The end of the CD

[Rodney Gold]

Tang..is that a schnauzer in your avatar?
I havent bought a cd since joining Tidal...used to buy 3 a week or more

 

[KeithR]

the reason streaming has caught on (and I was initially skeptical) is that not only is it easier - but the access to new music is so much greater. people on this forum are listening to 1/4 of the great music out there simply because they aren't streaming. also, the ease of sharing a new album is ridiculously cool - it takes two clicks, not burning a cd or bringing it over. i get a half dozen new albums PER WEEK from friends because of this aspect.

I can't tell you how many great artists I've discovered only because of streaming. So if you want to fight about a hair better using a 10 year old transport that is likely to break, have at it - but if you aren't on Roon/Tidal/Spotify etc you are missing so much about being a musicphile with your audiophile friends.

and it saves you a ton of money that you can purchase new gear with as a bonus

 

[Al M.]

So if you want to fight about a hair better using a 10 year old transport that is likely to break, have at it

Or use a currently produced transport from Canada that sells like hotcakes in Europe.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Keith, I’ll need every penny I can get to afford an MSB

 

[Empirical Audio]

The next thing will be music and video rentals only, no ownership, except maybe only for playback real-time. That will protect them from copyright violations, particularly from Russians and Chinese.

We should all enjoy media ownership as long as it lasts, because it wont. The days of having an album on your hard-drive or a disk on your shelf are numbered I fear.

It's possible that the market for actual media could be big in the future.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

 

[RogerD]

If anyone wants to dispose of their outdated Cd's please PM me. I will pay shipping...thanks.

 

[bonzo75]

So Marc, this is a clear reason for me to stream - while I no doubt think the right LP is sonically better, imagine this situation...you go to a live show - say Beethoven's Violin concerto. And love it. Or some other performance. You now want to know which performance of this you should get. The Kogan performance on an orginal Decca is 5000 quid, Oistrakh is also expensive. Ok, there are some low priced ones.

So you ask Google. This is what you get http://www.talkclassical.com/12999-recommend-beethoven-violin-concerto.html

Or take Bruch Scottish Fantasia http://www.violinist.com/discussion/archive/24754/

Anything else...

Imperative to glance at least one page each of those links before moving forward.

It is impossible to buy CD after CD or LP after LP of those and see which you like best. I have tried these kind of things on youtube many times and many sound good, because it is the music we get on youtube, the stage, depth, dynamics, clarity of recording, balance, etc I cannot judge off youtube. The 20 quid Melodiya and the 5000 quid Decca of Kogan sound similar SQ wise on my laptop. If you can stream these into a hifi system, you will be much better off and much more into the music and able to judge the digital recording at least, which I assume will give a better insight into what the performance is like. Once you like a couple, you can buy the LP, based on price/value. Of course, best is if you were loaded and could spend 10k on buying all the LPs of this concerto and deciding. even if you don't buy first press, still expensive.

 

[GaryProtein]

I would never go out with a girl who listened to music with one earphone.

Neither would I

The next thing will be music and video rentals only, no ownership, except maybe only for playback real-time. . . . . We should all enjoy media ownership as long as it lasts, because it wont. The days of having an album on your hard-drive or a disk on your shelf are numbered I fear.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

I agree. I want to own a hard copy of the music I play and enjoy.

I do not want to rent it.

LONG LIVE AMAZON.COM and the few Hi Res CD dealers online.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Ked, I get that. For me I don’t have to have the very best performance on lp or cd. I’m happy with whatever I buy.
There’s always The Penguin Guide To Classical Music On Lp.
Tbh, the main reason for me to go w streaming is new music, cult and avant garde, specific genres and Roon based searches I’d never easily find the old fashioned way.
This has been covered to death on other threads.

 

[treitz3]

Ah, I remember the day when they said vinyl will be long gone and a thing of the past...

Tom

 

[bonzo75]

Ked, I get that. For me I don’t have to have the very best performance on lp or cd. I’m happy with whatever I buy.
There’s always The Penguin Guide To Classical Music On Lp.
Tbh, the main reason for me to go w streaming is new music, cult and avant garde, specific genres and Roon based searches I’d never easily find the old fashioned way.
This has been covered to death on other threads.

I didn't say the best...I would personally like to go through those performances myself, around 10 for each of those pieces, best or not. They will all be good. The Penguin is a review...I am not taling about getting somebody's review or opinion...I have the desire to listen to Heifetz, Oistrakh, Kogan, Perlman, Ferras, Grumiaux, etc myself. Same with any other piece. There isn't a best here. You are thinking with your gear hat on. Click on those links and spend some time reading, not debating. You can always win this argument later.

