The CD turns 40!

Amazing that it had been released onto the market, a full decade before I got my first CD player, back in the autumn of 1992. I think it was a Sony player and we could only afford it because we had the display model at a 20% discount, IIRC. Of course to help us, it also played cassettes, but I was really proud of it. I even remember the first two CDs I purchased (they were quite expensive then, with no second hand ones around)... but I might get thrown off PA for admitting  

Before I went on a gradual splurge, replacing my Rush, Yes & Genesis onto CD, my first two purchases from ST Records in Dudley were: Journey - Infinity & Toto - Turn Back.

To answer your other question, CDs remain my preference for owning music today. I don't download at all, and don't use Spotify much. I prefer to trawl eBay and MusicMagpie for Prog bargains as I get as much joy out of the physical product today as I did as a 24 year old.  

Hmm, they're still my phyz/meed of choice though I do get why people love good-sounding vinyl.   The early transfers were not good and there were quite a few flaws you had to watch out for.   That's all in the past though and I haven't had a flawed disc in decades.

I will never give my music to my computer or the Cloud or any other internal & intangible storage system.   For my generation music was as physical an experience as it was an acoustic one.

HolyMoly wrote: It’s amusing to recall how everyone was agog at the superiority of digital vs analog, whereas now audiophiles seem to feel the reverse is true (“DDD” on the back of CDs, meaning the recording, mixing, and mastering were all done digitally, was once something to get excited about).

Yes, the loudness wars has pretty much been the biggest problem in the music industry for the last 20+ years. But that doesn't really have anything to do with CDs per se, as LPs will have that just as much these days (and downloads/streaming). There's a very useful site I always check when I buy a CD where you can compare the dynamic range of different masters of albums. It's not the only thing to consider when comparing remasters, but it's still very useful.

Respectfully your not gonna like my responses regarding the CD....but I'll give it a shot. 

-I don't know what you mean about issue with DACs? A DAC is like any other electronic pc of gear, it has a lifespan regarding newer design and improvements. A DAC from 1980 works fine but a DAC from 2022 is much improved, so you get a better result of sound when comparing the two, that's not arguable. 

-In the 80/90s we were all thrilled about DDD, it was touted as the "ultimate in sound quality..." due to the all digital chain. Hogwash, we don't hear in digital, we hear in analog. In many cases CDs I have that are ADA even ADD sound much better than DDD. People raved about Dire Straits Brothers In Arms as a DDD CD sounds very nice, I liked it for sure. But it is extremely too clinical and lacking low end in spades, sounds great with headphones or earplugs...Since you like that crispy digital sound, this will not resonate with you, but 100% fine, simply enjoy the music!! 

-The statement that "vinyl sounds warmer" is a misinformed as you state. The CD is rolled off at about 20KHz as well bottoms out at 20Hz, due to redbook the CD cannot be mastered to replicate anymore of the frequency band of music. Yes we as humans can generally only hear 20-20k but music has much more than that. The LP has been pressed with frequency as low as about 5Hz and as high as 80KHz, IIRC it has been pressed with 100KHz....so what you get is the whole frequency range of music on the LP. The cymbal crash can exceed 40KHz easily and the standup bass around 30Hz, electronic taurus bass pedals and synths will go well below 20Hz, sub bass range so you'll need subwoofers to "feel the music".....What you are missing with the CD is the decay/sustain of notes, that long bass note or high pitch flute note that the CD cuts off.

It's not that the LP sounds warmer, it's that you are hearing more of the freq range than the CD can give you...Assuming the music has it, remember everything starts with the recording. A $hit recording is always going to be a $sh*t recording, no matter the final media.

-By definition the LP does have a higher fidelity than the CD, what the CD does have is a wider dynamic range ability. The LP is around 75-80dB and the CD is about 95dB, but 24bit hi-rez pushes a dynamic range of 125-130dB, which is ridiculous since we don't hear that way, it's like the difference between a quiet room and standing next to a jet engine . The main issue with mastering in digital is all the filters that are used, if done wrong will remove musical bits, analog is analog what's on the tape is what came out of the studio.

-You are missing a big point.....One of the main reasons of the LP resurgence is due to the sound that people are now wanting. They equate the LP to a more natural sound of music versus the CD/Digital that is too clinical and clean, music/sounds are not supposed to be clean, there is distortion in the music, in the studio...Another big reason is people want to own physical media, when you download a song file what is it?? What does it look like?? What are you paying for?? if you lose it have you actually lost anything?? At least the CD is a physical media and you own something.... Consumers are also starting to understand how music is created, emotions come from recording as a band in a studio so the records from the 60s-80s are what people want to explore...Listen to a BlueNote LP from the 1950s and tell me you can't feel and hear the musicians and feel their emotions, if not you need to see a doctor .

-The loudness wars were 100% due to the CD, labels wanted the music to sound LOUD on the radio so people would notice it and buy it. Compression has been around forever, yes, but it was made a household name by the CD in the 90s. This is why so many recordings are being remastered now as people know it exists and don't like it, it is terrible sounding on vinyl for sure. So many engineers are trying to go back to the original digital master recordings and master with little compression, some of these reissues do sound so much better because the dynamics are back....(Rush~Vapor Trails).

I have tons of records cut from 24/32bit and DSD files of digital studio recordings and they sound amazing, as well all analog records from the 70s that sound cra-cra insanely good still......but the CD will never be in the same category as either of these, to me it is a low-rez media that sounds good because it will never be full range audio. I don't care what someone uses to listen to music, just listen to music. I have always been an LP/vinyl consumer since a teen in the 70s and today my analog setup is lightyears better than anything I ever had, so my LPs sound amazing and blows me away every time I sit down and listen. I have always stated that digital should be the best way to capture a live recording in the studio, although it's not a whole lot better than analog tape, and in some cases can't hold a candle to it. What we hear is a result of the mix and mastering, and if the engineer is a dunce then it's gonna sound like krapp. Just pick your poison and listen to music........