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.

Everything is relative. Comparing CD to cassettes, for instance, I find cassettes more dynamic, more entertaining/musical, more full bodied and more raw. I will listen to CDs on occasion, however.

For audiophile, I should say CD players are the best in terms of audio sound quality. Even though I used my portable speaker most of the time, I still love listening my playlist CD collections from my CD player. So I think CD player is not dead and will not.
I used my portable speaker most of the time because it is more convenient. I can pair with my phone and play it, and I can stream latest tracks directly from it too because it has Wi-Fi.
Regarding sound comparison, I'd say CD is perfect. My portable bluetooth speaker also just sounds great even while streaming music over Wi-Fi. The sound clarity is almost negligible.

To those of you who downloaded their entire CD collections and donated them to thrift stores .... my undying thanks. :-)

Frank

Your welcome!