[bummrush]

Same here I could care less about down loads.Strictly cd.Gave up vinyl 30 yrs ago .Way to many moves, family work changes etc.Had cd since 80's.Thank god it changed for the better as time went on.Still very happy with Atoll cd 100 mk 3

[haiderSonneteer]

Thanks Max,

Yes indeed. I imagine all the last Byrons shipped this year will be doing their thing for best part of the next decade sitting nicely in people's houses. So, in that respect, the function is far from dead. It is however true that fewer and fewer are being sold as standalone units and fewer integrated systems include them too. PCs, the other holders of the CD torch are also being made more and more without CD or combined DVD drives in them. So not just CD but silver disk is doomed to newer adopters.

Saying that we could have sold the last run of Byrons 4 times over.

Our biggest problem now is that there's a new format coming every couple of days and hence difficult to accommodate in any latest greatest product! At least with CD or even SACD we had just that format.

Haider
sonneteer.co.uk

[Guy 13]

Hi all.

I just hope CD (LPs, Cassettes as well) will be around for the next 30 years
or until I die, whichever comes first.
The other day, a Vietnamese audio friend brought me
some nice music that was stored on a USB key
and we downloaded the content in my laptop
and guess what?
Half the sounds could not be played because I did not have the proper program to play them.
It took more than 15 minutes to find the right program
and after that, there were still some tracks that I could not play.
I hate music on computer.
Talk about CD, LP and cassettes, so easy...
 
Guy 13
Yes, I am an old fashion guy that don't want to be modern, so what ?

[haiderSonneteer]

Yes indeed Guy13, I can understand the frustration. Mutimillion formats make life far too complicated.

though I shed not a single tear for cassette to be honest. Hisss I hear you say? Well yes indeed.

Haider
sonneteer.co.uk

[Phil A]

Yes, it is a simple process to plop in a disc and play.  There are too many CDs out there for it to fade away for quite a while.  I finally got pushed into computer audio and once you have the software it is not harder, it is in fact easier as you have album artwork that gets pulled up (of course I do miss the additional printed info on the CD sleeve).  It also was a frustrating process to see B&M CD stores basically go away.  That probably helped push me.  It was enjoyable to go down to a place like Tower Records and spend a couple of hours looking at stuff.

[JimJ]

CDs fall into a bad niche.

Vinyl has a ritualized aspect about it that can't be duplicated - especially with a manual tonearm - but there's nothing about the CD experience that you're missing by using lossless files. In fact, it's worse, because the media is susceptible to scratches.

I'm 28, and nobody my age makes an effort to buy CDs anymore. The format may live on for a little while longer in gaming consoles, but we're already seeing a transition there to streaming content.

[*Scotty*]

What is the bit rate of the streaming content? 1411kbps is the 16/44.1 CD standard bit rate.
I will be nostalgic for the 16/44 level of resolution, a lot of new music is only available as a low resolution mp3 download and is not available in a higher resolution format of any kind.
Scotty

[JimJ]

Hi all.

I just hope CD (LPs, Cassettes as well) will be around for the next 30 years
or until I die, whichever comes first.
The other day, a Vietnamese audio friend brought me
some nice music that was stored on a USB key
and we downloaded the content in my laptop
and guess what?
Half the sounds could not be played because I did not have the proper program to play them.
It took more than 15 minutes to find the right program
and after that, there were still some tracks that I could not play.
I hate music on computer.
Talk about CD, LP and cassettes, so easy...
 
Guy 13
Yes, I am an old fashion guy that don't want to be modern, so what ?

FLAC has been more of less standardized for a decade. MP3, longer than that - regardless of what you want to say about the evils of lossy compression. They'll always be weird stuff like Vorbis or AAC, but by and large we've hit a critical mass already.

Not to be picky, but hand someone under the age of 35 a cassette tape that needs to be rewound and see how long it takes to fix...

What is the bit rate of the streaming content? 1411kbps is the 16/44.1 CD standard bit rate.
I will be nostalgic for the 16/44 level of resolution, a lot of new music is only available as a low resolution mp3 download and is not available in a higher resolution format of any kind.
Scotty

Depends on the artist. I think more and more are realizing that offering FLAC or WAV versions, as well as an MP3, is the way to go.

There's a fair amount of 192KHz stuff out there too, if your hardware can go that high

[charmerci]

They'll be around for a while.

Who buys the most music? http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/1084161/business-matters-teens-listen-to-music-most-on-youtube-pay-for-music-more  (though this was from Aug. '12)

Last night on the train, I met a family with a 16 yo girl. All the music on her phone. I guess if you have friends who have late teen-age kids, you could ask if they buy CD's anymore. Frankly, I'd be surprised if most of them did.

