Why buy a CD-Player?
- Thread starter jmool
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
savatage1973
Addicted Member
Hmmm... sounds a lot like "why would you buy a TT, because cassettes, CDs and mp3s are here?"
Entirely debatable, and IMO a total fallacy. I have stated this a thousand times, but apparently it bears repeating--Hi-rez can be awesome (both audio and video), but if it ain't there to start with (source--I mean the original source--master recording or original film), no amount of upsampling is going to "put back" or "reveal" what wasn't there to start with. "I Love Lucy" in B/W w/mono sound is no better on a 4K 7.2 system than it is on an old mono B/W console TV.
Entirely debatable, and IMO a total fallacy. I have stated this a thousand times, but apparently it bears repeating--Hi-rez can be awesome (both audio and video), but if it ain't there to start with (source--I mean the original source--master recording or original film), no amount of upsampling is going to "put back" or "reveal" what wasn't there to start with. "I Love Lucy" in B/W w/mono sound is no better on a 4K 7.2 system than it is on an old mono B/W console TV.
savatage1973
Addicted Member
What you are missing is my point about the original source. Yes, hi-rez offers a much higher sampling rate and is supposedly more accurate--and I agree, but if something was recorded live in 1968 on a portable R2R deck, that's all you have to work with, so bit-rate is pretty much irrelevant to sound quality--unless you are going really low bit-rate mp3. Yes, higher bit rates are technically "better", but what I am speaking to is that if it ain't there to start with, no amount of upsampling is going to put back there what wasn't there to start with.
As for CDs being obsolete--no. Vinyl was obsolete 25 years ago, and you could get TTs and albums for free--now those tables are selling for hundreds of dollars, and the dollar bin albums are $5 and up. It's just a cycle--so buy all the dollar bin CDs you can.
Condorsat
Audio Enthusiast
Bought my last standalone Redbook CD player back in 2005 (used rarely) .. last one I'll ever purchase. Bought a new Universal Blu Ray player last Holiday season. As for me .. any disc spinner I acquire in the future will have to be dual purpose .. like my Blu Ray spinner.
Some people (not me) have legacy CD collections that number into the thousands .. from that stand point it might be worth the investment. I've never been an avid CD collector .. so for me it's just not feasible.
Some people (not me) have legacy CD collections that number into the thousands .. from that stand point it might be worth the investment. I've never been an avid CD collector .. so for me it's just not feasible.
Last edited:
Not sure what doing sit ups and six pac abs have to do with CD sound quality, but I'm pretty sure the reason to "buy a CD player" is to play CD's.
As for "invest alot of money in buying a CD-Player" that's all relative to the size of......ahem, your wallet.
With $1000 players now going for $80 it's kind of a no brainer. And as for CD SQ vs high res files, ever hear an SACD on a decent player?
Here are a few players I've picked up for $80 or less.
And with the carousel I just set it for shuffle play and get random music completely chosen by "me" all day long.
Last edited:
cpt_paranoia
Addicted Member
Well, if you rip an existing CD collection, you no longer need a CD player. You just need a means of streaming the rips to a DAC. That DAC can also play high res files, and streaming services.
I have thousanda of CDs, and continue to buy them, but I hadn't used my CD player for years. But that didn't stop me recently buying another CD player and a CD recorder... But at £5 each, I couldn't resist...
I have thousanda of CDs, and continue to buy them, but I hadn't used my CD player for years. But that didn't stop me recently buying another CD player and a CD recorder... But at £5 each, I couldn't resist...
Last edited:
robert_kc
Super Member
As savatage1973 said, garbage-in/garbage-out. What’s relevant regarding “hi-res” is the provenance of the recording.
"Hi-res" consumer audio deliverables (e.g., SACD, Pure Audio Blu-ray, 24bit/192kHz download, DSD download) are relevant if the recording was captured and mastered in hi-res (i.e., 24bit/192kHz PCM, or DSD). Or, in rare cases, an excellent quality analog master tape can be digitized and mastered in hi-res with good results.
Moreover, for ballet, opera, and classical concerts, Blu-ray audio/video and Ultra HD Blu-ray are important formats.
The availability of hi-res consumer deliverables depends on music genre. Classical music is routinely released via all forms of hi-res consumer deliverables. (In spite of what some people think, SACD is very much alive. Classical SACDs are released every month.)
Classical music lovers often must decide which is more important: performance quality, or audio quality of a recording. I’m not a music scholar, and I’m not hyper-critical of a performance. However, I have no tolerance for poor audio quality. I therefore choose modern performances of classical music that were recorded in hi-res, and delivered on SACD, Blu-ray, or a hi-res download. In contrast, some classical music fans are willing to tolerate poor audio quality in order to enjoy what they regard as the best performance of a classical composition.
