Taketheflame
Super Member
Hey all,
Just some thoughts of mine I'm starting to have as I continue to build my media collection. Right now, the CD seems to be the "uncool" format of audio, between the streaming services taking over the mainstream audience, and also the resurgence of analog formats for a smaller but viable niche audience.
I love analog myself (I own more LPs than any other format and consider it my primary source), and streaming is great for the convenience/finding new music, but I think to completely give up on the good ol' compact disc (as many are currently doing) would be a mistake.
Here are my top 5 reasons why CDs are still worth having around IMO.
1. Low Cost - Right now, CDs seem to be the cheapest format to buy music on, particularly in the secondhand market. Many times you can get CDs for even cheaper than pre-recorded cassettes (which are rather hit and miss when it comes to degradation at this point), and often FAR less than the LP versions, at least for more popular titles. Collections continue to be dumped at thrifts, meaning cheap scores out there!
2. Obscure music - I'm finding that there is LOTS of music available on CD out there that is not available on LP/streaming, and most likely will never make it to those formats. The CD is the best format these titles are available on, and many times they can be had for little cash outlay. These lesser known titles can often provide valuable history and insight into "forgotten" music from local/regional music scenes, and I feel much of it is worth preserving. It's not only LP/cassette where obscure music exists, and there are lots of overlooked gems out there waiting to be re-discovered.
3. Affordable/plentiful playback equipment - Sick of skyrocketing costs (and increasingly difficult-to-source parts) for vintage turntables and tape equipment? Or the cost of modern turntables done right? Nice CD players are out there for great prices if you wish to play the discs themselves, and top-performing DACs can be had for relatively little money if you just want to rip them to play via other means. The abundance of CD playback equipment out there also ensures that there will be a way to play the discs for years to come, even if manufacturing of new players/transports continues to shrink.
4. Sound quality - There may be some heated debate here, particularly between the objectivist vs. subjectivist camps, but I find that when done right, the CD offers excellent sound quality, with no clicks/pops or tape hiss to deal with (I don't mind these myself, but I don't always like being stuck with them). I feel the format gets an unfair rep due to terrible loudness-war mastering jobs that make people blame the format instead of the mastering engineer at the mixing console, and it's important to remember that not all releases (or versions of a particular release) have this problem. Sometimes streaming services only offer loudness war remasters of popular releases, and you can get a much better sounding master by purchasing an old CD for a few bucks.
5. A limited time opportunity? - With CDs at rock bottom prices right now, can it last? Only time will tell if this is a temporary blip and CDs regain some respect like the LP did, or if CD's truly are headed towards the dustbins of history. In either case, I think now is the time to stock up on cheap CDs and particularly obscure music, as original pressings and rarer stuff will likely only get harder to find over time/prices may creep back up on some titles.
So those are my top 5 reasons why the CD is still worth having around IMO. I will continue to collect LPs as I have, but I will also be glad to make some more room for CDs as well.
As always, happy listening!
Just some thoughts of mine I'm starting to have as I continue to build my media collection. Right now, the CD seems to be the "uncool" format of audio, between the streaming services taking over the mainstream audience, and also the resurgence of analog formats for a smaller but viable niche audience.
I love analog myself (I own more LPs than any other format and consider it my primary source), and streaming is great for the convenience/finding new music, but I think to completely give up on the good ol' compact disc (as many are currently doing) would be a mistake.
Here are my top 5 reasons why CDs are still worth having around IMO.
1. Low Cost - Right now, CDs seem to be the cheapest format to buy music on, particularly in the secondhand market. Many times you can get CDs for even cheaper than pre-recorded cassettes (which are rather hit and miss when it comes to degradation at this point), and often FAR less than the LP versions, at least for more popular titles. Collections continue to be dumped at thrifts, meaning cheap scores out there!
2. Obscure music - I'm finding that there is LOTS of music available on CD out there that is not available on LP/streaming, and most likely will never make it to those formats. The CD is the best format these titles are available on, and many times they can be had for little cash outlay. These lesser known titles can often provide valuable history and insight into "forgotten" music from local/regional music scenes, and I feel much of it is worth preserving. It's not only LP/cassette where obscure music exists, and there are lots of overlooked gems out there waiting to be re-discovered.
3. Affordable/plentiful playback equipment - Sick of skyrocketing costs (and increasingly difficult-to-source parts) for vintage turntables and tape equipment? Or the cost of modern turntables done right? Nice CD players are out there for great prices if you wish to play the discs themselves, and top-performing DACs can be had for relatively little money if you just want to rip them to play via other means. The abundance of CD playback equipment out there also ensures that there will be a way to play the discs for years to come, even if manufacturing of new players/transports continues to shrink.
4. Sound quality - There may be some heated debate here, particularly between the objectivist vs. subjectivist camps, but I find that when done right, the CD offers excellent sound quality, with no clicks/pops or tape hiss to deal with (I don't mind these myself, but I don't always like being stuck with them). I feel the format gets an unfair rep due to terrible loudness-war mastering jobs that make people blame the format instead of the mastering engineer at the mixing console, and it's important to remember that not all releases (or versions of a particular release) have this problem. Sometimes streaming services only offer loudness war remasters of popular releases, and you can get a much better sounding master by purchasing an old CD for a few bucks.
5. A limited time opportunity? - With CDs at rock bottom prices right now, can it last? Only time will tell if this is a temporary blip and CDs regain some respect like the LP did, or if CD's truly are headed towards the dustbins of history. In either case, I think now is the time to stock up on cheap CDs and particularly obscure music, as original pressings and rarer stuff will likely only get harder to find over time/prices may creep back up on some titles.
So those are my top 5 reasons why the CD is still worth having around IMO. I will continue to collect LPs as I have, but I will also be glad to make some more room for CDs as well.
As always, happy listening!
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