Article About Not Killing off the CD.

I hope the CD doesn't die off, I still have a soft spot for the CD but I don't really listen to CDs outside of the car these days. Usually if I buy a CD I'll just rush home and rip it into iTunes as an AAC file and then stick the CD to sit of a shelf or live the rest of it's life in the CD changer of my car. I think the last CD I bought was Sgt. Pepper in Stereo and I didn't even need it since the 1987 version of Sgt. Pepper was already in the car, now the 1987 copy is sitting on a shelf. For a while I was looking to buy Revolver and Rubber Soul on CD but I just ended up burning a CD from the iTunes files I bought so it's stopped me from actually buying them... though who knows since I've got Apple music and you can't burn apple music to a CD I might consider getting some George Harrison CDs.

 

I had the Albert Ayler "Holy Ghost" box set in there, plus an assortment of about 50 to 60 CDs of random other stuff.

 

For me Cd has a definite place, after reading these forums I have managed to find the best sounding cds for some of my favorite artists.

I don't understand the need to only have a file on a computer, the artwork is as much historical importance as the music itself in some instances.

Are people going to say look what new music I've got and show them an image on a phone or tablet over giving them a cd with artwork?

They say humans need to touch things to understand and appreciate them, does the appreciation level stay the same without the physical box and cd in hand?

 

Every time I listen to the deluxe CD version of Thin Lizzy's VOTWW, I wonder how come more music can't be mastered this way. I don't miss my vinyl London copy since buying this version.

 

And that's the thing. I feel as time goes on, less and less folks will not have a computer because their phone fills in for them in that department.

 

This actually is playing out already. I wish I could find the graphic, but it showed device sales in late 2015, and phablets and large-format phones were leading the way.

 

I enjoy CDs, but not newly released ones. The DR issues are just too much for me, and I find that hi-res is a more reliable medium for me to get the sound quality I expect (notwithstanding issues like the new Dream Theater release). But I scoop up lots of 80s and early 90s albums on CD at the used outlets, and search for LPs for pre-80s and sometimes some more recent releases.

So the long and short: I'll buy whatever format has the best sound quality and the most dynamic range.

 

I still joyously buy CD's...while HD downloads may eventually replace them, for now they are still the best way to hear music. I think, one thing that disillusioned some CD buyers is the poor mastering...why pay for a highly compressed mess that sounds about as good as a low bit-rate encoded MP3 to start with?

CD's should have proudly boasted of their (ahem) hi-fidelity as soon as iTunes started eating into their market share, and embraced audiophile quality instead of trying to out due each other with "loudness."

 

Would love a pair but doubt I could get 'em for $150 each like I did my Fortes.

 

Some releases are ONLY available losslessly on CD.

I run into this all the time. I wanted to buy the new album from UK band Field Music and could only find the CD aside from iTunes and their
own Mp3 downloads. No Pono, no Qobuz FLAC etc.

Same for the Tindersticks Claire Dennis soundtrack collection.

 

In a lot of ways it's really that simple.

 

My lease is up and it's time for a new car. Can't get a CD player now........however, wifi is an option

 

I still listen my CDs daily and keep purchasing new and used ones.

I don't get why CD has a bad rap at all. The format is capable of huge dynamic range, and a well mastered and produced recording played back on a quality CD player sure is hard to beat via other formats.

 

Thank you! I ended up finding the graphic on Techcrunch, but it was only mobile devices, and didn't include PCs. This is far more illustrative.

 

Because sadly, a great number of arrtists ignore the very capabilities of the medium to which you refer.

 

So...about a buck a disc, plus a 40-minute drive there and back?

I'd rather just keep doing what I do when I want to clear out CDs and LPs I don't want anymore: they go out on the sidewalk and within a couple hours, they're gone.

 

He didn't give his opinion on the sound quality of CDs. He didn't even state his preference for them. He wants everybody to have what they want. A person can like CDs (or any format) for reasons not related to sound.

*Oh, just reread your post and found you were referring to the writer of the Rolling Stone article, not the original poster. So I guess you were making a joke.

 

Was wondering could the highly touted MQA technology be used to extend the life of the cd? There will always be fans that want a physical disc so you could have dramatically better sounding 16 bit cds that are encoded with the MQA technology and played back on cd players that have the MQA chip or played through DACs that have the MQA chip.

 

I doubt it would ever be used on a physical product. You need to pay a license for it, similar to HDCD (which is now limited to a few discs, notably Neil Young's catalog). SACD was the replacement for the CD. Most of the CDs I buy now are used. I rarely buy a new disc unless the previous one is OOP and very expensive, and it's been touted here on the forum. Maybe the odd boxset if it's cheap.

 

Most of the really young folks (i.e. anyone under 30) definitely do not know what a CD is supposed to sound like. I'm on another forum with a lot of young music fans and most of them have never heard a CD played over a stereo system on a halfway decent CD player. I'm not talking high-end here, I'm talking acceptable. They use CD interchangeably in discussion with low-quality lossy streaming, youtube videos, etc played over laptop speakers or through cheap phone earbuds. Many will assume the CD sounds the same as these other formats without having heard the actual CD.

 

People are easily swayed, as always.
The vinyl revival has a huge hipster contingent. Love vinyl, but...pop...click...pop....click.

 

The paradigm has shifted, actually make that ended, except for rare exceptions, "people" are not going to look at what music you [the royal you] have nor are they actually going care. The music one has is their own private deal. Unless they feel the need to share what they are listening to or own on social media or posts in this or other forums - and if they do have that actual need is it to brag or other reason?

Folks change be it good, bad or indifferent is one of the true constants in the universe. Adapt or fade away.......

 

Among the audiophiles and SH Forum members for sure, but that must be a very small percentage of the market. The rest 99% go for the flexibility and convenience of streaming. They look at their cds and think: "Why do I have these objects taking up physical space and collecting dust in my living quarters when I have all the music I want on my phone? And why did I pay so much dough for these pieces of plastic?" That's why they are disillusioned, not because of poor mastering.

 

Don't have much use for CDs if it's stuff from the analog years, meaning 1980s and prior. I always go for the vinyl in those cases.

Digital era, I prefer CDs over a file sitting on the computer or "here today / gone tomorrow" streaming services. Right now used ones are dirt cheap. Great time to round out collections from artists from the 90s and 00s.