I’ll answer the OP’s question in general terms. IMO discs are not dead, and universal disc players are not dead. As I said, SACD, Pure Audio Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are all relevant for classical music, with new releases available monthly. Many people like the convenience and reliability of dropping a disc into the tray of a universal player and hitting the PLAY key. And all of these disc formats are capable of multi-channel (i.e., 5.0 or 5.1), and modern classical recordings routinely offer mult-channel.
Regarding CDs specifically, and “CD-only” players, it depends on the genre of music you listen to, your budget, and your preferences. Personally, I don’t buy CDs, and I’d never buy a player that plays only CDs. I’d rather have multi-channel hi-res recordings, which are plentiful for the classical music I love. OTOH, for someone who listens to vintage rock (as an example), then you’re stuck with technology that was state-of-the art decades ago – i.e., CDs. And some people like to bargain hunt for used CDs, and for used CD players.
Ripping discs to NAS is another topic. It depends on genre of music, and type of disc you’re seeking to rip. Apparently ripping CDs of pop music is fairly straightforward. Ripping classical music is reportedly a nightmare because there are no standards for metadata such as composer, composition, conductor, orchestra, soloists, etc, and these don’t map directly into software that was designed for “bands, albums, and songs”. Moreover, ripping SACDs and Blu-ray is not straightforward. For classical music, I typically listen to an entire composition (e.g., symphony) at a time, and therefore the concept of random shuffling “songs” is not relevant. For some people ripping is a hobby. For me, I fail to see the return-on-investment. I drop a disc into the tray of one of my Oppo UDP-205 (or BDP-105 or BDP-95) and hit the PLAY button.
For me, hi-res discs and universal disc players are not dead. And I can use one of my universal players to occasionally play old CDs.
"Hi-res" consumer audio deliverables (e.g., SACD, Pure Audio Blu-ray, 24bit/192kHz download, DSD download) are relevant if the recording was captured and mastered in hi-res (i.e., 24bit/192kHz PCM, or DSD). Or, in rare cases, an excellent quality analog master tape can be digitized and mastered in hi-res with good results.
Moreover, for ballet, opera, and classical concerts, Blu-ray audio/video and Ultra HD Blu-ray are important formats.
The availability of hi-res consumer deliverables depends on music genre. Classical music is routinely released via all forms of hi-res consumer deliverables. (In spite of what some people think, SACD is very much alive. Classical SACDs are released every month.)
Classical music lovers often must decide which is more important: performance quality, or audio quality of a recording. I’m not a music scholar, and I’m not hyper-critical of a performance. However, I have no tolerance for poor audio quality. I therefore choose modern performances of classical music that were recorded in hi-res, and delivered on SACD, Blu-ray, or a hi-res download. In contrast, some classical music fans are willing to tolerate poor audio quality in order to enjoy what they regard as the best performance of a classical composition.
I’ll answer the OP’s question in general terms. IMO discs are not dead, and universal disc players are not dead. As I said, SACD, Pure Audio Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are all relevant for classical music, with new releases available monthly. Many people like the convenience and reliability of dropping a disc into the tray of a universal player and hitting the PLAY key. And all of these disc formats are capable of multi-channel (i.e., 5.0 or 5.1), and modern classical recordings routinely offer mult-channel.
Regarding CDs specifically, and “CD-only” players, it depends on the genre of music you listen to, your budget, and your preferences. Personally, I don’t buy CDs, and I’d never buy a player that plays only CDs. I’d rather have multi-channel hi-res recordings, which are plentiful for the classical music I love. OTOH, for someone who listens to vintage rock (as an example), then you’re stuck with technology that was state-of-the art decades ago – i.e., CDs. And some people like to bargain hunt for used CDs, and for used CD players.
Ripping discs to NAS is another topic. It depends on genre of music, and type of disc you’re seeking to rip. Apparently ripping CDs of pop music is fairly straightforward. Ripping classical music is reportedly a nightmare because there are no standards for metadata such as composer, composition, conductor, orchestra, soloists, etc, and these don’t map directly into software that was designed for “bands, albums, and songs”. Moreover, ripping SACDs and Blu-ray is not straightforward. For classical music, I typically listen to an entire composition (e.g., symphony) at a time, and therefore the concept of random shuffling “songs” is not relevant. For some people ripping is a hobby. For me, I fail to see the return-on-investment. I drop a disc into the tray of one of my Oppo UDP-205 (or BDP-105 or BDP-95) and hit the PLAY button.
For me, hi-res discs and universal disc players are not dead. And I can use one of my universal players to occasionally play old CDs.
illinoisteve
Super Member
I wouldn't "spend a lot of money" on a CD player, but I don't do that with anything. I got a vintage Onkyo DX-1800 last winter and it sounds amazing. Even with the shipping, it was extremely reasonable.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to play records on a turntable; tapes on a reel-to-reel, 8-track, or cassette player; or CDs on a CD player. Just because everything can be digitized to play through some sort of hybrid computer-audio system doesn't mean there is any obligation to do that. For some people a CD player and a pair of decent headphones can be their whole audio system, and it's not going to interrupt the music to tell them they have an email or that their computerized refrigerator is out of milk.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to play records on a turntable; tapes on a reel-to-reel, 8-track, or cassette player; or CDs on a CD player. Just because everything can be digitized to play through some sort of hybrid computer-audio system doesn't mean there is any obligation to do that. For some people a CD player and a pair of decent headphones can be their whole audio system, and it's not going to interrupt the music to tell them they have an email or that their computerized refrigerator is out of milk.
