are cd's dead?

superscaper

Fifer wrote: »

The Falklands war?

Must be, but what an odd way to refer to the chronology.

heppy23

Since I put all my CD's (800 of them I think) onto itunes a CD doesn't have the magic it used to.

It's just something that has to be "processed" now - i.e. put on itunes then stashed away.

I don't drive as much as I used to so don't listen to as much radio or music as I used to.

Now listening to music means sticking itunes on party shuffle while I do something - unless I want to listen to something specific or unless I fancy digging out some vinyl.

I was playing some records the other day and my two year old came to see what I was up to. I was showing him some records and he said "what are those videos".

Avoriaz

Fifer wrote: »

…Many vinyl albums are pressed from digitally recorded material in any case…

That is often overlooked by vinyl die hards.

Digital recording became quite common a decades or two before CDs were introduced and many pre and post CD era vinyl recordings are digitally recorded and mastered and only converted back to analogue at the disk mastering stage.

To my ears, nothing beats a well produced CD played through a good quality system. I really do not want to go back to the hiss and crackle of vinyl. Nor do I want to have to change sides or LP every 15 or 20 minutes again.

Avoriaz

nickj wrote: »

( CDs )… were hailed as being virtually indestructible , we now know that it only takes a spec of dust to make them skip or a small scratch and they're no good...

I have about 2,500 CDs, many bought second hand, and I have never had a problem with skipping. Neither have I ever found dust to be a problem.

Many of my CDs are nearly 25 years old and they still play perfectly.

All you need to do is look after them properly. Keep them in the case when not being played and only handle them by the edges. Don’t get fingerprints on them and don’t leave them lying around and they will probably outlast you.

Fifer

Avoriaz wrote: »

To my ears, nothing beats a well produced CD played through a good quality system.

I'd suggest a well-ripped lossless file streamed through a high end digital music player played through a good quality system has the edge (pound for pound spent). It's much more convenient too. Imagine a 600+ CD jukebox (effectively limitless actually; I've only ripped 600ish CDs so far), with every track available at your fingertips, along with album art, lyrics, album reviews and more.

John51

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

whats the best way to play my cd's?

The short answer is to buy the 2nd cheapest (or better) dvd player from a known good brand like Panasonic. Game consoles have surprisingly good sound too.

Avoriaz

Fifer wrote: »

I'd suggest a well-ripped lossless file streamed through a high end digital music player played through a good quality system has the edge (pound for pound spent). It's much more convenient too. Imagine a 600+ CD jukebox (effectively limitless actually; I've only ripped 600ish CDs so far), with every track available at your fingertips, along with album art, lyrics, album reviews and more.

I have considered that and I may do it at some stage though as I wrote above, I quite like the process of selecting a CD and playing it.

I don’t agree that it is cheaper pound for pound as it involves the additional cost of a fairly expensive digital music player.

What model do you have?

I’m not sure how I will get budget approval past Mrs A who is already horrified at how much I have spent on a fairly high end system.

Fifer

Avoriaz wrote: »

I have considered that and I may do it at some stage though as I wrote above, I quite like the process of selecting a CD and playing it.

I don’t agree that it is cheaper pound for pound as it involves the additional cost of a fairly expensive digital music player.

I was meaning pound for pound spent on comparative systems, not adding to an existing one. Looking at the Slim Devices product range, it's generally regarded that the Squeezebox 2/3 (£180) outperforms most CD players twice its price and that the Transporter holds it's own against £5k CD players (it costs £1400). Here's a review from Stereophile.

Avo wrote:

What model do you have?

My main system is based around a Transporter. (I also have a Squeezebox 2, a Squeezebox 1 and I just got a Duet system as a thankyou for taking part in a a beta test programme (:D)).

superscaper

Wouldn't trust Stereophile magazine, they believe in the supernatural and are idiots. Just do a search for Pear Cables and Randi Challenge.

Fifer

Fair point. Some of their writers do appear to belong to the audiophile lunatic fringes. The Transporter is a very nice piece of kit though. (The Squeezebox is pretty good too).