I am speaking for most members on this forum.
Moderators, am I wrong?

I agree with you. Illegal downloading is just plain wrong. It's theft at the end of the day. What does annoy me is when I am told that music I have paid for cannot be "backed up" I can well remember in the days when vinyl was king buying 2 copies of an album if I knew it would get played to death. Then I found reel to reel. I wonder if was illegal back then to copy vinyl to tape for back-up?

 

[Anonymous]

welshboy:

I agree with you. Illegal downloading is just plain wrong. It's theft at the end of the day. What does annoy me is when I am told that music I have paid for cannot be "backed up" I can well remember in the days when vinyl was king buying 2 copies of an album if I knew it would get played to death. Then I found reel to reel. I wonder if was illegal back then to copy vinyl to tape for back-up?

I don't think it was - as long as you didn't then give it to someone...I remember when I was little and I wasn't allowed to use my parents hi-fi or CDs, that I used to stick my Early Learning Centre mic/tape recorder by the speakers and record the sound onto cassette! The quality was so low, I doubt I was illegal even if I sold it! Then my parents showed me how to record on the cassette player! What a revelation!

 

[jubair]

Hughes123:Curious:Hughes123:jubair: i could easily download these albums for free using file sharing software but i like whole package not just the music, so will always buy the cd.

There is no excuse for downloading music illegally, whether you only want "the hits" or not. I remember Napster long ago. At that time I was to buy maybe 5 albums a yera. I began with download from all around the world. I also with many other applications to download. My love for music grew again back. I still download some thing without paying, but also spend many times more money on cds. I would say the more I search other people collections, and try new , the more I buy. and now maybe i have 5 or 10 albums in a month I am buying! Maybe it is not right with the songs i have from internet but all downloading is not an equal. and in many places the law says it is notright to even copy own bought things...is that okay for you? If you say no, then you keep to do that then you are breaking law some people break the law and use internet for music like newsnet it is not up to one person in a forum to say the morals of others
This is a hi-fi and home-cinema forum: We cannot let such comments go un-noted; to download music in the U.K for free is illegal - there is no excuse for it. And I am sure that I am speaking for most members on this forum.
Moderators, am I wrong?

i think by that response the moderators aren't interested, they have better things to do than tell people off for downloading.

anyway i wasn't condoning filesharing ( downloading for free is acceptable as a lot of artists give away free music, there is a distinction), i was merely stating that i prefer to buy original cd's even if music was available to download free. this is because i appreciate the packaging, artwork and sound quality that cd's give. i wouldn't pay for downloads as it works out cheaper buy the cd if you buy the whole album.

" i download all of my music illegally, because it's a victimless crime- although i do like to punch people in the face while i'm doing it" Bender from Futurama

 

[Andrew Everard]

jubair:
i think by that response the moderators aren't interested, they have better things to do than tell people off for downloading.

No I think this moderator just thought the original comment was such a statement of the bleedin' obvious, it really didn't need me to state my agreement with it.

 

[JoelSim]

I was burgled 9 months ago and the toerags got my iPod, and Nintendo Gamecube. They left several grands worth of separates. My deduction was that they were young Philistines, with no appreciation of music. Have I missed it? No. In fact I got a replacement and it's been in the cupboard for months. Just goes to show how much I value(d) it. Mind you if they took my separates then there'd be trouble.

 

[fr0g]

JoelSim:I was burgled 9 months ago and the toerags got my iPod, and Nintendo Gamecube. They left several grands worth of separates. My deduction was that they were young Philistines, with no appreciation of music. Have I missed it? No. In fact I got a replacement and it's been in the cupboard for months. Just goes to show how much I value(d) it. Mind you if they took my separates then there'd be trouble.
You drunk?