 

[ddk]

High end is niche and it seems to follow mostly it's own path and less the daily trends and a lot of what affects the mass market is of little consequence to our sector. Even if they stopped stamping CDs tomorrow there'll be still be an near endless supply out there for purchase so personally I don't see CD players/transports becoming obsolete anytime soon. Some of us like myself have large CD collections in the thousands and can't live with streamed & computer digital's sound quality not to mention the interface, this is a fact. Having heard many of the latest & greatest servers and played with online services I'm more convinced today that CD sound through a high quality transport is superior and will survive in the high end than ever before, convinced enough to start distribution of CD players again.

david

 

[NorthStar]

It's about Best Buy and Target stores pulling the plug on CDs. They are not selling in those stores, that's all what it is, nothing to worry about the CD extinction. No way Jose.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Ked, your idea has merit, but my time is already pretty tight without listening to multiple versions of compositions.
Classical investigation is never going to be the main reason for me to go streaming.
But finding out of print prog/fusion or allied searches inspired by Roon could well be.
Of course that takes one onto the thorny subject of SQ. Streaming is of no use to me if a solution doesnt come up to the high standards of my cdp or tt.

 

[bonzo75]

Ked, your idea has merit, but my time is already pretty tight without listening to multiple versions of compositions.
Classical investigation is never going to be the main reason for me to go streaming.
But finding out of print prog/fusion or allied searches inspired by Roon could well be.
Of course that takes one onto the thorny subject of SQ. Streaming is of no use to me if a solution doesnt come up to the high standards of my cdp or tt.

I think it is. Because even assuming it has lower sonics (which is a different debate) it takes focus away from sonics to the music. And not going to the extreme of youtube, it keeps you well within hifi realm. But it requires this mind shift. You will stop upgrading gear once you start upgrading recordings. And you will stop upgrading recordings once you start investigating performances. Cheaper OCD.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Well of course it doesn’t stop one level of upgrading, cdp to streamer/dac.
Upgrading components otherwise is not on the agenda anymore, whether I get into streaming not.

 

[KeithR]

Of course that takes one onto the thorny subject of SQ. Streaming is of no use to me if a solution doesnt come up to the high standards of my cdp or tt.

Spirit, I believe with the right server it does. But please spin your wheels for another year on the subject instead of borrowing one lol

Innous is even local for you.

 

[Al M.]

High end is niche and it seems to follow mostly it's own path and less the daily trends and a lot of what affects the mass market is of little consequence to our sector. Even if they stopped stamping CDs tomorrow there'll be still be an near endless supply out there for purchase so personally I don't see CD players/transports becoming obsolete anytime soon. Some of us like myself have large CD collections in the thousands and can't live with streamed & computer digital's sound quality not to mention the interface, this is a fact. Having heard many of the latest & greatest servers and played with online services I'm more convinced today that CD sound through a high quality transport is superior and will survive in the high end than ever before, convinced enough to start distribution of CD players again.

david

Thank you, David. I love your post.

 

[KeithR]

High end is niche and it seems to follow mostly it's own path and less the daily trends and a lot of what affects the mass market is of little consequence to our sector. Even if they stopped stamping CDs tomorrow there'll be still be an near endless supply out there for purchase so personally I don't see CD players/transports becoming obsolete anytime soon. Some of us like myself have large CD collections in the thousands and can't live with streamed & computer digital's sound quality not to mention the interface, this is a fact. Having heard many of the latest & greatest servers and played with online services I'm more convinced today that CD sound through a high quality transport is superior and will survive in the high end than ever before, convinced enough to start distribution of CD players again.

david

Why don't you expound upon what servers and digital interfaces you've tried in your system and others. Enquiring minds want to know...

 

[Empirical Audio]

I'm more convinced today that CD sound through a high quality transport is superior and will survive in the high end than ever before, convinced enough to start distribution of CD players again.

You just listened to the wrong computer-driven gear. The latest Ethernet interfaces beat everything. The best CD transport is not even in the same league.

Here is the jitter from a typical transport:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=154408.0

Even the best transports need a lot of help. Many of the new transports are nothing more than computers with CDROM drives disguised as a transport. Why do you think manufacturers are doing this? Cost? No. It's because they perform better. Lower jitter.

If you must use a transport and spin CD's, at least put an end to the tweaks (treatments, pens, coatings, demagnetization etc..) and lower the jitter significantly. Get a good reclocker like the Synchro-Mesh and a reference BNC cable.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio