CDs and Downloads Are Dead

I often invite friends to come to my place to listen to music.

I hand them a tablet running Roon (with Tidal) and tell them to play whatever they want.

They look at me puzzled and often ask: “whatever I want? Are you serious?” Yes, I reply. Play whatever you want.

So far I have not heard of anything that they want that is not available. And sometimes I am talking about some old recording of a symphony by certain conductor and/or orchestra.

Often, I have to take away the tablet from one guy to pass it to the next guy. Otherwise he would go on and on listening to his stuff

I have nearly 12k tracks in my CD library plus several hundred LPs. Yet I can not tell anybody to go search anything they want in my (modest) library.

That’s one huge advantage of having 30 million tracks at your immediate disposal.
 
I still like owning the physical medium. I do add them to my music server and seldom go back to the discs. I have a internet tuner in my office and listen to internet radio stations. My guess is the smartphone used as a music server has cut into the physical software sales.
 
I have three daughters (19, 24 & 27 years old).
Yes, they do own a couple of CDs... that I have bought!
They listen to YouTube and Spotify.
They never ever bought CDs.

We are the last generation that buys CDs (I own some 3000 (SA)CDs).
I love them, but since I stream Tidal and Qobuz, I hardly buy them anymore.
I compared quite some albums: CD vs streams. Often the stream wins (better remasters? Qobuz hi-res?) or is at least the equal of the CD.

Tidal and Qobuz combined cover almost all new releases, and a very high percentage of past albums.
 
For me, it’s a matter of being able to acquire content I can’t get on vinyl. If I really like an LP or an artist, I want to own it, not rent it and it’s often only available on cd.

I admit that the need for ownership is old school and my daughter certainly doesn’t share that view. I may be wrong, but I also feel like the artist gets a bigger share of the pie from a purchase than a stream, although I have nothing on which to base that statement.

I will also say that the PSAudio Memory player constantly surprises me with how well it does on plain old CDs (easily the match or better than the average non-MQA streaming to my ear). If they made more SACDs though, I’d buy lots of them.

That said, CDs will be here for a while, but I suspect they’ll continue to seriously diminish in sales vs online music.


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bart said:
...They listen to YouTube and Spotify.
They never ever bought CDs.
We are the last generation that buys CDs (I own some 3000 (SA)CDs).
Click to expand...

This week i listen in a portuguese radio some guy (from a music publisher) saying that probably the great recordings are finishing. 30 years from now, current recordings will be the best we can ear. Because no one is going to spend 10.000 €/$ in a high quality microphone if people only listen compressed formats.
 
nicoff said:
I hear this sentiment from time to time from some folks. I guess that if one is only using the Tidal GUI interface, some folks may feel as if Tidal is ‘pushing’ certain music to them.

I see Tidal as a source for ANY kind of music. One can choose and mark his/her favorites and don’t bother with the rest.

If one uses something like Roon as the GUI, the so called ‘pushing’ would immediately disappear since Tidal is only used as a supplier of whatever music that person is searching. That’s an extra benefit of using Roon.
Click to expand...

Sorry, even with alternate GUI Tidal is pushing music similar to all the Tidal's owner or the owners music. When I was subscribed to Tidal I got lots of email messages about music that I have no desire to listen too, even though I never listened to the type of music. From that perspective the streaming service that really takes your musical taste into account is Pandora and Deezer, with Spotify moving towards it. Deezer has what they called Flow, which basically builds playlist automatically based on your playlist/favorites. That option is the first row and right below are the rest of the rows, including new albums that were release recently based on your listening preference along with your non listening preference in case you do decide to listen to something new.

Edit: I used to buy a lot of CD's since Princeton Record Exchange a used CD/Vinyl store is about 10 minutes from home. I have to make it a point not to go in that store now, if I end up picking 15 to 20 CD's at a single shot, since the prices on the cd' ran from 2 to 5 bucks. That get's expensive very quickly if you just want to try listening to a new artist. So what I do now is use streaming service to listen to new artist/music and if I like it I buy it.
 
a.wayne said:
OMG , CD’s died .... ? I should stop purchasing ... :)
Click to expand...

a.wayne.......Yep, and companies like dCS, MBL, Kalista, Esoteric, Simaudio, T+A, McIntosh, PS Audio, Rega, Meridian, Naim, Bryston, and other high-end audio manufacturers must have missed the CD's dead memo. Many premium audio companies continue to design, build, and push the state of the art in compact disc players. There is no shortage of compact disc availability or top shelf equipment to play them. Yes, the beat goes on.
 
nicoff said:
Are you sure he wants that?
If so, congratulations!

My children are millennials are they don’t care for or purchase CDs. They carry their music with them (Spotify, etc.). I am certain that my leaving them a whole bunch of CDs would be a burden.
Click to expand...

Yes I am sure that he wants it all. He has all my hand me down gear including my Parasound A21 amp. He is 27 and loves all my Rock from the 60's through the 90's. He loves Jazz, Blues, some classical and new age. We go to concerts together all the time. He has all my music as well.
 
