Are CD's on the way out?

[cntrary2ordnary]

Originally Posted by TDPRI

That would be great... if it worked with Mac and it worked with iTunes and it worked with iPods. But unfortunately, it doesn't work with any of those things.

That's why I've stayed away from ipods. When my Rio blows up I'm going to try the Zune.

[cntrary2ordnary]

Originally Posted by rand z

absolutely!

but, half the point of my above post is that it seems that's how everyone is listening to this stuff, these daze, and i dont care to go that route when i listen to music. and, it's too easy to lose one of those losable, delicate, expensive little suckers...

verstehen?!?

imho.

rand z tropicalsoul.net

Not everyone. At home I listen to mp3s through the same speakers I listen to cds with. Same speakers I used to listen to vinyl with. When I'm out of the house, I use Sennheiser headphones.. Way better than the crappy ones that came with my player. And it's not any easier to lose than car keys or a wallet.

[kidA]

Originally Posted by Caffeine Patrol

I wouldn't say that MP3ers/downloaders are "ignorant" or aren't "true music lovers"; some of my best friends are iTunes users. Even my friends who do make a lot of use of MP3s and the like, though, admit the sound quality is pretty bad. To overuse the burger analogy, being a music lover and using MP3s as your primary or sole format of choice is like claiming to be a gourmand who only eats at McDonalds. To my thinking that says you prefer convenience over sound quality. Is that a value judgment? Not necessarily, but I'd personally take a slab of ribs from Arthur Bryant's over a McRibwich anyday. And to keep the sweeping cultural generalities rolling, (soapbox, please) I might go so far as to say that it is another indication of our willingness to settle for mediocrity when quality, with a little work, is within reach. Discuss!

My point was twofold, and i never implied that itunes/mp3s are for people who are less serious. I'm going to be perfectly honest, with my current set up at school and listening to more "reference quality" systems costing far more, I am hard pressed to ever tell the difference between higher quality compressed formats (generally 192kbps and up, for sure 256kbps and up) and lossless formats. The only exceptions being, on occasion, classical and jazz, generally speaking, and even when i can tell the difference, it's only A/B. I am of the belief that at least for me, and i'm not alone in this, higher quality mp3s that you can find on amazon and itunes plus, are essentially just as good as lossless. i still buy cds and listen to vinyl because i like the physicality of it, opening the album, flipping through the artwork, putting it in the player, and so on and so forth.

My second point was more crucial, mp3s are partially responsible (along with the general bastardization of mainstream pop music) for the negative shift in production values.

Originally Posted by chet

Like I said- you don't have to spend thousands of dollars on audio equipment to enjoy listening to vinyl. I think that's what's scaring a lot of people out of trying it. I'm using the relatively cheap Technics turntable and a Radio Shack Integrated Amp (that I already had).
Sure, you can get the state of the art turntable etc. but you don't have to. Rock music still sounds awesome on cheaper stuff if you get the right stuff.

I myself went a vintage route for my stereo. But the point wasn't that you have to spend thousands on a stereo. I was pointing out that there are still people who invest money, lots of money, in vinyl when everyone said it was going to die to 8 tracks, cassettes, then cds. they'll all stick around because there will always be nostalgia. I have nostalgia for an era i never lived in, and i enjoy noisy vinyl, pops and all.

The point of all of this is enjoying your music to the maximum or your personal satisfaction. This is relative to where your music stands in your everyday life, whether its filler noise on the commute, background music through your house, or having music listening parties where you sit around and discuss the music over a glass of wine, whatever suits you. There's also the level of "reproduction" that people want or need in order to find enjoyment. I know people who have "portable rigs" that consist of a line out modified ipod through a portable amp into full size headphones, and they need to carry around a camerabag with them when they just go out for a walk in order to "enjoy" their music. That's a bit excessive. There's a time and a place for all of your music listening, and we're seeing an increase in preference for ease of use and convenience. There's nothing wrong with this, but when those who want more suffer for it, or are no longer able to enjoy the same music at the level of fidelity that suits their preference (whether its perceived or imagined fidelity) then there's reason to complain.

[Nick JD]

Originally Posted by pengipete

Or maybe I prefer to put a few dollars in the musicians' pockets and less into some Russian website.

Ahhh - those recording industry killers, The Russians, are up to it again, eh?

[pengipete]

Originally Posted by Nick JD

Ahhh - those recording industry killers, The Russians, are up to it again, eh?

It's all part of their plan.

They get us used to downloading tinny mp3s forcing us to fit 3000 watt subwoofers in our cars so that we won't notice the noise when they force us all to drive around in Trabants.

