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Why are CDs the current hot topic?

Yes, they are primarily trend followers rehashing something that was already on someone else's radar. Some, of course, are talking their book. If you sell CD's, it would be quite fortuitous to announce a sudden surge in their popularity (which may, in fact, even be real) so as to further inculcate the trend in the minds of one's viewers. Tell people that something you just happen to be a purveyor of is hot, they buy it to keep up with the Joneses, and voila, profit!

Sure I'm a cynical bastard, but this stuff is easy to spot.
 
Sansuiman said:
^ as to the sudden spate of videos on the subject of the resurgence of CD's popularity, I'd say this is the main driver. All these "audio" channels have to keep creating new content and getting clicks, or they die. Since nearly every subject in audio has already been beaten to death by years of videos from dozens of channels, this is the new hotness. Once one talks about it, the others will, in turn, feel obligated to do the same.

I don't doubt there has been some nascent boost in the sales of CD's, and there are a few probable reasons for that. But now that it has been noticed, it's being talked about. The fact that numerous content creators have tunnel vision, and are all talking about it at once, probably creates a false impression of how large the trend actually is.

The same way news media will get hung up on a particular type of crime, or some sort of specific disaster (fires, tornadoes, building collapses, whatever) after a notable occurrence of same, and can't seem to stop reporting on it to the exclusion of other events for days or weeks on end, YouTube channels within a certain wheelhouse will all get focused on the same "thing" once a few of them have dropped videos on it. Pretty basic herd behavior in a business where one has to try and stay relevant (and not be "scooped" by your competition), or you aren't getting subs and making money.
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So this is why a site like AK exists? (All of this is obviously true, but not to many, which obviously is not surprising)
 
H2oman7.62mm said:
Manufacturers are coming out with new CD players, and some are high dollar.

I just find it interesting that the YouTubers all seem to have received the same talking points at the same time.
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That seems to happen over and over. I think it has more to do with most youtubers don't actually know anything so they constantly jump on the bandwagon to sound like they have a finger on the pulse when in reality they know nothing more than the average consumer. Then you also have the youtubers who are obvious shills. 90% of their content is just branded videos with a few "top 5 list" uploads which inevitably are 4 standards and 1 new hip thing. Just like in High Fidelity.

It really showed with the "record sales are down" article that came out. Nearly every physical media youtuber had a huge diatribe about how they knew it was happening and why etc. Yet when it came out that the article was wrong and sales were actually up. Nobody (as far as I know) retracted what they said it was just quietly deleting videos, ignoring the new information, and blocking commenters that brought it up.

I'll tell you what would make a great youtuber (but they wouldn't be popular) would be someone who just enjoys music and wants to share their interest without getting into industry junk. Without shilling sleeves, or the record store they work at for free stuff, Just sharing interests and cool finds.

My bad guys I got a bit off topic.
 
SoundMann said:
Those with high end systems will tell you that records are noticeably better.
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First of all, I doubt that, judging from what I hear folks saying here. It seems like opinions are split on that, even among folks who have really high end systems. Part of this too might be conformation bias from folks who buy really expensive gear, with tonearms and cartridges (which wear out!) that cost more than my entire system, not to mention audiophile pressings of albums which can cost $100 or more apiece. If I was spending that much on that stuff and dealing with that level of inconvenience, I'd probably be convincing myself that it all sounds better than anything else too...
 
SoundMann said:
Those with high end systems will tell you that records are noticeably better.
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I don't care (see previous comments). I have a high end system (Yamaha B-2 & C-2x, Larsen 8 speakers), but I'm stickin' with CDs. And FYI, that does not apply to all records by any stretch. Their quality is all over the board.
 
RunOutGroove said:
First of all, I doubt that, judging from what I hear folks saying here. It seems like opinions are split on that, even among folks who have really high end systems. Part of this too might be conformation bias from folks who buy really expensive gear, with tonearms and cartridges (which wear out!) that cost more than my entire system, not to mention audiophile pressings of albums which can cost $100 or more apiece. If I was spending that much on that stuff and dealing with that level of inconvenience, I'd probably be convincing myself that it all sounds better than anything else too...
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Yassuh! That was almost as good as the Cuba Gooding video right before your comment.
 
Shoulda kept this beauty after all perhaps.

.. Gonna be a sought after collectible!
:rflmao: :rflmao: :rflmao:

1023vint.1.jpg


1023vint.promo_.jpg


1023vint.6.jpg

www.hifinews.com

Crown CD-110 CD Player

It may have been bulky with no fewer than ten batteries housed in its brittle case, but this portable player had an ace up its sleeve – its price. How will it shape up today? When enthusiasts see a product from Crown it's perhaps natural to assume it has come from the American amplifier...
www.hifinews.com www.hifinews.com
 
There's a second hand record shop in the next town and I go over there once a month. Must be 10,000 records in there, no exaggeration, with no organisation at all. Just piles everywhere, up to the ceiling in some places. You have to use your phone as a flashlight in the back as there's no windows and no lighting.

Scattered about are also piles and piles of CDs. I always buy a few as they are so cheap. The owner tells me I'm pretty much the only person who comes in to buy CD. When that changes, I'll believe CD is coming back. I don't really want it to because that'll be the end of me being able to expand my collection for pin money.

But it makes perfect sense for it to come back. There is no other way to effectively own a master tape of your favourite albums. Just avoid the loudness wars remasters ( and not all remasters are bad in that way).

A lot of the clientele there are youngsters in their 20s buying vinyl. So I think physical media in general still has appeal even if it isn't CD - yet.
 
IMO on average, CDs are a better bet to sound sublime. It’s more labor intensive to make a perfect record, that means it’s less likely to happen.
I still prefer records because I always have but not blind to the benefits of the cleaner sound of CDs.
 
My only real insight into what kids are doing these days comes through my stepdaughter, who is 16, but judging from her and her friends, CDs are not only popular, but physical media in general. She tells me she'd be into vinyl if it wasn't so expensive. She' hoping to be able to afford records as she gets older and gets more money.

But she loves CDs, loves handling them, reading the liner notes - all that. She grew up on streaming and has already realized there's something deeply unsatisfying about unlimited access and virtual media. She's craving the physical, not the virtual and so are lots of her peers, evidently. These kids are alright, I tellya.:)
 
GChief said:
I grew up on vinyls and tape and mostly stream now, I was not aware of the "deeply unsatisfying" part of having access, matter of fact it's the exact opposite for me :dunno:
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Yeah, I hear ya. Some of us never experience the dissatisfaction with the virtual. Some of us go virtual for a good while then shift back to the physical. Some get super into physical for awhile and then get frustrated and ditch all the vintage gear,:) We all have different relationships with it and it's all good. And I've learned that the relationship is fluid. No telling where I'll be in another 10 years. It's a journey.:)

There does seem to be a common theme amongst many though who are increasingly finding the passive/virtual experience to be unsatisfying, often in a way they can't even fully articulate. I'd previously thought that the craving for physical media was mostly a nostalgia thing for people like me who grew up with it. But watching these kids I realize that it's something more than that. It's a desire for a more direct, *active* authentic experience in some way.

And there is something to being *limited* that increases appreciation for many, whereas total access leads to a sort of glazed indifference. Perhaps for many it's just in our nature to both crave access, but also require limitation or scarcity to perceive value. -
 
^^^ :rolleyes:

Growcho said:
Yeah, I hear ya. Some of us never experience the dissatisfaction with the virtual. Some of us go virtual for a good while then shift back to the physical. Some get super into physical for awhile and then get frustrated and ditch all the vintage gear,:) We all have different relationships with it and it's all good. And I've learned that the relationship is fluid. No telling where I'll be in another 10 years. It's a journey.:)

There does seem to be a common theme amongst many though who are increasingly finding the passive/virtual experience to be unsatisfying, often in a way they can't even fully articulate. I'd previously thought that the craving for physical media was mostly a nostalgia thing for people like me who grew up with it. But watching these kids I realize that it's something more than that. It's a desire for a more direct, *active* authentic experience in some way.

And there is something to being *limited* that increases appreciation for many, whereas total access leads to a sort of glazed indifference. Perhaps for many it's just in our nature to both crave access, but also require limitation or scarcity to perceive value. -
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:idea::idea::idea:

I am around a lot of young people at work, I have not experienced that yet.
 
Growcho said:
Yeah, I hear ya. Some of us never experience the dissatisfaction with the virtual. Some of us go virtual for a good while then shift back to the physical. Some get super into physical for awhile and then get frustrated and ditch all the vintage gear,:) We all have different relationships with it and it's all good. And I've learned that the relationship is fluid. No telling where I'll be in another 10 years. It's a journey.:)

There does seem to be a common theme amongst many though who are increasingly finding the passive/virtual experience to be unsatisfying, often in a way they can't even fully articulate. I'd previously thought that the craving for physical media was mostly a nostalgia thing for people like me who grew up with it. But watching these kids I realize that it's something more than that. It's a desire for a more direct, *active* authentic experience in some way.

And there is something to being *limited* that increases appreciation for many, whereas total access leads to a sort of glazed indifference. Perhaps for many it's just in our nature to both crave access, but also require limitation or scarcity to perceive value. -
Click to expand...
That's interesting... the psychology of it. My rational brain tells me that streaming is the way, but I'm a graphic designer and I really enjoy the covers (almost as much as the music!) so physical media really gives me a kind of total experience that I wouldn't get with streaming... but I kind of thing of myself as being kind of non-typical in that way. Maybe not though...
 
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