The only thing harder to sell than 8 track tapes are laser discs. 😬
What will become of my beloved CDs?
I have nearly 2000 CDs (DVDA, SACD, etc) and am very fond of them, or at least the music that is on them. However, it seems that music distribution is going to someday soon be totally on-line through downloads (True? When?). So, when most all of the music on my CDs is available in higher-quality on-line downloads (with artwork, I'm sure), what will become of my CDs? Will they be the shiny-silver equivalent to 8-Track tapes? Or, will they become a novelty and collectable? Should I seel them ASAP?? Any economists here???
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I bought SACDs as soon as anything I remotely liked came on them.. Then I bought some of the DVD-Audios. Then I bought a player that played them both. Then I realized that DVD-Audio is very inconvenient when you do not own a TV. I managed to figure it out and placed Post-It notes with instructions in each DVD-Audio case (enter-up arrow-up arrow-right arrow-enter-enter-etc.). Now I have no player, no TV, and a few DVD-Audio discs that can be played on close-to-none of the new players. I am still not giving them away, maybe some day some distant Goodwill will have a DVD-Audio machine for $5. When it comes to different formats, I have Bob Dylan’s Blood On The Tracks on cassette, CD, SACD, MiniDisc (you did not see this coming, did you?), and LP record. When I realized how silly it was, I looked for it on eBay, too, but some freak snatched the 8-track in last moments. I have never even seen an 8-track player, except on the picture, but thought it would be the right one to start my 8-track tape collection with. In fact, I have Blood On The Tracks by Mary Lee's Corvette on CD, too. |
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Most of the new CDs I buy come from Amazon and about every fifth or so disk is part of their Amazon Music program. In this curious animal, your CD automatically appears in your online account for streaming and potential download as a MP3 file. So while I am waiting for the CD to arrive, I sometimes stream the advance copy and get a feel for the new listening style. Here's what I have found. Something strange in Amazon keeps the file order unpredictable so the stream will not always move from track to track properly. There are, as well, numerous clicks and pops as part of the streaming network process -- usually at least one for every track. When you download a MP3 file and compare it to the stream the download sounds better -- clearer and more precise (even though they should be the same). Then, when the CD comes I rip it into JRiver and upsample it to the DAC with SoX. The sound quality is so much better that it always reminds me: MP3 really sucks but its faults are particularly evident when you compare it directly to a CD wave file. SO, despite the continual pressure from the forces behind the Spotify/Tidal crowd I do not find streaming the same quality as CDs well done and think it is another case where the philosophy of "almost as good" is being sold to the public. |
elizabeth, I, by putting turntable in a different state (geographically), managed to resist having 37 different vinyl versions of Blood On The Tracks but would have probably collected them over time, had I only had something to play them on. You surely beat me to that one. However, I do have two Blonde On Blonde SACDs. One is single layer and on one disc and one is hybrid and that one is on two discs. And I do not even like that album. Have you ever read a short book by Nick Hornby named Songbook? It is an interesting and unexpected read. If you come across that book, see chapter about one Bob Dylan’s song. First few sentences describe just what we are talking about. https://books.google.com/books?id=eZ8q0jS2oskC&pg=PA39&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2#v=onepage&... |
Elizabeth: As someone who has 25 or so music blu-rays, can second your assessment of their marginal value. In the classical field they have perished a quick death because of high production costs and low sales. The best I have are the Chailly Mahler symphonies that are memorable because of their sound engineering -- which is the best I have heard for orchestral music. Naxos tried to offer blu-rays that could be played without a tv connection and I tried several of their offerings -- they are awful. Have been told that Sony abandoned the SACD format after reputable articles appeared showing it had inherent noise/distortion faults in the 1-bit design. So, this last week, bought some new Sony CD releases made after they moved to the high-res PCM format. They are incredibly accurate for orchestral textures and far superior to any of the SACDs I have gotten. As I have stated many times, think the death of the CD was prematurely announced and that it will survive more emphatically than many streamers believe. |
craigl59, That Bob Dylan is my whole pre-recorded MiniDisc library. I have a few more that someone else recorded for me, but have not had a MiniDisc player until a few years ago when I did not really need it anymore. I bought a portable Sharp player just to hear what was on those MiniDiscs. Speaking of moderately-failed SONY attempts, a friend of mine has their aftermarket car unit with SACD. At the same time, and still speaking of similarly-fated formats, I find pleasure in reminding every member of Audiogon that first, and maybe even only, universal SACD/DVD-Audio car player was made by.....BOSE. It was standard in 612 (Scaglietti). |
glupson: Speaking of Bose, I also have a pair of fairly new 901s in the garage and I'm not getting rid of them, either. They are the most hated speaker in the world while, at the same time, having the longest production run. I know many classical musicians (and especially composers) that love them. Just like Sony, it is a mystery to me why Bose won't update the 901s with computer technology and EQ and produce a state of the art result with their holographic soundstage capabilities. Wrote to them and suggested a specific plan; they said they'd get back to me (3 years ago). |
craigl59, "So, this last week, bought some new Sony CD releases made after they moved to the high-res PCM format. They are incredibly accurate for orchestral textures and far superior to any of the SACDs I have gotten." You could not wait to break this news for another few days? Prompted by this thread, I decided to buy a new and hopefully my last CD player and, while I would be at it, let it be a SACD player, too. I was thinking about getting it soon, kind of like...tomorrow. If I can find it somewhere, that is. |
craigl59, Your garage seems to be an interesting place. Any wind-up record players there? Bose people probably have no time to respond to you. They are perfecting their headphones and Bluetooth speakers and use all those computers for that. Which reminds me that I have a SONY Bluetooth speaker that is great. Better than Bose. Not Krell, but for the hotel room just what the doctor prescribed. |
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glupson: No wind-up players but have taken a large 2 car garage and slimmed it down to one single car space with industrial shelves for the old stuff. AND, YES, have over 30 boxes of nothing but cables (carefully organized...). Have built several small home studios and the number of cables in the world, just like Cavalier Spaniel hair, is infinite... |
glupson: Well, I have a vintage Oppo BDP-83 (garaged of course) that has had its value increase dramatically because of Oppo's demise. Don't think it has SACD, though. My two main sound systems are video-based on Oppo Darbee players and when they die, will be up the creek. Just like CDs, think that Oppo overreacted to the supposed upcoming demise of the CD in closing its shop. BTW, experimented with SACD offerings for several years and to my ears, the best sounding ones are those that reissue quadriphonic releases from the 70s. The Doors, Pink Floyd, and Blue Oyster Cult SACDs are spellbinding. The quad revolution (remember it well) did not mind funneling a lot of music content to the back speakers. And its a gas, still, today. |
dweller, You are absolutely right. I wonder how much do spare ones even cost. Must be a big chunk of the whole machine. I do not see myself using it that much so I was hoping it would last as long as my ears will. So a few decades, give or take. Do lasers and whole mechanisms deteriorate even when not used? Some sort of "death chip"? I was thinking about one of Luxman SACD players. |
Streaming is not owning, consumer grade computers are junk and break often. This is not currently a hardware for audiophiles. One day, probably. How long are you going to live ? Keep all the discs you like, and records and tapes and 78s and 8 tracks and whatever. You do need great digital front end to make them sound, well, not bad. |
Ikea CD shelves -- check them out. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00323364/ Am using 13 so far -- they fit perfectly in hallways. Use a Brother PT-D210 labeler to identify each letter and sort by name. But this may too expensive for some; the labeler is a hot $25 (LOL). |