I know because a bloke in the pub told me...

[chet]

Originally Posted by Highway_61

I have never liked CDs; have always been put off with all the "plastic-ness" of the packaging. All of it seemed antithetical to aesthetics, and CDs made the record store experience unbearable: row after row of plastic nothingness, row after row of people of clacking through the plastic.

I'm not a purist, though. It was great to be able to have the portability of the CD, so as to listen to music in the car without sacrificing fidelity.

But I never found a CD--whether ADD or DDD or SAC or Digitally Remastered or whatever--of Dylan's Blonde on Blonde that sounded as good as the vinyl Blonde on Blonde that changed my life.

I purchase mp3s now, and I know they'll get better or will be supplanted by mp5s or mp7s or something.

I despise iTunes. The iTunes store is the virtual version of plastic clacking nothingness. But alternatives are appearing. Amazon's mp3 system is a bit more aesthetic, for example, and I have purchased nearly every Bruce Hornsby concert recording available at munckmusic. com.

I miss--will always miss--buying albums; but I don't expect albums to ever return.

And CDs are done.

Jack's music shop in Red Bank, NJ has a bunch of new vinyl Dylan albums including "Blonde On Blonde" in mono. Most are $14.99 except for "Blonde On Blonde" which is around $25.00.

[chet]

Originally Posted by Skully

It's a niche market and it will remain a niche market, and there's only so much money one can invest in an enterprise that caters to that niche market. Cutting vinyl quality vinyl LPs is a lot tougher than making boutique pick-ups or guitars. It takes big ol' machines that probably don't have much of a maintenance support system anymore.

There are enterprising people who are taking advantage of that market right now. I see more and more new vinyl everytime I go to a store.

[chet]

Originally Posted by Skully

For better or worse, downloading is the wave of the future. It's here to stay. The MP3 format is not. So, from a long-term perspective (and I'm talking five years, not five decades), much of this debate is entirely moot. The changes are going to keep coming, quicker and quicker. The sound quality of downloadable music will improve, surpassing everything that's come before it. You'll be able to upgrade the quality of your media player with software updates. Etc., etc. People are debating the merits of Model As versus Model Ts and we're getting ready to go into outer space. Enjoy your Model A, but don't expect Ford to start producing them again for mass consumption.

Like everyone else, I miss the artwork. I also fear for the future of the album as art -- collections of songs with a beginning, middle and end.

Downloading is about as exciting and attractive as floppy disks.

Except for Computer Nerds with the pocket protectors in thier shirt pockets, of course.

[cntrary2ordnary]

Originally Posted by chet

Downloading is about as exciting and attractive as floppy disks.

Except for Computer Nerds with the pocket protectors in thier shirt pockets, of course.

About as exciting as going to Walmart for a CD.

[chet]

Hunting for vinyl LPs is very exciting. It's like- What will you find this time?

[chet]

Originally Posted by cntrary2ordnary

About as exciting as going to Walmart for a CD.

You do what you gotta do.

[Caffeine Patrol]

You know, when I really think about this, the rub isn't really that the youngsters have their own technology (my youth witnessed the end of the 8-track). It's the mindset that since we have something new, everything else must be worthless and left behind. Ever read those accounts that Leo Fender thought the Strat would render the Tele obsolete? Admittedly, a lot of formats do not merit widescale preservation, but vinyl is a great format and will last a loooong time if you take care of your records and equipment. I can't wrap my 43-year-old-brain around not wanting to preserve music that you cherish in a non-physical format (hard drives don't count), be it record, CD or even a lowly cassette--all hail the power of the mixTAPE.
It's along the same lines of some day reading the "love e-mails" your parents sent to each other before they were married--blech, give me that old hatbox full of worn photos and tattered letters and let's pass it around instead of huddling over the glow of the monitor.
Yeah, I live in the past, but it's really nice here!

[rand z]

Originally Posted by Caffeine Patrol

Quote:
I like music, I want it now

Thank you for illustrating one of my points. Who cares if the sound quality is bad, who cares if there's no cool album art, who even cares if the artist gets paid--I WANT IT NOW!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKNmqS4nSYY

THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF QUALITY...

i see it every day, but it's been slowly sliding since the early seventies.

it's gonna be china.


imho.

rand z

[chet]

The main thing that's stopping vinyl from making a comeback is the lack of affordable quality turntables. I got very lucky by selecting mine. It was only because I asked my coworker about it and he suggested Technics. I looked them up and found the one I'm using now.
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Tech...810980&sr=1-12

I'm very happy with it.

When vinyl was going strong I'll bet we had hundreds of choices that were all pretty good as well as hundreds that were low quality.