Cds trying to think of a reason.

I'm not a digital media guy, I much prefer analog.

That said, I tried streaming, as others I don't pay for it so not the best, and as much as I'm not a digital guy I prefer CD's (especially SACD) over streaming. Digital media is only a convenience thing for me, a lot like the radio used to be before it became all advertising all the time. With the lack of interest I'm not about to sit there "teaching" the site my preferences. So I recently picked up a Sony ES line 400 disc carousel player for a song ($63 on eBay). Funny because I only have a few dozen CD"s, again, not a digital guy. With that sad, I use this way more than I ever used Pandora, it "only" plays what I put into it so no stinkers.

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Hey Pandora, since when did rap become classic rock?

I used to have one of those. Towards the end, I had this thing called a Slink-e box. The changer had a control port that hooked up to the Slink-e box that hooked up to your pc (via serial port?). The software could automatically look up cds to get album/artist/track info and you could play back similar to modern playback software except the changer played directly to your amp as normal. You could also shuffle play the entire library but that could wear out your changer prematurely.
 
It has been mentioned, but there is a third alternative in addition to streaming v. CD: flac downloads. I've been buying most of my music from 7digital for a while. I only buy and rip a cd if I can't find it there, which is rare.

There's also HD Tracks and Pro Studio Masters.

I don't understand why Amazon and Google won't offer cd quality flac downloads. Must be a tiny market.

But, the handwriting seems to be on the wall for the future of cds as major retailers are cutting way back or eliminating them from inventory. I hope flac downloads become the mainstream alternative.
 
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I don't understand why Amazon and Google won't offer cd quality flac downloads. Must be a tiny market.

Copy protection. Digital rights. What ever you want to call it. FLAC files can be freely copied with no accountability. MP3 and other formats are watermarked or have some form of DRM embedded in them.
 
Streaming/downloads really seem to have undercut the CD when it comes to the portability aspect. I'm curious if vinyl will continue growing like it has as far as collect-ability and home use it still amazes me the format has made a comeback. That said I think the fact they're cheap to make and the used market will keep CD going for the foreseeable future.
 
Copy protection. Digital rights. What ever you want to call it. FLAC files can be freely copied with no accountability. MP3 and other formats are watermarked or have some form of DRM embedded in them.
This doesn't seem to stop HDTracks which is pretty much all FLAC and AIFF. There must be something more to it. Probably too small of a niche market to justify the added cost/complexity of dealing with amassing and distributing hi-rez audio.
 
This doesn't seem to stop HDTracks which is pretty much all FLAC and AIFF.
Along with a host of other download sites that support Redbook and high resolution flavors.

Probably too small of a niche market to justify the added cost/complexity of dealing with amassing and distributing hi-rez audio.
And yet, the cost of manufacturing, carrying inventory and distributing the media is most certainly more than maintaining a central data storage with download capability.

I think the reason is the rise of streaming services that obviate the need for media and files.
 
Streaming is great until BOTH of your so called network hard drives fail within 2 days of each other as happened to me last May taking not only the 560GB of music away but also my family photos, self employed LLC data, 15 years of investments, taxes, etc. I still dont even know everything that was lost but I know that many if not most of the years of liver concerts, rare old jazz and blues albums, pictures of ancestors are probably gone forever. Now I backup on two NAS AND to the cloud. Hopefully, that will outwit the digital gods who screwed me. I also have rebought some of the msuic and will continue to do so as having a copy in hand is now preferred. I bought into the so called convenience factor even though the quality was not the same. I can tell you it is not convenient when it is lost. Its heartbreaking.
 
Sorry for your loss(es). I've only ever lost a bunch of stuff at work I was responsible for safeguarding. I've never made that mistake again. LIke with dogs, it always takes us getting hit to stop chasing cars; only hope is we get tapped instead of crushed.
 
Streaming is great until BOTH of your so called network hard drives fail within 2 days of each other as happened to me last May taking not only the 560GB of music away but also my family photos, self employed LLC data, 15 years of investments, taxes, etc. I still dont even know everything that was lost but I know that many if not most of the years of liver concerts, rare old jazz and blues albums, pictures of ancestors are probably gone forever. Now I backup on two NAS AND to the cloud. Hopefully, that will outwit the digital gods who screwed me. I also have rebought some of the msuic and will continue to do so as having a copy in hand is now preferred. I bought into the so called convenience factor even though the quality was not the same. I can tell you it is not convenient when it is lost. Its heartbreaking.

Sorry to hear about your loss. That is a tough lesson to learn. Unfortunately, many do not learn to make adequate backups until they loose something irretrievably.

Backups need to be independent, both with respect to hardware and geography. My backup system is set up so that I can buy a new computer or HD and be back where I was within hours. I am protected against Hurricane Katrina type events, theft or failure of hardware, or malware attacks such as ransomware.

My music is stored on my work machine and at home, synchronized through a paid-up Dropbox account. I also have backups on two USB hard discs that are kept at different locations.

My personal and work data is stored with a more sophisticated backup scheme. I have daily, weekly, monthly, and archived backup copies, saved on multiple machines and drives. I also use a paid, backup service (EV Backup) where I also save a backup every 4 hours (rsync script on my NAS) and weekly.
 
For quite awhile now, CD's have been relegated to the car for me. At home, I've been a Spotify/Youtube/vinyl guy (occasionally FM radio). Occasionally I stream local files from my hard drive but I don't have the best setup for that right now (I'm set up better for Spotify - streaming via iPad -> Airport Express -> DAC...for local files I go through my Nvidia Shield (Kodi app) -> DAC).

I just bought a $3k CD player (at a good price) so maybe CD's will make their way back into my listening habits at home. I do have a collection of 300 or so CD's. The CD player I bought is a Bel Canto CD2, which will match my Bel Canto DAC. I hear it's a very good sounding combo. I like that the CD player is a top loader...maybe it will give me that "vinyl" feeling of a "loading" a disc and hitting play.

I haven't read this whole thread yet but look forward to reading about others' experiences with CD's. I bought MANY CD's in years 16-24 or so. Then started buying vinyl and that's what I look to buy now. My digital listening has been mostly all Spotify since 2013 or so. I have sort of a love/hate relationship with physical media. I love looking at the art and feeling like I OWN it and that it'll be there "when the net goes down." I hate storing it and not being able to easily flip from song to song and album to album. I also hate being limited to the small collection that I own (600 or so albums between vinyl and CD).

CD's will be around for me, AT LEAST until cars don't have CD players any longer (I drive 10 year old vehicles, typically, so that'll be awhile yet for me).
 
Not to make this a Bel Canto thread either, but I will say that after getting the Bel Canto DAC, my digital sources (even Spotify) sound better than my vinyl - FINALLY! Of course, that just gives me motivation to improve my vinyl set-up. And it's not really a fair fight. The Bel Canto DAC was like $5k (including VBS-1 power supply) and my turntable was $450 and phono stage $250 and cartridge $160. Not in the same price range, although I personally have spent about the same on each (bought the DAC used and the vinyl stuff new).

Anyway, the point is that I hope my Bel Canto CD2 sounds just as good as the DAC. If so, I'm in for a real treat and CD's will be making a bit of a "comeback" for me, I think!
 
For quite awhile now, CD's have been relegated to the car for me.

CD's will be around for me, AT LEAST until cars don't have CD players any longer (I drive 10 year old vehicles, typically, so that'll be awhile yet for me).

You might want to look into using "Classic" iPods synced to an iTunes server to take your entire CD collection with you "on the road." Many cars have built-in ALL DIGITAL iPod interfaces that allow very flexible high fidelity playback of vast libraries of ripped CDs. You can get the iPod and retrofit it with non-volatile storage for about $100.
 
You might want to look into using "Classic" iPods synced to an iTunes server to take your entire CD collection with you "on the road." Many cars have built-in ALL DIGITAL iPod interfaces that allow very flexible high fidelity playback of vast libraries of ripped CDs. You can get the iPod and retrofit it with non-volatile storage for about $100.

Our 2007 has an AUX input so I stream Spotify in that vehicle and also CD and also radio.

Our 2005 has no AUX input but my wife desperately wants one, and I should probably go ahead and do that for her, considering how much I spend on my home stereo!

My parents still have a Classic iPod they'd let me have if I wanted it. I just can't stand iTunes. If an alternate interface is usable with a classic iPod, I'd be okay with using it...I'm not sure if that's possible or not.
 
The AUX interface is only for analog, not for digital transmission. For best iPod/auto operation, you want the 30-pin connection to the iPod feeding a USB connection to the car. Look in your car's owner's manual—there may be a separate manual for your particular sound system option—for how to connect and operate an iPod using the car's audio controls.

As far as your problems with iTunes, they mostly don't apply to iPod maintenance. You simply register your iPod(s) with iTunes, set up automatic syncing, and let iTunes import whatever music it can find on your storage media. Beyond that, you'll never use it for playback, only to keep your iPod(s) updated with newly ripped material.
 
And a couple people posted earlier how they are opening new CD plants in the DC area this year

Really? That's awesome. Do you know where?

I spent 19 years working at CD pressing plants. A load of fun. I'd still be there, if my plant hadn't moved outside the U.S.
 
I still buy CDs whenever and wherever possible (and get really POed when the album I want is only available via MP3, which seems to be happening more and more often) and then rip them for use on the computer/Ipod. For me it's an ownership thing--I want to own my music, not 'license' it from some streaming service/Amazon/Itunes/RIAA, and be able to lend, borrow, and resell it as I like. I've been around long enough to see a lot of so-called big companies come and go on the internet--I'm not going to trust any company will still be around 30-50 years from now, or will support my music collection that long. And I have backups of my backups--but again, I prefer to have a physical archival copy, just in case.
 
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