Why is c.d apparently dead ?

[insider9]

Wow, same album but cassette 😂

 

[davidf]

Anyone who feels CD is dead and wants to offload their collection can always donate it to my charity which raises money for children at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital

 

[Dom]

That's nice davidf. I got a 100 CD's of an album my brother made. I'll donate one if you want!
Sound Cloud - Enhancer

 

[davidf]

That's nice davidf. I got a 100 CD's of an album my brother made. I'll donate one if you want!
Sound Cloud - Enhancer

Was it in the 90s by any chance?

 

[Dom]

Late 90's. Thanks Davidf.

 

[DCarmi]

The majority of those who used to buy CDs cared little about sonic quality. They usually would use cheap equipment, cheap headphones or speakers. CDs worked because you'd get an hour of listening without having to flip the disk and as their name implies, they were portable. Easy to carry 20 CDs in a manageable sized case. This is much more difficult with LPs and you can't really play an LP on the bus or in car.

Modern day streaming provides the ability to have limitless numbers of albums (or you favourite 40 tracks) on a single device, with no real need to maintain catalogues or decide which to take, when you go out.

Also with many mobile phones, you actually get a more decent output than your typical portable Tape/CD/mp3 player of yesteryear. Chuck that over to a moderate portable speaker and you probably have a better sound system than any Binatone or Amstrad system could provide.

Will CD die? Probably as much as Vinyl has. i.e. become a fairly niche product.

 

[Deleted member 116933]

No. They are not dead at all. Vinyl Hype is simply a hype.

That's some long hype train! 15 years now i believe they have been back in the public mind

 

[Deleted member 116933]

I think for the mainstream CD is very much dead, Audio guys us like to think its fine, but its not, We represent maybe 1% of the audio market if we're lucky. And it has nothing to do with fashion! it has everything to do with convenience.

The simple matter is most have little apple earbuds or Sonos type, speakers that have no inputs for legacy equipment such as CD players. CD players have long since disappeared from the big box stores, it actually easier to buy a turntable these days than a CD player! heck blu ray players are being rare as heck

People won't even listen to whole albums any more, how the artist intended missing out on the true meaning of the tracks in some case, instead preferring to listen to tailored playlists.

All physical media will have its day and will probably be legally enforced at some point due to mandated eco laws but for the time being, its not going anywhere just yet. Just enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[DCarmi]

All physical media will have its day and will probably be legally enforced at some point due to mandated eco laws but for the time being, its not going anywhere just yet. Just enjoy it while it lasts.

I am really not sure that physical media is less eco friendly than streaming. I have CDs from the mid-eighties, still perfectly serviceable. I have secondhand LPs that date back to the 50s again quite serviceable. Commercial streaming will require a data centre and hence carbon.

I change my phone every 3 years or so, which is my main streaming device. Whereas my last amp lasted 15 years and last CD player 14 years . I have had my turntable since 1988.

 

[Nintendologist]

There are some sweeping statements here. Wow.

Anort3 - "... most music sucks these days." There are artists out there that are not for everyone and this hasn't changed nor will it. Some of my favourite tracks to listen to on my system reminding me of why I spent so much money are well produced, recently released tracks. Some of my favourite all time albums have been released in the last decade. Doesn't mean they're your cup of tea though.

Gasolin - "CD's and LP's cost the same." Where are you in the world? Here in the UK (high street or online) when an album is new the vinyl is around twice the price normally, and as the album goes into back catalogue the CD can drop to £5 or even £3 new with even lower prices to be had second hand. Vinyl still commands a higher price used. I really don't agree with your statement unless you can persuade me otherwise with factual evidence.

 

[Deleted member 188533]

Some of my favorite music is from the last decade too. But I'm in the US and 'most' music here barely qualifies as music. Not music I seek out but 'most' music that's sold here...sucks.

Out of the top 50 or so, I'm familiar with all but 2 or 3 artists. The only one I can say for sure that doesn't use autotune is Billie Eilish. She uses some vocal layering but I can forgive that.

https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100

I can tap my foot to some of it but I'm not going to buy it. And in 10 years 99% of it will be forgotten.