Mechnutt said:
Yes I am sure that he wants it all. He has all my hand me down gear including my Parasound A21 amp. He is 27 and loves all my Rock from the 60's through the 90's. He loves Jazz, Blues, some classical and new age. We go to concerts together all the time. He has all my music as well.
Click to expand...

I am utterly convinced my only daughter will (a) give my stereo and fishing gear to a love interest who also doesn’t appreciate it, (b) sell it for a song on eBay, or (c) give it to someone who knows what they’re getting and doesn’t tell her. BTW, my fishing gear is just like my accuphase gear - durable, classic and supremely functional (and expensive as far as these things go). Neither should fall in the hands of any one in category a, b or c.

Apologies to the OP. This thread is about CDs.


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still-one said:
Just because some individuals on this site still purchase CD's does not change the fact that CD's are on life support. As additional CD plants close and production capacity decreases the cost of CD's will increase. This will drive more of the general public towards streaming. CD's will join the LP as a overpriced niche product supported by a aging "audiophile" market.

chartoftheday_12950_cd_sales_in_the_us_n.jpg
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Yep, totally agree.

That graphic alone is worth a thousand words. Oppo who used to make more CD players than all the high-end CD manufacturers combined, quit making CD players altogether. They obviously saw the big picture.
 
Spock said:
This week i listen in a portuguese radio some guy (from a music publisher) saying that probably the great recordings are finishing. 30 years from now, current recordings will be the best we can ear. Because no one is going to spend 10.000 €/$ in a high quality microphone if people only listen compressed formats.
Click to expand...


They still make many great recordings, and probably will do so in the future.
ECM, trptk, 2L, Challenge, Channel Classics, Alpha, and many more labels bring out splendid recordings.
The new releases Qobuz brings out every Friday offer mostly very high quality sound.
 
jdandy said:
a.wayne.......Yep, and companies like dCS, MBL, Kalista, Esoteric, Simaudio, T+A, McIntosh, PS Audio, Rega, Meridian, Naim, Bryston, and other high-end audio manufacturers must have missed the CD's dead memo. Many premium audio companies continue to design, build, and push the state of the art in compact disc players. There is no shortage of compact disc availability or top shelf equipment to play them. Yes, the beat goes on.
Click to expand...


Dan, of course these companies do this.
Our generation has money, and huge collections of silver discs.
We still want a disc player, or at least a lot of us still do.

I do doubt if our children will still buy a CD player.
But for the next 10-15 years, there will be terrific new players, all bought by those born in the 60s and earlier.
 
That is true; our generation is loaded with money...Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Windows, Tesla, Bitcoin, New York Stock Exchange, Oil industry, Disneyland, Hollywood land, Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Wars, Avengers, Netflix, ...

Music is expanding; YouTube, Tidal, MQA, hires digital file downloads, iTunes, ...

Music downloads, really?

Lots of good classical and jazz and blues CDs and SACDs are still being made for the ultra hi-end hi-fi audiophiles, and we now have Ultra High Definition 4K Blu-ray movies with Dolby Vision and ultra high elevated resolution with Dolby Atmos from all the Hollywood movie studios.

It's all for us, the new generation of rich audiophile kids @ heart. :audiophile:

* If you are looking for among some of the best CDs and SACDs and Blu-rays look no further than in my own signature, right besides that musical note.
 
bart said:
Dan, of course these companies do this.
Our generation has money, and huge collections of silver discs.
We still want a disc player, or at least a lot of us still do.

I do doubt if our children will still buy a CD player.
But for the next 10-15 years, there will be terrific new players, all bought by those born in the 60s and earlier.
Click to expand...

Bart.......You may be right about the time line, but one never knows what the future holds. The revival of turntables, phono cartridges and vinyl LP's is a perfect example, even though that niche is quite limited to those who can afford to shell out cash for the gear and the LP's. Vinyl can get far more expensive than digital very quickly, and again we are talking about physical media versus cloud based streaming to DAC's and portable devices. In the future compact discs may reemerge as nostalgic hipness as millennials mature and acquire greater personal wealth. It happened with vinyl LP's, so who's to say the same is impossible for CD's.
 
I’m anxiously awaiting for The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Axis Bold as Love remastered SACD by Bernie Grundman using the original analog masters, with Are You Experienced SACD and Electric Ladyland CD following

My transport will continue to spin discs, no signs of mortality here!

e9060d676bfc02cbb1874823728995d5.png



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What is more alive today? Ferrari's car radios.

And who nose after we're dead what's coming up...cassette tapes music revival?
New audio music forums will open up with Bob Dylan on cassette tapes and Nakamichi Dragon cassette tape recorders fully restored to their original condition, and with new playback heads.

It happens before with vinyl, it will happen again with cassette tapes next time.
_____

I buy less CDs than I used too, same for LPs.
I buy more Blu-ray movies and music, and SACDs.

What the stats show I'm sure I'm no part of it.
 
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