"If you only do streaming you are not audiophile in any sense of it. You can imagine about yourself anything you like - this won't change the reality of things. As one aspect - cds when done right still sound better than streaming. This comes from someone who doesn't accept digital as a serious method of recording and reproduction."
Since I (and most of the people I know) don't refer to myself as an audiophile, that's no biggie. As far as your statement regarding streaming, you might consider that you haven't heard everything. Many would disagree with you, however, many might not. I don't even own a physical disk spinner any more, vinyl or digital, hifi or computer...no spinning disks allowed at my place. I'm sure there are many who would consider that heresy but proper downloads and a proper digital playback setup can be scary good...without the hassles.
Sure I miss the rituals on occasion, I used to enjoy watching my VPI record cleaning machine with the vacuum do its thing. That was cool, and noisy. I enjoyed opening a fresh album, recording it to my Revox reel to reel on the first play. getting it all just right. It was fun. I enjoyed watching the tape machine operate much like I enjoy a mechanical watch. Its not as accurate but its cool. Your blanket statement though lacks any credibility whatsoever. I'm sure your vinyl setup sounds great but for people who have a wide array of interests, the amount of time/money/space that it takes to get an analog setup just right may not be worth the trouble to them.
As for the demise of malls and big box stores...really? We will know the apocalypse is upon us if sunglasses kiosks and corn dog vendors begin to disappear.
If you only do streaming you are not audiophile in any sense of it. You can imagine about yourself anything you like - this won't change the reality of things. As one aspect - cds when done right still sound better than streaming. This comes from someone who doesn't accept digital as a serious method of recording and reproduction.
I don’t intend for this to sound judgmental, and I may be mistaken, but I don’t think Walmart customers were ever exactly the most music-loving people around. Or perhaps it is that they, like myself, are just not interested in the music that is currently most popular.
In the retail business, product has to "earn" its’ space on the sales floor. The amount of income generated by every square foot of floor space is analyzed every month or quarter; the product that does not generate the amount of income needed to meet the requirements of the "formula" has its’ floor space reduced until those requirements ARE met.
Music is just not earning its’ keep in Walmart. My two sisters are Walmart customers (I had never been in one until a year ago), and neither would think of buying a CD, or for that matter sitting and listening to an entire album. The people who ARE buying music aren’t doing it at Walmart, and haven’t for a long time.
In 2018 music streaming accounted for more than 75% of music consumption. Why would a retailer waste floor space on CD product that doesn't sell when it can be replaced my more profitable merchandise per square foot? This is a total non-shocker.
I was lucky, I bought a new Subaru and it has a CD player. I stream via appleplay car app and Spotify, but I am glad I have the option to spin a disc. It is sad about how much goods are not showing up in big stores, in fact whole stores (think bookstores and malls) are slowing diminishing in numbers. The sad news there (possibly an extension of your observations) is that local jobs are gone with them.
1999 ~ 939 million physical CD shipments in the U.S. 2000 ~ 942 million physical CD shipments in the U.S.
2017 ~ 88 million physical CD shipments in the U.S. 2018 ~ 52 million physical CD shipments in the U.S.
[courtesy statista.com]
the CD format has a lot of life left in it
Where's the life??? I do not remember the last time I physically saw someone (a real life non-audiophile human) spinning a disc (Mobile/Portable or at home).
Is no one 'sad' for the tens of billions of polycarbonate plastic CD cases and mixed material polycarbonate, aluminium, etc. CDs (both with low recycling potential) out in the world wilds?
I still miss the days when one could go to Barnes & Noble. I could spend hours going through their CDs at their listening stations. It's one thing to be able to go online and listen to a 40 sec sample and scroll down to see half a dozen "also bought by" recommendations that amount to a waste once you've tried them, and having dozens of CDs right at your fingertips.
Something would always catch your eye and next thing you know, you're deep into another genre of music. It's the way I'm wired and used to. I might be a digital guy when it comes to format, but I'm an analog guy when it comes to the senses: having them all work in conjunction to arrive at a destination. Seeing, touching and listening.
