Lots of over-the-top responses here, and tortured analogies.
I'm using an Electrocompaniet EMC-1UP that is ~17 years old, and it still sounds excellent. I paid around $2300 for it used (it had also been modified) around 2006, and I see some advertised now for ~$1200 to 1500 (mostly in Europe). That's a far cry from going "to zero".
Am I missing out on meaningfully better sound through "higher resolution" streaming files? I rather doubt it. Not suggesting that no difference can be heard, at least on some systems, but I have never sought perfection in this hobby, instead building very good, synergistic systems that suit whatever space I happen to be using.
It is, of course, true that CD players all have weaknesses, and that parts will eventually fail. So yes, if one hopes to keep a good player working for a very long period of time, spare parts and those capable of doing repairs can be issues. But I find the implied assumption that streaming services will necessarily survive, or that the costs will remain reasonable, to be potentially naïve.
Some of the objections are just plain silly. Does anyone really need access to "millions" of songs? Is it really such a chore to leave one's chair every 30-40 minutes and replace a CD?
As for this:
"There’s no benefit to playing CDs on a CD player anymore."
it's simply not true. Owning a hard copy of digital media certainly can be an advantage. Although the analogy isn't fully taut, I own many film DVDs, and most have paid for themselves several times over already. Again, I appreciate that it's a different market, but many of the more esoteric films are not available on streaming services, and the DVDs have actually gone up in value over the years. Never forget that, even in the case of music, if you don't own it, you are largely at the mercy of those who do, both in terms of access and cost.
I'm using an Electrocompaniet EMC-1UP that is ~17 years old, and it still sounds excellent. I paid around $2300 for it used (it had also been modified) around 2006, and I see some advertised now for ~$1200 to 1500 (mostly in Europe). That's a far cry from going "to zero".
Am I missing out on meaningfully better sound through "higher resolution" streaming files? I rather doubt it. Not suggesting that no difference can be heard, at least on some systems, but I have never sought perfection in this hobby, instead building very good, synergistic systems that suit whatever space I happen to be using.
It is, of course, true that CD players all have weaknesses, and that parts will eventually fail. So yes, if one hopes to keep a good player working for a very long period of time, spare parts and those capable of doing repairs can be issues. But I find the implied assumption that streaming services will necessarily survive, or that the costs will remain reasonable, to be potentially naïve.
Some of the objections are just plain silly. Does anyone really need access to "millions" of songs? Is it really such a chore to leave one's chair every 30-40 minutes and replace a CD?
As for this:
"There’s no benefit to playing CDs on a CD player anymore."
it's simply not true. Owning a hard copy of digital media certainly can be an advantage. Although the analogy isn't fully taut, I own many film DVDs, and most have paid for themselves several times over already. Again, I appreciate that it's a different market, but many of the more esoteric films are not available on streaming services, and the DVDs have actually gone up in value over the years. Never forget that, even in the case of music, if you don't own it, you are largely at the mercy of those who do, both in terms of access and cost.