Poinzy
Super Member
Vinyl? You're kidding, right? Are you familiar with the term "noise floor"? I have a lot of CD's, and my Tascam CD deck is an essential piece of audio gear.
cpt_paranoia
Addicted Member
I have no trouble ripping classical music.
Since you used the words 'apparently' and 'reportedly', I'm going to assume you haven't ripped any CDs. It may be worth actually getting some first hand experience before commenting on how difficult something is.
robert_kc
Super Member
Yes, I think I communicated clearly by saying 'apparently' and 'reportedly'. (No, I haven't tried ripping because I see no value in investing the time.) Many people who have experience with ripping classical discs have expressed frustration regarding the time required to manually edit metadata so that they can search based on criteria they want. (I've read such comments on AK, and other forums.)
Perhaps you can share details of how you get useful metadata for your classical rips. And it would be instructive if you can share details of how you rip SACDs, Pure Audio Blu-ray, and Blu-ray discs.
Last edited:
SaSi
Seriously Illogical
I think there's a productive way of looking at the question. There's only one reason to buy a CD player and that's to listen to CDs. But one can buy a DVD player and listen to CDs and also watch DVDs. Or buy a SACD player and listen to CDs, watch DVDs and also listen to SACDs if you can find them. Or get a Blue ray player and ... well you can figure what you can do with it.
I tend to consider a good quality Blue Ray player a much better and versatile device. I do have a CD/DVD/SACD/DVDA player I purchased 12 years ago hooked up in my system and do have 5 SACDs that a friend gave me after he decided he wasn't interested in the format. But I also have a Technics SL-P1200 dinosaur hooked up on my Technics system, but that's nostalgia.
I tend to consider a good quality Blue Ray player a much better and versatile device. I do have a CD/DVD/SACD/DVDA player I purchased 12 years ago hooked up in my system and do have 5 SACDs that a friend gave me after he decided he wasn't interested in the format. But I also have a Technics SL-P1200 dinosaur hooked up on my Technics system, but that's nostalgia.
cpt_paranoia
Addicted Member
I'm happy with the metadata I get from the usual sources, or simply from the CD booklet.
What metadata can you use to search your physical CD collection, beyond the details featured on the spine? What metadata do you need?
If you have additional details (metadata) in some database you refer to to choose what to play, where did you get these details, and how did you enter them into that database?
The 'trouble' people have with metadata for classical CD rips is that they want the names, addresses and pets' names of every single person in the orchestra, the recording & production team, the cover artist, etc. etc. Which they can't easily get or use to find discs in their collection.
I don't have any SACDs, or Blu-Ray discs, which is why I didn't mention them. In my years of trawling charity shops, I think I have only ever seen one SACD. There is a thread here about ripping SACDs with a Sony PlayStation.
Ripping does take a long time, for a large collection, yes. I have too many CDs to be able to store them in easily-accessible racks to play on a CD player. I have invested the time to rip them, mostly whilst listening to music. If you don't want to invest that time, that's fine; I'm not saying you should, or you must.
But I do have experience of ripping a large CD collection, and know that it can be done, and know that metadata isn't the problem some make it out to be, provided you don't want the moon on a stick.
I also have experience of playing CDs from my collection, and know the difficulty I had storing them, accessing them from that storage, and deciding what to play, when I had far fewer than I do now. And how much easier it I find it to access my ripped collection, and play it from my NAS to any of the renderers around my home.
But, in both cases, I am speaking from personal experience. YMMV, but you need to get the miles under your belt before you find out.
guiller
Toscaninichus Australis
I´ve got a well-regarded Sony SCD-XA3000ES SACD player and also a Astin Trew AT3500+ (factory authorized upgraded) Red Book CD player. When playing hybrid SACD discs, the Red Book layer outplays the SACD one in terms of sound quality. The difference, of course, is not in the format (SACD is objetively better than Red Book standard) but in the player. There are several few things after the digital to analog conversion: you need a preamp there. Discrete components, class A amplification and high quality components make all the difference in my Astin Trew CDP.
Markoneswift
Quartz locked n ready to rock
I enjoy cd players for the same reason I enjoy turntables. Choose a title off my shelf, put the physical media in the player, press some buttons and maybe read the sleeve notes or lyrics. It's a tactile thing, connecting with the music and with the artist. It's not quite the same with ripped or streamed media.
I enjoy the technology too - some CD players are works of electro-mechanical wonder
I enjoy the technology too - some CD players are works of electro-mechanical wonder
Similar threads
