Final demise of CD players?

problemI think you have hit on the crux of the problem.  Just remember...only an expert can deal with the problem...

Dean wrote: since quality has never been a deciding factor in any format-war.

Say no more



Edited by Slartibartfast - November 24 2015 at 20:49

Nightfly wrote: Catcher10 wrote: Nightfly wrote: Although I prefer vinyl I've got a hell of a lot of CD's and am still buying them about 50/50 Cd/Vinyl. I can't see them going away anytime soon despite the drop in sales. I've just bought a new CD player this week - had too as my old Arcam finally gave up but I was glad of the excuse to get a new one to be honest. My new Roksan K3 only came out this year so Hi-Fi manufacurer's are still investing in Cd technology despite what many might tell you. Nice Nightfly! I have only read great things about this Roksan K3. The balanced XLR digital output sounds really interesting....Would like to read your impressions once you have some hours on it. Have fun! Yes, sounds really great though haven't had chance to put it through its paces yet. I choose it for its tight and powerful bass and detailed overall sound having compared it back to back with players from Naim, Audio Analogue, Rega and Unico (Unison Research). The interesting thing about the Unico which I almost went for was it uses valves which gave it a really warm almost vinyl like sound. The sound wasn't as tight though overall which is why I went for the Roksan though it was a lovely sounding player.

Sean Trane wrote: Anyways, I'd have to imagine that the disc-spinning/reading mechanism inside hi-fi CD player are probably available in two or three different models and quality (either from Phillips or Sony design)

Nightfly wrote: Although I prefer vinyl I've got a hell of a lot of CD's and am still buying them about 50/50 Cd/Vinyl. I can't see them going away anytime soon despite the drop in sales. I've just bought a new CD player this week - had too as my old Arcam finally gave up but I was glad of the excuse to get a new one to be honest. My new Roksan K3 only came out this year so Hi-Fi manufacurer's are still investing in Cd technology despite what many might tell you.

From a technical perspective since all the DACs used in every CD and DVD player currently in production are essentially of the same specification you probably couldn't slide a fag-paper between any of them regardless of how much you paid for them. This is also true of the majority of external DACs (the modern equivalent of the Emperor's New Clothes). What you get for your extra £900 is a better build quality, possibly better mechanics (though that is not a certainty) and perhaps slightly better analogue back-end. 

...a £1000 CD player does seem excessively expensive in this day-and-age when you can pick up a Cambridge Audio CD player (also designed in UK but made in China) for a tenth of the price. But then £1000 in today's money is equivalent to £550 in 1994 and I certainly paid that kind of sum for a Micromega Stage 1 CD player back then.

Although I prefer vinyl I've got a hell of a lot of CD's and am still buying them about 50/50 Cd/Vinyl. I can't see them going away anytime soon despite the drop in sales.

My favourite medium, cd players best not go away just yet!!

I get annoyed with those digipaks where the fit is too tight (oo er matron) and you end up tearing the cover - not good.

lostrom wrote: CD will not die in our lifetime.

Don't think so myself, despite all the vinyl junkies wishing it to.

Give you an example: last Sunday, I was downtown Brussels (the first day they have that bloody enlarged pedestrian area, which now encompasses my two fave librairies and my two faves record shops >> accessing by car will be tremendously difficult). Anyway, in Caroline music, while buying two CDs, I meet a journalist doing the rounds and collecting feedback about the extended pedestrian zone. I tell him I'm totally against (well yes for the small sideroads, but closing to traffic the main Blvd is catastrophic)... He wants a picture, and I decline... he insisted heavily (saying it was almost mandatory), so I oblige holding the three books and two CDs in front of me... he even let me choose which one I wanted published. Next monday, I read the article (a fifth of a page reserved to moi, if you please) relaying more or less faithfully my PoV, but no picture (not complaining, though). Then re-reading it, I noticed he said I bought vinyls (not Cds) while the picture has me holding CDs... The  a...hole didn't publish the photo, because he's a vinyl junkie, and doesn't want people to think someone can still be buying CDs .. little b*****d

PrognosticMind wrote: While the CD might become more unpopular relative to other forms of music media, I can't see it going the way of the eight track.

Remember the VCR?? It's getting pretty hard to find a new standalone player/recorder... and when you do, they're low-end quality crap... The only mid-qual is for the multi-use combined unit (I own for about 10 years  a DVD/VHS recorder/player and my GF (still at the age of VHS tapes) had to resort to do the same last year, despite having no use for DVD-r

Catcher10 wrote: Remember the OP is asking about "CD Players"......not the disc itself.

Well, I still think that like turntables, you'll get a few higher-end players still available, but probably not  available in hpermarkets >> you'll probably have to go to hi-fi specialists....

But I'll think about having a reserve deck just in case.

HackettFan wrote: I listen a lot to CDs in my car. My current vehicle (a Ford C-Max Hybrid) lets me use CDs or MP3s off of a flash drive. I never use the latter. Has anyone yet bought or come across a vehicle in which a USB input is the only option?

Well, I've recently rented cars that don't even have CD decks anymore...

Sonce the mid- 90's, all of the cars I owned had a CD deck (sometimes replacing the old cassette deck, bu yours truly). I've not bought car stereos in quite a while (and therefore didn't get stolen one either), because during the 00's, the car maker had their own un-transplantable decks of good quality (it's useless to install hi-end sound in a car, a place not made for hi-end audiophiles) to other models of cars...

in the future, this could be a real problem, unless resorting to having a discman (are they still made?) entering the unit... but you'd have to place it somewhere hidden but easily reached (not under a seat) or removed...







Edited by Sean Trane - July 06 2015 at 05:16