Future of CD's will they reach the same status as Vinyl

Just wondering with all these new streaming services and digital music if CDs will become as treasured by a few in the same way Vinyl is?

Personally, and to kick of a discussion, I don't think they will - the technology to play them is far more complex than a simple turntable - look at how popular the Pro-ject range is and how well they perform. And in any case nearly everything on CD is available online and if it isn't now it will be - Vinyl is different and some of it will probably never be released digitally.

Maybe it has something to do with less boxes, less wires, cleaner installations, turntables still look great and are getting to be more popular - will the same happen with CD's? - I can see that classics like the BS9000 will be sought after and the BS3000 predecessors as they show the disks and are beautiful to look at - but will the same apply generally. Nowadays any old turntable seems to be stuck on ebay for high prices.

Maybe in ten years, if the industry needs another hype.

MM

Andrew

I have over 1,000 vinyl records - complete opera, operetta and oratorio boxed sets as well as 400 single LPs in my classical collection, and with 3300 turntable complete with the 3300 B&0 System, 6500 system complete with turntable, two 5500 systems complete with turntables, even though I have a large collection of CDs, complete with players on all four systems, there is something about vinyl.  I am surprised that two of my students who have bands have issued their new release on EP vinyl, in fact, was quite shocked when they gave me their copy, I assumed it was going to be CD ... changed times, I wonder??

Streaming services, I am always somewhat dubious about, having to back up all your music on either SD or USB can be a pain, it is alright keeping it backed up on your computer, until something goes wrong, which has happened to me on at least two occasions and lost the lot!!!  Speaking as a classical collector, not all the operas, oratorios or indeed some of the old opera stars are not available on CD.  CD opera collections tend to come out as popular operas, such as, Verdi La Traviata, but odder operas, such as, I Masnaderi, Aroldo as rarer to find, the Bellini and Donizetti operas are not all available on CD and are only available on vinyl. 

As a re-tipping service is available in Germany and in the UK now, there isn't the problem of hunting and purchasing styli at huge prices, prices range from £79 to £100 for re-tipping and really the sound is just as good if you were to purchase a brand new stylus.  I have a number of MMC4 and MMC5 styli re-tipped now, which hopefully will do the rest of my lifetime, and I use my records regularly to let my pupils here a range of different singers, arias and operas.

Thanks for your post, hope there is more response out there.

 

Best wishes David

At the monthly record show near me, records for sale drastically out-number CDs.  it's almost like CDs are a worthless afterthought.

A record shop owner who frequents the show said that cassettes are coming back and becoming collectable.  That boggles my mind.  Back in the '80's when they came out, I thought they were a bad idea.  It's ironic that the might be coming back.

D

Interesting question.

Steaming/downloading was always the logical way for digital music to go as the CD was arguably only an interim solution to the carrier problem. So theoretically CDs almost by definition are completely redundant now.

Having said that, I have no plans to abandon buying CDs. Some companies have even managed to achieve similar levels of tactile and visual impact as the 12 inch record and its sleeve, making them pleasurable items to own. John Eliot Gardiner's Bach Cantata series on SDG is a case in point, where the presentation levels are as high as the quality of the music making. Downloaded music, even with the accompanying PDFs, doesn't have that same appeal.

The other factor for me is that at 65, my hearing is limited to about 13k hertz and I can't tell the difference between standard 'red book' CDs and SACDS or hi-res downloads.

Like Professor Flynn, I have an extensive collection of classical CDs as well as a still-expanding collection of vinyl. With a particular interest in early music, there are numerous performances released on CD that have still not become available for download or to stream. My other interest is Jazz from the 50s onwards and even now, over 32 years after the introduction of the CD, there are scores of records yet to make it to a digital medium.

The one factor in the continuation of the CD is, as the OP points out, in the availability of hardware to play it. Like David I have a number of Beogram CD players but they aren't going to last forever - they are all over 20 years now! This problem of hardware isn't limited to music listening - it will become a major issue for accessing all stored data.

As for a resurgence of interest in compact cassettes, I look forward to it - I have hung on to 5 players! I have a load of concerts recorded off radio that are, to me, highly valued. I have only lost one - chewed up by the first incarnation of the Beocord 5000. But then, that particular machine has 'form' for such acts! By the way Doonesbury - the compact cassette went into mass production in 1964, not the 80s!

