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The demise of the music CD inevitable?

Hi,

Back on campus, my senior year. Everywhere I look, its all earbuds and cell phones streaming audio. None of my friends would even consider purchasing a CD! I as well almost completely stopped purchasing CD's now that I have lossless streaming from TIDAL. It seems that SQ is not an issue anymore for this generation, its content that is most important and there is no loss of it out there in the streaming world.
grm
willland's avatar
willland
846 posts
 

Many like myself still love to play CD's but also love the convenience of streaming from PC, server, and SMART phone.  There will still be the used CD's out there that many will still buy.

Is it "dead", no but maybe just dormant.


Bill


gdhal's avatar
gdhal
1,641 posts
 
I have upwards of 4,000 CDs. While I do believe it can offer the best quality playback (yes, 16bit PCM, no practical audible difference with 24bit or DSD) given a high end player, there is definitely a problem that gets little attention in forums and elsewhere on the Internet.

Pinholes.

I do not believe CD longevity is as great as it is typically purported to be. The material(s) itself wears out and often renders portions of the disk inaudible as the reflective layer "evaporates" and the laser is unable to read the data. Virtually no storage and/or handling modification can prevent this.

Back to the format itself, when "critical" listening is required/desired I believe CD playback on a dedicated player is superior and more reliable than streaming or playing digital files via computer software.

Happy to debate the issue as I’m sure my comments will draw the ire of some.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,403 posts
 
I’d like to hear from any members from the UK. My friends in England are still buying and listening to CDs, and now vinyl is huge. It seems both formats are more popular than downloads among the typical consumer.
Amazon UK has a much larger selection of new CD’s for sale than the US.
milpai's avatar
milpai
2,337 posts
 
OP,
You came to this site to investigate about CDs. Do your friends come to this site? You probably have a dedicated system. Do your friends have a dedicated system for music? Point is - how do you care if none of your friends purchased CDs. The CD market is getting smaller, but still exists. I buy CDs from time to time. I love my new Bluetooth receiver, but as gdhal said, playing a CD on a dedicated player provides a much better experience listening to music.
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