Have you re-discovered listening to physical CDs on a physical CD player?

It never went away in my world.

 

I never stopped and almost certainly never will. I've been using the same CD player for 22 years! A very reliable piece of equipment. It was second hand when I bought it then. I'll never replace it when it's given me so many years of good service and enjoyment. It's only a modest Sony seperate but it sounds excellent and almost never skips.

I very rarely appreciate how much I love my CD player. It's been there so long I take it for granted.

 

Love my cds and cd players. Listening to Cd # 9 of the Dylan live 1966 36 cd box set.

 

Much of what I listen to is available only on CD anyway. Don't care for downloads other than live bootlegs.Love vinyl except that I no longer have a TT and even if I did, original records are too expensive.

 

I really don't want CDs to disappear and don't think they will. I don't want a situation where the choice is streaming or downloading, neither of which have ever appealed to me, or expensive vinyl, which cannot be an impulse buy due to cost. CD is an excellent way to get great quality sound at an affordable or even incredibly cheap price. This means I can buy music I've never heard before or wasn't even thinking of because it's cheap and seems interesting. I've got into so much music through doing this.

 

About to put on (in) my Marantz 5005 my '94 Edsel copy of T. Rex Zinc Alloy which is great Saturday morning music.

p.s. the 90's are mostly the benchmark for great cd masterings...though hopefully these are coming back!

 

Once steaming took hold, it seemed like CDs were truly dinosaurs to me, so I sold the majority, except for some nostalgic pieces. I'll horde the vinyl, I thought, I don't have the space for both.

For the last year, however, I've been buying them back, anywhere from between .50-$2.00.

Some of my observations about cd collecting, since rejoining the team.

1. It is possible to love both CDs and vinyl. Musically, both have great examples and both have klunkers.

2. The browsing habit is wonderful on CDs and vinyl, I have a lot of trouble choosing something to play on streaming services.

3. After being into vinyl all these years, it's still a surprise to me when I put a twenty-five year old disc in my player, and it's dead silent.

4. I appreciate music most on the format it was originally released on. I love my 50s, 60s and 70s vinyl, but when I'm listening to music from the 80s and 90s, cd is often the way to go. Vinyl pressings during those years were not the best anyway. Most recent releases are available on all formats, so I guess anything is game now.

5. Someone else mentioned this, but it is definitely a way for me to explore music, and at the current prices, who can refuse that? Plus, you get the full experience and an actual artifact of that musical time. It's not true that the thrift stores are full of junky CDs. It all depends on what collection came in. There are lots of pop, sure, but I'm finding avant-Garde,
Minimalist, punk, metal, beautiful box sets from the early 2000s and wonderful classical sets.

6. Music does come and go on the streaming services, more than you think. This trend will probably continue to increase as competing streaming services will want to offer exclusive recordings. When you've got the physical recording, it's yours.

Those are a few reasons for me lately. Any kind of musical exploration is fun and healthy.

 

Agreed, been that way for me for years. Love cds love burning them to. Making playlists of some of my favorite bands.

 

I don't do playlists, but I do copy my friends CD collections a lot. But this will mostly be stuff I have on vinyl anyway.

 

The vinyls and cds are fun. I listen to music on my phone as well.

 

I've never done that. I don't listen to music while I'm out and about. I'd probably be dead! I've already been hit by a bus without headphones!

 

The cds are the ultimate IMHO. Progress changes things, pono, iTunes etc. I have some of the McCartney archive cd box sets and some of the archive vinyl. Having these McCartney archive boxes refreshed my love for the cd. Little by little I'm saving up for the Pink Floyd Early Years box set, for a much better price.

 

Cd Box sets are so 1990's I hear, but I still love getting a new cd box set.

 

Pono didn't exactly set the music world alight or last long. I think CD will be like vinyl but not as collectable. Formats and technology will come and go, but CD and vinyl will outlast it all.

I'm totally convinced people will be listening to vinyl forever.

I have a friend who has that Floyd box and it's beautiful.

 

I never stopped. And CDs are going for cheap these days.

 

I'm gonna spin my 1967 Mothers Of Invention Absolutely Free vinyl tonight.

 

Just picked up the new Ray Davies Americana cd today.

 

Exactly! My oldest records are a Duke Ellington 10" album from 1952 and a Hank Williams one from 1953. Both sound fine. Vinyl has been proven not to degrade when looked after. There are many 78s still in existence.

I don't know if CD will have that longevity, but many CDs from 30 years ago are still playing like new.

 

BIG time. Love the ruggedness and sound quality of a good mastered cd. Cds like vinyl will be spinning well into the future regardless of technology. IMHO

 

I can't pinpoint what it is, but there's something about the early West Germany manufactured CDs with the aluminium centres that I like. They just feel durable and seem to always sound good.

 

Nice to see I'm not alone! Thanks guys!

 

Just have a car that has a CD player with no USB etc.
I actually rip compilations from my CD collection to play on CD-R in the car. I'm old fashioned.

 

^This.