Cleve

Hi Folks - Cleve is on ball with this one as well as readers will know that I have full systems, surprisingly though the cassettes that I have sound extremely well on the 5500s and my 3300 system.  I was very pleased and surprised that when playing a couple of older cassettes during the week on the 5500 the overall sound was quite amazing.  I even recorded a record onto a blank tape (5 I purchased new on Ebay) and was really quite delighted with the sound.  I was very lucky to purchase a microphone from Quality Dream Audio and when I used this on the 5500 to record a few of my students during their lessons, the sound is quite remarkable.

As a voice teacher it is odd to hear that both the cassette and CD are just not quite in the middle of the note (as tuned with the piano) whereas the vinyl has a cleaner, clearer and crisper sound.  Okay, over time your vinyl gets 'blips and blops', but I think that adds to the character and over-all appeal of vinyl especially seeing that some of my records range from the mid-50s (save your breath please, I am not that old and was still at school during the 50s and 60s! Cleve I am sticking up for you in this one as well!!)

I know that in Northern Ireland the sales of vinyl are well up and some new record shops only selling LPs have sprung up with quite a number of customers.  Could it be that the younger generation are looking at vinyl as a 'thing' to have now - quaint, old-fashioned trend? Maybe so.  Even though my systems are 20 years plus old it is great to see that there are still small companies repairing and reconditioning equipment.  Personally speaking I keep going back to Ray at Quality Dream Audio to repair and service my equipment - the man is a godsend.  But, finding that we have a re-tipping service available with Expert Stylus and Cartridge Company on the UK Mainland is a miracle to keep our B&O turntables running and our records playing gives much renewed hope for our 20 plus old equipment for years to come.

Prof D 

 

 

 

I don't think CDs ever will because, probably the one thing that made vinyl so nice to many was the wonderful artwork sleeve cover. Those plastic cases on CDs, once they attract dust look really horrible. Plus a jumping/sticking CD is plain horrible.

Maybe artists / record labels should release every Christmas a book of their artists album covers, the size of a 12" record album cover with photos, biogs and other niceness.

Paul W:

I don't think CDs ever will because, probably the one thing that made vinyl so nice to many was the wonderful artwork sleeve cover. Those plastic cases on CDs, once they attract dust look really horrible. Plus a jumping/sticking CD is plain horrible.

Maybe artists / record labels should release every Christmas a book of their artists album covers, the size of a 12" record album cover with photos, biogs and other niceness.

Good grief! I actually agree with most of what you said...must be a sign of the Apocalypse, fifth horseman or such. But talking about how bad CD skipping is in relationship to LP pops, ticks, noise, and skips is kind of odd.

Would love a big book of cover art, and given the ability to do vanity books almost instantly (I've seen services that do this pretty cheaply) seems like it'd be easy and an additional revenue stream for the labels to do this custom for whatever albums a person wanted. I'd buy something like that, and not even as an ebook!

And the reason LP has such longevity, alleged sonics aside, is due to both the tactile aspect (including artwork) and the rituals that vinyl requires, cleaning, adjusting tables, etc. The youth market finds this all charmingly exotic I think, kind of like the Hipsters and their love of crappy beer like Pabst Blue Ribbon, and haven't had time to get sick of it yet like most of us old timers. I doubt CD will, as once you rip it bits is bits and there's not a lot of album art or such to , make any difference. I have a lot of CDs, many not in print and not available on any service I've seen, which I will keep, but they were a lot easier to rip into my PC and quicker than ripping an LP.

Yes, I tried ripping vinyl thinking that I could then do away with it - but it just too long and I missed the ritual. Now just have a handful of my favourites in the cloud - and it means they will last longer!

Why ripping by yourself?

Vinyldoneright.nl

Andrew:

Yes, I tried ripping vinyl thinking that I could then do away with it - but it just too long and I missed the ritual. Now just have a handful of my favourites in the cloud - and it means they will last longer!

Yeah, it's a real time plus activity, we get spoiled by being able to rip CDs as fast as the bits can be ripped off and processed, but tape and vinyl take a while. I have maybe 2 or 3 cassettes to rip and a handful of albums that are ones I want in digital form.

Why do it yourself? I dunno, force of habit, cheaper (I have the A/D), desire to do the ripping and any post processing myself, choice of playback equipment, etc. Hobby vs. just wanting it done?

i didnt even know you could get someone to rip them for you, its easy enough to do though, just takes time.