And like uberwaltz has pointed out, the CD format has a lot of life left in it. Just check out the reviews of the latest stereo show and CDs are back in a big way. That, and they sound as good, if not better, and with less hassle, than streaming.
uberwaltz - I agree with you. Although I am not a fan of WalMart it is sad to see that nearly everywhere they have stopped selling CD's. The only good news is, that because the general public doesn't want them any more, you can buy used (most like new) CD's for next to nothing. In the summer I stop by yard sales and I don't know how many hundreds of nice CD's off all music genres are for sale for $ 0.50 each or $1.00 each. Usually they are like brand new and some are even in the sealed package.
I’ve been known to use an inverter off the cigarette lighter to get a 120vac line... and put a premium mid-grade/boom box mini system in the back seat. (like a Sony APM mini system)
and then use the premium cassette deck in it....
Have to reach into the back seat to swap the cassette..
And with all due respect just imho NOT going out and just ordering everything online and becoming a race of house hermits is part of what is wrong with the world today and present attitudes.
Sure there are times I will order stuff online but usually only because I know there is no store within reasonable distance that would stock what I wanted.
Other times I actually relish going out and buying stuff in stores, call me old school in that respect, that's fine its not for everyone I understand.
I am not sad that WalMart in itself had decided to stop selling cd,s but rather just the state of business surrounding in store sales on hard media has declined so badly that they no longer felt the need to stock them.
And to ALL the naysayers on playing cd,s you need to back up and try playing them through a decent transport and DAC and add The Gate to your system and then review your thoughts.
And as a FYI.
If anybody had bothered to check my virtual systems you would see I have just about every media playback covered ( apart from oddballs like DAT, MiniDisc, 8 track etc!)
So yes I stream.... A LOT! I also access music from my NAS.... A LOT!
But there is still something about hard media that is satisfying whether that be vinyl, cassette, R2R or CD/SACD.
Not interested in the slightest in any discussion or argument over which format is best, that is purile and not where I was going at all.
And heck yes, just bought another load of cd,s at $1 and 50 cents from the charity shops next door to WallyWorld.
All due respect but buying on line is not the culprit in and of itself as a reason to "miss" anything or be "sad". In many ways, its like lamenting the fact that you don't have to churn your butter any more or reminiscing about the days before refrigeration.
Its just so much better to browse everything available (in the world, not in your local 5 and dime) and make a purchase and get it immediately. No starting a car, no going from place to place to place to try to find what you are after or worse, having to wait days or weeks for the special order to arrive at the store for you to repeat the above process of driving to go pick it up.
I remember walking through walmart with my late father and he said he missed the days of going to the record shop and getting to hear a record prior to making a purchase. Now that would have been great, avoiding the mistake of guessing whether the album was good or not. Those record booths are now back with a vengeance, you can listen to everything prior to buying and get it immediately. I'm sorry pop didn't get to see it come back in a virtual way. The one thing missing in all of these examples though is the loss of the social interaction with others while digging a new record. That never existed at walmart anyway.
Please don't be sad...today is the golden age of audio and music. Never have so many companies been making high quality gear. Never. Never have so many artists been able to record and distribute their music. Never. In both cases, they can take it directly to the consumer with a supply chain velocity that was impossible 20 years ago. Celebrate today, embrace it that someone in rural Montana can get a symphonic release put out an hour ago in Munich. Celebrate that they get a decent rig shipped to their door in a day or 2.
If you return to WalMart next week, next month, maybe tomorrow, there might be a 8’ diameter bin filled with discounted CDs. All scientifically unsorted and just waiting for someone like me to begin a futile attempt to systematically sift through looking for a a gem.
Since I subscribe to Tidal and Qobuz, I always have a list of albums with me that I want to hear but cant stream. Usually, I’ll order the CD from Amazon.
But that bin full of CDs must have one or two nuggets in it, right?
Be glad WalMart didn’t have any CDs. It could have been worse.
Lately, I've been seeing more-and-more movies whose content has been "revised". Much more political editing to come I'm sure. At least with physical media, you know that what you have will be there in the future.
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