are cd's dead?

want2bmortgage3

i dont know about anyone else, but i kind of miss the old way of having a cd album, putting it in a hifi (independent of a laptop or pc) and playing it from start to finish. no worries about what bitrate its at, cd quality, album as it was intended, with the bonus of artwork and sleeve notes.

so far i haven't really got into mp3/wma/m4a, i dont really like having it tied to my computer, it was nice to just have a cd and a stereo. also there are so many questions about where to download it from, what quality to use, whether to get an ipod or alternative, what set of speakers to get.

does anyone feel the same as me ? if there are converts here please can you advise me how you enjoy your music now and maybe i can be converted too!

BillScarab

CD's dead? Not for me. I still prefer to buy a CD and then rip it if I want to use it elsewhere. For example I cna put loads of albums on one disc in MP3 format to use it in the car. At least by buying CD's I have a physical backup of all of my music.

Mind you I still miss LP's for the cover art and sleeve notes. CD's are far too small for decent cover art.

New technology and formats are all very well but each new technology seems to remove some of the side benefits. It was far more tactile and exciting cueing up a record than loading a CD.

superscaper

I only buy CDs nowadays. There's no real advantage to downloads (more expensive, lower bitrate, no physical medium...).

want2bmortgage3

it was nice to read your replies, i'm glad i'm not the only one who still likes cd's! i have another question, whats the best way to play my cd's? in the shops they dont seem to sell many hi-fi systems anymore. ive only seen some micro systems with small speakers. is the future just playing the cd's from your pc/laptop with a computer speaker system? can you still buy new cd players with good speakers ? things now seem to be gear up for ipod docking and not much else!

Shimrod

There's still plenty of hi-fi specialists out there, you just won't find much in the way of hi-fi separates at the big chains these days.
I don't know what your budget is, but at the lower to mid end start of with http://www.richersounds.com/ who have shops all over the country. They often seem to carry end of line products at very good prices.
Others worth looking at are sevenoaks, superfi and practical hi-fi (the latter is only in North West England). All have websites, although pratical hi-fi won't sell online.

[Deleted User]

Go to richer sounds.. you'll see plenty of big speaker systems there.

I recently bought 3 CDs.. first thing I did was rip them to iTunes and then put the CD/cases away (probably never to be seen again)

It's a shame really, but it's just the way things are moving. I've now got my entire music collection on my ipod and PC. It comes with me on holiday, in the car, in the kitchen.. i really don't want to have hundreds of CDs lying around making a mess

edit: i've got a denon micro system myself (http://www.hifisuppliers.co.uk/website/mini-micro-systems/denon-dm35.htm) It's very good and you don't need big speakers for big sound

want2bmortgage3

thanks. that looks a nice little system, cd and dab radio, what more do you need? i do have a richer sounds near me so i'll check them out. seems like cd players are becoming specialist items now and ipods have taken over the mainstream..

[Deleted User]

I've actually got the older model.. bought it 5 years ago - but you wouldn't know it. Won Best mini hifi in the Which magazines for many years running

All it needs is a built in iPod dock and i'd be even happier!

pennymakespounds

This was a subject very close to my heart recently .. and seems i've gone through same sort of thoughts as the posters on this thread . .. and ringo sums it up as "the way it's going" .

It was when i went into comet to look at a new mini hifi system at xmas and got funny looks !!.. and salesman started talking about ipods .. docking sytems .. ripping etc etc !!.

Want2bmortgage3........You'll find a number of posts i've done on here ... must say i've had brilliant help from the techie experts on here .

i've now got just an ipod .... with my favourite tracks from my collection of now redundant cd's ......

and i've also got loads of brilliant stuff from ... video/concert movie clips from Youtube.. which i've been able to get the audio onto my ipod ..

and just this week .. again with help on here ... been able to get the music off the many many dvd's i have of music gigs/concerts... now onto my ipod .

Bought a portable bose docking system for around the house .. and an ipod griffin for £10 off ebay which enables me to run the ipod through the car radio.

Have to say .. my ipod ... really has transformed my life !! ... love music .. and to have so much now .. so simple .. brilliant !!

Want2bmortgage3... go for it !!!

loudcox

Yes, they're on the way out if my experience is anything to go by.

Eight months ago I moved into a one bedroomed place, and had nowhere to store my 1200 CDs.

So, I bought a NAS with TwonkyMedia installed, and ripped all my CDs to FLAC format, stored on the NAS. (Twonkymedia is a DLNA media server that streams music, photos, videos etc.)

Now I can get to my music (and vids etc) from any computer (and even my mobile), anywhere and have the same unified library of music at the original, CD quality. The CDs now live in 2 DJ boxes rather than 4 bookcases, and the cases given away.

And I've not touched them since.

missile

I have the same Denon system too and it makes great music with CDs. However most of my music collection is on my iPod which I can play through my home cinema home cinema surround system. I also download music to MP3 compilation CDs to play in my car. I know there is supposed to be a huge difference in sound quality with MP3, but I honestly can't tell.

I find that many of my favourite CDs have tracks I do not like. The big plus for me is that I can compile my own choice of tunes. For me the adavantages oughtweigh the cons.