Could CDs be making a comeback?

The technology that will blow the 16 bit CD out of the water is there and waiting in the wings.Kinda like the Blu-Ray - HD DVD face off had to be agreed on before the big boys really stepped in and started putting out product.

I think the next generation Audio format will be agreed on before the next wave hits.
They get to sell us our music again! You know they're gonna do it.
It's only a matter of time.

Those that weren't raised on physical product will be happy with downloads.
Personally I like "things".

Unlike vinyl I don't think anybody will be longing for that "rich, deep, alive sound of CD's that the new technology just does not have".
I have been wrong many times before.

 

I don't have ANY downloads.I want HIREZ downloads and Blu Ray Audio discs just like Neil Young and view the cd pretty much the same way in 2014 "piece of crap".If you want to settle for lo rez sound fine but most fans want more.Look at the recent posts on this forum for the most part....

 

what Facts are that? Cds steadily DECLINING? Vinyl increasing-what am I missing here?

worth something for members of the "I like quiet cds club" How many outside this forum are those fans exactly?

 

It's possible also for me to play golf on the moon ............

Where are my hi-res U2, Flaming Lips, Arctic Monkeys or Wilco downloads?

 

That's fine. I think your wrong BTY. Most people would be happy with the MP3. But whatever. I hope you get your specific downloads.

I won't be purchasing them. If CD become unavailable, I will buy used CDs and LPs.

 

They said that vinyl was dead at one time, too. Never assume.

 

Sorry. I won't be buying anything again. I'm done for older titles.

Oh, by the way, they might like the lack of surface noise and the cute little booklets.

 

I see the day when I can go on a site like iTunes or HDTracks and choose an album to download, and I can choose between lossy, 16/44 lossless, and 24/96 HD based on price. People can choose based on what they claim they can hear. I don't care if I buy another cd even if they come with really cool packaging like the Shm Mini LP CD's.

 

The new technology will not have the surface noise and I'm pretty sure there will be a version with the "cute little booklets" which I also like.

Oh, by the way, no apology necessary, I'm not selling 'em.

 

Thanks for that - I remember hearing tell of an article that was called something like, "Why The Vinyl LP is Cleaner Than The Cloud", and I didn't bother to read it, but I was curious as to what might be behind that idea and I think you've answered it.

 

Do movie forums have these same discussions? Serious question. Just wondering if this is specific to music. Of course moves don't have different masters, or at least not directly comparable to music.

 

And who said CD's have gone away? They're still out there. Better ask if cassettes & reels & cartridge tapes are ever going to make a comeback.

 

That is a good question. I for one listen to the same music over and over again so having physical media makes sense but how many times can I stand to watch the same movie to actually own the thing? I can see if a classic film gets a high res release but to actually buy it? That is just for collecting.

 

I wouldn't doubt this at all. No matter what we use there will always be some sort of impact the question is how severe the impact will be on our environment and if the materials used are bio degradable or not.

Having said that, I'm still a bigger fan of having stuff than not. I can see the attraction of the cloud for those moving around a lot.

 

See I feel the same way about classic movies and like the fact that I'm seeing the best representation at the time. I can always put on the movie. The background just like music and pay attention during important scenes.

 

Better question, I agree.

 

What you are missing is cd's 57 percent and vinyl 2 percent. If nobody wants cd's then NOBODY wants vinyl, that's for certain.

 

Sure they're still there.Amazon has a ton of them.My local Bricks and Mortar has a lot too.Whether they're selling at the Bricks and Mortar is another matter.Used cd sales may in fact be doing very well thanks to Amazon.Don't think full retail new cds are though.

 

How come I see so many HiRez offerings with less than stellar dynamic range ?

Many of these are from more recent remasters...and lousy DR.

Do you know beforehand what kind of dynamics you're getting with your HiRez downloads ?

 

Don't know what you mean with "most fans", but the average music listener - or shall I say music consumer - is perfectly happy with MP3. He doesn't notice and doesn't care about the difference between lossy and 16/44.1. And he cares even less about the difference between "crappy, lo-rez" 16/44.1 and hi-rez. People that really care about music and sound quality are a small minority and thus completely irrelevant to the industry, and even those who care will think twice when they have to decide between an standard 16/44.1 album at $7.99 and its hi-rez version/blue ray audio of unknown source and mastering quality at $19.99. Whatever "most fans" want, most people don't want more, don't need more and don't want to pay more (if anything at all).

 

Dynamic Range is fine in most cases for me . I could give a crap about waveforms, or smiley eq,or DR values (for the most part)

 

God Amighty! Cds going down CONSISTENTLY year after year.Vinyl going up every year for the past few years,do I have to draw you a picture or what??

 

Well....I was gonna ask at the end of my last sentence if it mattered to you....but I could hardly conceive of it....especially considering your interest in HiRez. I'd surely have thought that alone would make my question seem silly. I guess not.

Hey...enjoy.

 

According to the article in this thread...

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...-digital-subscriptions-so-far-in-2014.350453/

EVERYTHING...including vinyl is declining, so far, this year...

excerpt,

Summary: Album sales are down 17% (as of April) from one year ago. Digital song sales are down 13% from one year ago. Paid subscriptions to online services are not rising. Money is being made, but not through these expected avenues.

Here are some key paragraphs and data points from Evan Sawdey's new piece on popmatters.com:

"Despite the soundtrack to Frozen selling copies hand-over-fist, on the April 17th, 2014 Billboard chart, album sales are already down an astonishing 17 percent compared to last year, with YTD album sales standing at 70.9 million, way down from the 85.1 millions sold at the same point in 2013. However, previous gaps of this severity were usually offset by the ever-increasing popularity of digital songs, but already, those are significantly down this year, 355.1 million versus last year’s 410.3 million, a gigantic difference of 13 percent. It’s not even May yet, and those numbers are going to fall even more as time moves on.

Thus, the popular notion is that with services like Spotify and Pandora gaining in notoriety, people aren’t as much hoarding or buying media so much as they are just streaming it at work, home, or on their mobile devices. Yet, as some recent articles have highlighted, not even that standard is holding true.

 

I don think so where gettin n downloading anything has become so easy...