CD Alive and Well?

[StingRay]

i have cds over 20 years old with no scratches , i like the cover notes that i read .

in fact i have just been listening to a naim cd with pictures of the instruments in the orchestra and then mentally listening to the same set up on the speakers . so many interesting facts on the cover notes that are totally lost with just streaming  

Can't you get all the sleeve notes online?

 

[mr neds]

Sweeping generalisations , my friend! I bought two cds  at the weekend in the same charity shop, the first Grizzly bear album reissue and the Bon Iver Blood Bank e.p. If you look on eBay or Amazon, these are things that other people besides me seem to want!

 

[hifinutt]

Can't you get all the sleeve notes online?

no way , that would mean having my laptop open while listening to music and more faff , i doubt whether many are on line 

 

[MartinC]

I think Cd format  is very close to being dead. Its inconvenient and scratches very easily.

You appear to be confusing CDs with vinyl  .

 

[mr neds]

Whilst a lot of them appear to be online, I seem to have a vast collection of “books”, which I often read. Nothing to do with cd,s, just saying.................

 

[kelly200269]

CD is dead. Long live SACD! 

 

[StingRay]

Can't you get all the sleeve notes online?

no way , that would mean having my laptop open while listening to music and more faff , i doubt whether many are on line 

I don't use Roon, so I don't how good it is with covers. Yes you will need some device to show it of course unless you print it off. CD covers I find fairly poor compared to LPs. Many cds I have have hardly anything apart from the front and back of the sleeve.

 

[dino]

I don’t think that I own a single cd that I’ve scratched myself? But more to the point, where is this bargain palace of cd’s? I too live in Londinium and the best I’ve seen is 50p! 

 All of the charity shops sell them really cheap.  its no secret. 5 for one pound is very common, when they cant shift them or have been donated too many, some sell 8 for a pound and I have personally bought 8 to rip . Its the same with DVD. People dont want them, and even charity shops want rid of them as even they can make more money selling other items.  Only last summer, someone near where I live placed about 6 large boxes of CDS and DVD outside his house for people to take free of charge. That sums up the value of  CDS and newer stuff is usually digital download. Computer replay via a high quality DAC   sound at least as good, if not better depending on the file type  ( even MP3 , much trashed by many, sounds awesome on my system)  and you have the convenience of selecting something in seconds rather than finding the cd, putting in the machine etc etc. With close to 1000 CDS, the fun of playing different music for me become tedious   due to the hassle of locating a single Cd from so many. And with so many discs, its easy to forget what you have whereas on a computer you can browse the entire collection in seconds. I think these are some of the reasons CD is not popular today. 

 

[MartinC]

I've not looked for data on this but I suspect overwhelmingly it is the advent of streaming services like Spotify and Deezer that are the principle reason for the decline of CD sales. And I can see why for the vast majority of people, with a fairly modest monthly fee giving access to most music they have an interest in, at a quality they're perfectly happy with.

 

[mr neds]

My friends of a similar age use Spotify and/or a streamer, but they have offset this by returning to vinyl. Ya couldn’t make it up

 

[mentt]

My friends of a similar age use Spotify and/or a streamer, but they have offset this by returning to vinyl. Ya couldn’t make it up

Vinyl is cool as all cool people in the movies are playing vinyl now 

 

[dino]

You appear to be confusing CDs with vinyl  .

No, i do know the difference, Cds do scratch too if not handled well. 

 

[mr neds]

Dino, he’s joking! Lighten up, mate!

 

[bohemian]

I've picked up some real bargain classical cds from charity shops. Ok stuff people might not want - some operas, some chamber music, but not a duffer among them.

 

[HectorHughMunro]

I've picked up some real bargain classical cds from charity shops. Ok stuff people might not want - some operas, some chamber music, but not a duffer among them.

My most used CD shop is Oxfam. 

I can imagine a resurgence in CD. Streaming on anything other than Bluetooth seems to be going backwards. Every time we get close to a standard, like Squeezebox and Chromecast Audio, they get discontinued. CD is massively compatible and easy to use. It is also due a hipster renaissance. 

 

[MartinC]

No, i do know the difference, Cds do scratch too if not handled well. 

9_9

It is of course possible for a CD to be so scratched it affects playback but this should be incredibly rare. None of the CDs I've had from new have this problem, in over 20 years of buying them. Try not using CDs as drinks coasters...

 

[bigfool1956]

I wish I lived somewhere where the charity shops had any music, whatever the format, which wasn't utter shite.

 

[mr neds]

I feel for you David. Seaside towns are not the best hunting ground, especially since DFL's have opened retro shops and hoovered everything up!

 

[Lurch]

I wish I lived somewhere where the charity shops had any music, whatever the format, which wasn't utter shite.

You are only 9 miles from a terrific source of charity shop music Dave. I often spend an hour or two browsing the selection there. 

 

[bigfool1956]

You are only 9 miles from a terrific source of charity shop music Dave. I often spend an hour or two browsing the selection there. 

I keep forgetting I want to go and have a browse there.