 

[Romulus]

The only streaming I do is to rip my Cds. Cd quality of sound is generally good for me, they are mine and I do not have to pay direct debit for them (like a chain shackled to my leg). An added bonus they can sound really good on my car audio to the level that even my wife remarked how good some artist's albums. I have just discovered the method of burning Cds on my PC so I can make play lists of rock songs, other songs, classical Music and other music from different countries. I feel so excited that at last I can play Cds created by me, it feels like a big upgrade to a HiFi system.....!

 

[Dom]

I find Qobuz strange. It has great sound quality, but difficult UI. Plus it's a rip off.

 

[scene]

I've sort of gone for a mixed mode approach:
- Spotify family, which for the five of us is pretty good and allows all of us to try out new music as and when
- CDs, which I rip losslessly pretty much as soon as I get them.

Both of these played over Sonos (at the moment...)
- If hear a track I like (say on radio - streamed, usually...) then I'll listen to the album it's on
- If I like the album enough (i.e. play it more than a few times) I'll buy the CD...

Also, I buy a fair few AudioBook CDs - Mrs. Scene listens to Audible, but I find it a bit limited - and I tend to buy box sets, which can be really good value...

So I'm still going to get CDs until a company offers digital copies with ownership terms like CDs - i.e. transferable, able to be downloaded for permanent offline access, etc.

 

[Greenwich_Man]

I have recently bought a CD player, and am very happy with it. I have lots of old CDs and I may buy a DAC in the future to improve my sound quality.

 

[emcc_3]

Just purchased a CD transport. Find listening to CDs rather than streaming makes me listen the whole way through albums. Streaming I mainly use for background listening or whilst at the office.

Not sure where gasoline buys his vinyl but if he can pick it up cheaper than I am getting CDs (as low as 50p on some occassions) I'm all ears.😀

Personally I enjoy the physical owning of music more. I like having something that is tangible be it a record or a CD.

 

[Jimboo]

At this moment in time CD is the best most consistently good format.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

I have recently bought a CD player, and am very happy with it. I have lots of old CDs and I may buy a DAC in the future to improve my sound quality.

Why didn't you just buy a CD player with a decent DAC??

 

[Squall Leonhart]

I will never stop using CDs. I still buy more but these days I tend to only get them from CDJapan . They sell SHM CDs which seem to be manufactured better

 

[12th Monkey]

I'll never abandon CD. I did vinyl because of scratches, clicks and pops. I had a crap turntable with hindsight, but vinyl is still pretty fragile in comparison.

But I also won't go over to streaming. Part of the appeal of a large collection is its presence, but the biggest plus is that I can stand in front of it and browse. Once a musical catalogue gets beyond a certain size, it's impossible to hold it in your head* - there are things that I would never listen to again if they weren't there to subtly remind me by physically being there. I can see how playlists and algorithms would work for background music (it's how my kids use my system), but I tend to just sit and listen - flitting from artist to artist as the whim takes me.

*I know this for a fact, for me at least. When I decided to catalogue books, CDs and films I tried to do it from memory to see how far I got. It was a long way short!

 

[Romulus]

I'll never abandon CD. I did vinyl because of scratches, clicks and pops. I had a crap turntable with hindsight, but vinyl is still pretty fragile in comparison.

But I also won't go over to streaming. Part of the appeal of a large collection is its presence, but the biggest plus is that I can stand in front of it and browse. Once a musical catalogue gets beyond a certain size, it's impossible to hold it in your head* - there are things that I would never listen to again if they weren't there to subtly remind me by physically being there. I can see how playlists and algorithms would work for background music (it's how my kids use my system), but I tend to just sit and listen - flitting from artist to artist as the whim takes me.

*I know this for a fact, for me at least. When I decided to catalogue books, CDs and films I tried to do it from memory to see how far I got. It was a long way short!View attachment 1016

Your memory is free and you have the physical pleasure of perusing your collection unlike Roon

 

[Mike Hunt]

Why on earth would anyone want to use CDs, when you can fit 10,000 albums an a micro SD card the size of the nail on your little finger?

 

[12th Monkey]

See post two previous to your own?

 

[Mike Hunt]

See post two previous to your own?

That makes no sense whatsoever. Any MP3 player will allow you to quickly scan through your music collection, and you'll find something a lot easier than you would looking through those racks of CDs.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

Why on earth would anyone want to use CDs, when you can fit 10,000 albums an a micro SD card the size of the nail on your little finger?

Blimey someone who still listens to 128kbps mp3's, bet they sound great on your amazing hi-if system.