[Phil A]

Album sales are just way down and streaming is up - http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6236365/album-sales-hit-a-new-low-2014

[charmerci]

Album sales are just way down and streaming is up - http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6236365/album-sales-hit-a-new-low-2014

Yeah well when Ariana Grande and Wiz Khalifa are at the top of the charts, I can see why!!! 

[Phil A]

Yeah well when Ariana Grande and Wiz Khalifa are at the top of the charts, I can see why!!! 

And of course I have no idea who they are

[Guy 13]

Hi all.
I know that I am redundant,
but want to say again that I hope that vinyl, cassettes and CDs
will be available for the next 30 years or until I die,
whichever comes first.
I am really not ready and probably will never be,
for music via a computer, regardless if the sound quality
is equal or better than vinyl, CDs.

Guy 13

[srb]

..... I hope that vinyl, cassettes and CDs will be available for the next 30 years or until I die, whichever comes first.

I can understand why someone might keep existing cassettes (and player), but seriously, who would actually buy a cassette after 1980?

Steve

[Guy 13]

I can understand why someone might keep existing cassettes (and player), but seriously, who would actually buy a cassette after 1980?

Steve

Hi Steve.
In 1995 I bought 10 C90 blank cassettes for future recording of some music on the FM radio,
unfortunately my Nakamichi BX100 quit on me and now I have no money to get it repaired.
I tried twice here on planet Vietnam, but they told me that he had no parts.
I guess I will have to get back to Canada to get it repaired/rebuild.
For me, cassettes are still very much alive, even if the sound quality is not at it's highest.
May I remind all AC members that I am less demanding as each day pass by.

Guy 13

[charmerci]

And of course I have no idea who they are

My recommendation is that you keep it that way. Do something useful instead, like play with the dog, watch ads, clean the toilets or anything else for that matter!

[maxboy00]

Cd's fall into a bad niche.

Vinyl has a ritualized aspect about it that can't be duplicated - especially with a manual tonearm - but there's nothing about the CD experience that you're missing by using lossless files. In fact, it's worse, because the media is susceptible to scratches.

I'm 28, and nobody my age makes an effort to buy Cd's anymore. The format may live on for a little while longer in gaming consoles, but we're already seeing a transition there to streaming content.

Why do CD fall into a bad niche?

Most Cd's suffer from being poorly recorded than being scratched. . .  especially true when they first came out in the early 80's , luckily they improved over time in sound quality.

Looking to find CD/Records in stores have robbed your generation of this experience. . . much too easy to down load and pick a song then to experience the variety of some artist have on a CD which is becoming rare now. . . or so it seems.

 





 

[Phil A]

I can understand why someone might keep existing cassettes (and player), but seriously, who would actually buy a cassette after 1980?

Steve

I gave away my Nak 680 (needed minor repair) when I moved towards the end of 1996 to a guy who worked in an audio shop as a gift.  Still have an Onkyo deck (and a dbx 224 but neither is hooked up) but have not played a cassette or LD (still have a couple of players) in 5-6 years except for transferring one song (I wrote) from cassette to CD (I had a Pioneer Elite CD recorder that I gave away just before my move at the end of last year) about a year ago.

[Phil A]

My recommendation is that you keep it that way. Do something useful instead, like play with the dog, watch ads, clean the toilets or anything else for that matter!

I never watch the Grammys any more.  Don't get me wrong, I listen to a lot of music from artists up and coming (and some have made it up) but not the stuff they play on there.  I do believe that is why sales of physical CDs are down.  Many just share low quality MP3s of the stuff that is out.  They have chased away much of the audience who would otherwise buy CDs.  I remember going to see Matthew Ryan (puts on a good live show) at the Iota club in Arlington, VA about 4 years back and talking to him about not being able to get his CDs in Borders at this point (and they closed not long after that) and he gave everyone who came to the concert his latest CD that night.

I never thought I would transition to file based playback as soon as I did.  But I do believe it is inevitable.  There are few companies making plain old high end CD players these days.  Many companies have discontinued them.  I can't even buy most of the CDs I would want in a store at this point.  I throw things in my Amazon wish list (CDs, SACDs) and when I accumulate enough I place an order.

[charmerci]

I wonder if sales are down because of people like me. 

I have dumped and are dumping all my music into my computer. I've just so far have 15 days of music > 24x15 = 360 hrs/5 hrs per day = 72 days without hearing the same song. I put it on continuous shuffle like my own radio station. I'm hardly buying music these days.