It a question of what you're after. If you want a good that can be possessed then CD's are still quite ubiquitous, and with the data invariably you will get 16/44100 without lossy compression: a minimum of surprises there.
Certainly you can purchase music downloads through online stores or use streaming services, both being much quicker and logistically efficient than purchasing physical media, but there are some variables with regards to the data and use restrictions between different services.
Streaming services does away with the idea of even 'holding' music, and you access a library which is quite easily many times that of what one may have amassed in CD purchases.
In my case, whilst I do purchase CD's actually using them to hold the audio for consumption is pretty much out. I rip them for playback on my various devices that can play the music, none of which access a CD.
Certainly you can purchase music downloads through online stores or use streaming services, both being much quicker and logistically efficient than purchasing physical media, but there are some variables with regards to the data and use restrictions between different services.
Streaming services does away with the idea of even 'holding' music, and you access a library which is quite easily many times that of what one may have amassed in CD purchases.
In my case, whilst I do purchase CD's actually using them to hold the audio for consumption is pretty much out. I rip them for playback on my various devices that can play the music, none of which access a CD.
I have my music mostly on the pc now.
On main hard drive, on back up drive and on a couple of flash drives too.
It is also on a couple of mp3 players.
A few years ago my pc hard drive packed up so I bought a new one and loaded on Windows. For some reason Windows decided to format my backup drive too and I lost masses of music and years of work. Luckily I had some DVD's with some of my work on so all was not lost.
I still have the odd DVD with work and music on.
The CD's I have never seem to fail. But I am careful how I look after them and they are scratch free.
On main hard drive, on back up drive and on a couple of flash drives too.
It is also on a couple of mp3 players.
A few years ago my pc hard drive packed up so I bought a new one and loaded on Windows. For some reason Windows decided to format my backup drive too and I lost masses of music and years of work. Luckily I had some DVD's with some of my work on so all was not lost.
I still have the odd DVD with work and music on.
The CD's I have never seem to fail. But I am careful how I look after them and they are scratch free.
Stamped CD's are quite difficult to destroy, as the data layer is moulded between the plastic outer layers. The plastic layer can usually be resurfaced to an acceptable level that CD players can read. Even in poor cases whilst the good old non-error-correctling CD player may not pick up on read issues, ripper tools certainly can.
Burnt CD's are a different story though, as the data layer is usually on one of the surfaces. It's not the clear surface that you need to worry about, it's the surface which actually holds the data on the other side. Burned DVD's are in some respects tougher than burned CD's here due to this reason - as the data layer(s) need to be inside the disc - however burned DVD's are much more sensitive to time degradation of the data layer materials due to the much higher data density. Certainly if you look back in time you will find many people debating and testing the longevity of burnable DVD media and some cheap media would only last less than a year whereas quality media would last for much longer.
Burnt CD's are a different story though, as the data layer is usually on one of the surfaces. It's not the clear surface that you need to worry about, it's the surface which actually holds the data on the other side. Burned DVD's are in some respects tougher than burned CD's here due to this reason - as the data layer(s) need to be inside the disc - however burned DVD's are much more sensitive to time degradation of the data layer materials due to the much higher data density. Certainly if you look back in time you will find many people debating and testing the longevity of burnable DVD media and some cheap media would only last less than a year whereas quality media would last for much longer.
... and still have a physical backup, that lasts longer than a hard drive.
Also a very important argument:
Many musicians without a huge fanbase going into the hundredthousands
are selling CD. Shares with streaming or downloads are so
incredible low for the musicians that touring and
selling Cds directly to the audience or through their small webshops
has become the main income.
Also a very important argument:
Many musicians without a huge fanbase going into the hundredthousands
are selling CD. Shares with streaming or downloads are so
incredible low for the musicians that touring and
selling Cds directly to the audience or through their small webshops
has become the main income.
I have quite a few cd's purchased in the very early days of cd and despite the claims of
p..p...p...p...per..perfect sound forever occasionally one will just fail and refuse to load even if still in an outwardly mint condition , i remember reading somewhere years ago that data on commercial discs is stored closer to the label surface than the playing side so it's equally important to keep that side damage free.
Personally i will never give up my cd's for a hdd full of music just waiting to be corrupted ,
and you can be certain at some point it will be .
I did consider at one time buying one of those Cocktail units as i wanted a way of playing ' endless ' music in the background while i worked , i don't own or intend to own a pc , then i saw the price so i made my own from an old xbox 360 feeding a class d amp and a pair of FR speakers for about a tenth of the price .
p..p...p...p...per..perfect sound forever occasionally one will just fail and refuse to load even if still in an outwardly mint condition , i remember reading somewhere years ago that data on commercial discs is stored closer to the label surface than the playing side so it's equally important to keep that side damage free.
Personally i will never give up my cd's for a hdd full of music just waiting to be corrupted ,
and you can be certain at some point it will be .
I did consider at one time buying one of those Cocktail units as i wanted a way of playing ' endless ' music in the background while i worked , i don't own or intend to own a pc , then i saw the price so i made my own from an old xbox 360 feeding a class d amp and a pair of FR speakers for about a tenth of the price .
Last edited:
Yes because they are cheap and good quality
Probably, but if you want lots of cheap music recorded onto a good quality medium, probably not
You're welcome
"Like record players?"
Sort of - except record players are low-tec and not subject to things like operating software copyrights (I assume these apply to CD technology) . I'd think that CD players would be much more difficult for smaller producers to produce to meet demand if the major manufacturers ceased producing them. Maybe I'm wrong on this...
Sort of - except record players are low-tec and not subject to things like operating software copyrights (I assume these apply to CD technology) . I'd think that CD players would be much more difficult for smaller producers to produce to meet demand if the major manufacturers ceased producing them. Maybe I'm wrong on this...
Mmm, you got me wondering...I typed cd p ..that's as far as I got with my google search, this was the first thing that came up CD Players | Richer Sounds I hope it's true and will continue for a while yet
i'll be dead by then .....but seriously nothing really becomes truly obsolete , theres always someone somewhere keeping old things alive , you just pay more .....
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.