@williewonka ’s observation-- that CD is following the path of vinyl- rings true in some ways, but it hasn’t had its resurgence yet. I’ve been a ’vinyl only’ guy forever, and am only now starting to look at CD as a serious medium. Why? Access to more music. Aside from newer material that is natively digital, some material was never released on vinyl or the original LPs are now 3 or 4 figures. The DAC market is flourishing but the CD transport market is not, except for a small handful of high end players and a few inexpensive ones. (I’m not including integrated players like the Oppo that some folks use as a transport).
The computer-based audio systems are a little daunting to me-- I am on a steep learning curve right now and will likely start with a Redbook transport and DAC. Partly because I get a little fidgety with computer issues generally, and want to keep it as simple as possible.
FWiW, and not to be provocative, the turntable/phono stage market is very robust right now at the higher end of the spectrum- it isn’t just millennials feeding that market, given the prices, but I believe this is unsustainable. It is a golden age for vinyl gear but I’m not sure that the market for high end CD playback will enjoy the same renaissance. There will always be a fringe/outlier market for "obsolete" technologies in audio, but it is a tiny portion of the market compared to the larger "mass market."
PS: I can’t comment on the sonic merits of CD v. Streaming. Convenience, not sonics, tends to be the market driver for mainstream equipment, though I’ve been told that hi-rez downloads can be amazing. I guess I’ll have to discover that for myself.
