CDP's being dumped for hard drive driven units?

I'm a superb "getter outer" and a terrible "putter backer".... and considering some of my challenges, that is a mess waiting to happen.

Add to that I'm also a perfectionist with a poor track record, and there's yet another obstacle.

having ALL my music at my fingertips is a really attractive prospect for me, especially if I don't have to keep onto the orgainization of them all.

The sound quality however was the issue for me. I'm also not opposed to investigating something new or different in audio performance. I found over this past year and most recently via the addition of a decent DAC that music files can and do correlate to great sounding events.

I vasilated over whether or not to go all in and sell my Sony xa777 for a good while too. Ultimately I AB'd lots of CDs & files in various formats, with various media players, and with the CD players I had on hand and kept coming up with only marginal diffs overall. Albeit the DAC being the bottleneck or main influence throughout.

consequently, given organizational appeal, readiness, varieity, all being on the upside, I'm going all in now on the magnetic arena. The sole downside I've found thus far is this: "Depth of the sound stage" isn't as deep as it is with disc players in general.

Apart from that lone aspect, the resolution and details are improved upon by and large, tonality is as keen, and imagaing is great. Ambient venue retreval is improved upon more often too.

.... and it sure beats finding and then putting the little silver goobers back up, or even burning compilations time and time again.

So does that mean I'll sell all my discs once ripped and backed up?.. or that I'm 100% done with CDPs?

No. Probably not... not until there is some major breakthrough in Disc player tech.

Farmdoc
well, 6 out of 10 responses agree hard drive based music equals or surpasses compact disc levels.... so I'd not say the responses are all over the place at all.

I will say I think there's far more to it than what you are asking for here.

Albeit even a few dozen hits here wouldn't protray an accurate view. Go over to the pc audiophile web site and ask there. Still it's doubtful an accurate indicator will be revealed.

Music servers per se are not the only way to utilize hard drive music ssystems or even optimize them IMO. they're merely for those seeking plug and play solutions that have the money to acquire them. I'd be suprised if manufacturered 'ready rolled' music servers indeed did surpass the MAC or PC music generated systems.

Personal confuser use does involve a learning curve but is cheaper with more flexibility. in my own case I feel I've attained another level of performance and ease of use for sure, and it's not limited to merely my own system that I account for this with... I've heard much more expensive gear than my own with which to make that claim.

Change is a tuff thing for many people too. Never mind the results may yield a better level of performance. Add to this the current level of investment in CDs & their CDP too, and another obstacle is represented. Namely, the economic hurdle represented as the current investment on hand.

If i had six or eight grand wrapped up in a CDP, my ego would likely prevent me from even investigating for a good long while some other path. I'd sure hate to find out that a notebook/laptop, network drive and a DAC could either equal or improve upon my mega buck player. Especially if I was satisfied with what I was getting already.

I do feel it's going to become more than a 'niche' market and very soon. Around here however, the largest key will be the performance level of it, or so I would hope.

Drubin
When I bought my 'Whatever CDs' did I somehow agree I would never resell or gift them to another?

If it's illegal to resell CDs or any other disc, or album, preowned, why would this site or any others participate, and thereby endorse, such illicit activities?

From buying or downloading free tracks and used CDs I've spent more on new CDs as the result as I've been enabled greater familiarity with the artists work. The days of buying a 'pig in a poke' are near gone.

In fact, it is my understanding, any artist connected to a major lable makes his or her or their moneies by performances by and large, and not nearly as much as CD sales.

Didn't all this get decided some few years ago when lables found out copyright protection wasn't working anyhow??

These same labels as I recall also said they would lower the costs of CDs down the road... even after losing a class action suit over that aspect, they've not done it.... and won't. they ain't ever done me any favors... and they lied too, so I'll do as I please with that which I buy outright, or that which given to me.

Drubin
Well... OK.

Everybody that's either duped a CD and gave it as a gift, or went to the library and ripped that CD onto their PC.... Raise your hand... or not.

Also anyone that's bought used CDs... Guilty?

Why yes I am. So as Adlai Stevenson so aptly put it, "I believe in the forgiveness of sin, and the redemption of ignorance." as principles are easier to point to than to follow perfectly.

PCs do fail, but then, what doesn’t?

And PCs only fail at the end of the month or right at the beginning …. Just before bill paying time…. And on holidays…. And at one year intervals…. And just after the service plan expires.

Thankfully the in home service plan enables the associated support team to shuffle through the entire gizmo, replacing everything within it as they don’t actually know what’s wrong to begin with… hence you wind up with a new pc… such is my case on the last 3, anyways. So I’ve two more waiting in the wings…. If needed.

My first one from 2001 still runs… but I gave it away to a friend.

The only true big deal is if no backing up was done along the way and significant data was lost due to a failure.

I found one app I really like for keeping the pc and me safe. “Acronis true Image”. About once a year I have that app completely wipe and reinstall the os. It takes about 30 minutes. Then a couple hours to redo all my preffs, securities and themes, other apps, etc., as it’s back to the right out of the box way it came. It’s Easy. If my mind wasn’t so ‘sieve like’ I’d save an image of the finished reinstall, and simply mount that one instead of going back to scratch each time. Oil well, maybe someday I’ll figure that one out too.

Using that reinstall app, I've only had to call support once in the last 3 years. It was my fault. I applied a uh, tweak to the front of the tower with my fist when it became hard to start. Apparently, PCs that fail to start up, don't react well to being struck with great enough force to dent the cabinent and break the front plate into pieces.

Who knew?