CD players = dead?

Exactly phd, why does there always have to be a "winner" in these discussions?  Vinyl, CD, streaming...all fit very nicely into the same system.  Having the options to chose from multiple sources need not be a contest to determine which is "best" but rather an opportunity to enjoy the choices we have.  But, I have been in this hobby long enough to remember that there have always been choices.  Reel to reel tape vs LPs, Cassettes vs LPs, CDs vs LPs, streaming vs CDs vs LPs.  It's all fun.  I just recently started using a Bluesound Node2 and ripped almost 1000 CDs to an NAS drive.  Wow!  The Bluesound has transformed the way I listen to music.  I also stream TIDAL and this adds yet another dimension to my music library.  This little device (Node 2) has made an enormous impact on the way I listen to music.  Do I plan to get rid of my CDs?  No, but I must say that my new Bryston BCD-3 and my Sony ES5400 SACD players haven't seen much use lately.  I am amazed by the sound quality of the Node 2 playing both music from my FLAC collection and TIDAL selections.  I recently did a fairly comprehensive upgrade of my entire system; new Vandersteen Quatro CT speakers, new Dynavector XX2 phono cartridge and Bryston BCD-3 and as good as these components are I would have to say the $500 Node 2 is the biggest game changer.  Maybe as the newness wears off I will get back to using my CD players and turntable more but right now I am totally smitten with the Bluesound product.

Invariably there are those who feel they must make a declaration of the "death" of a format, as if to cross it off some mythical list.  These pronouncements generally follow some new discovery in their own system that has transformed their listening experience. Not every change in audio has to be a mic drop moment.  In my experience most of these evolutionary changes coexist with other topologies or formats for some period of time. In the case of the transition from analog to digital this "progress" is not always linear in it's development.

In the past year I have added a streamer to my system and can attest to the transformative impact it has had on my listening.  I rarely listen to CDs anymore..but I am still like a child with a new toy.  I am not about to declare all my old toys obsolete.  Just as I kept my LPs back in the eighties when everyone was bailing on vinyl I will keep my CDs...and will continue to listen to them.  At some point in the future digital streaming will be "dead" also.