Should I still buy a CD player? Suggest one?


I just read that Best Buy is discontinuing CDs. This seems like a bad omen for CDs in general. I had a system I liked and lost most of it in a fire this summer. Insurance will buy me a replacement, but is it unwise to buy a CD player now? What are high end people doing now for source?

And, my players was a Creek CD-43, CD-53, bought in about 2002. What would be an equivalent quality now? Insurance doesn't care that they are more expensive now, they just want an equal replacement. If I buy a player, which is the most popular good CD player now? It's important that is it a popular one, because I don't want to get saddled with something hard to sell since things are in flux.

Thanks.


river251
Its always been wise to buy a turntable. But hey, don't take my word for it. Just compare used prices for five, ten and twenty year old turntables vs CD players. The market is people, and the people have spoken.

We report. You decide.
@river251,

I am very sorry to learn about your loss. If you don’t have a large collection of physical media (CD or Vinyl), I would suggest to invest in a decent streaming system. 

You can get CD or better quality playback through streaming services like Tidal or Qobuz for a monthly fee of $19.99 or less. 
Let us know if you’re interested to learn more about streaming setup. 
millercarbon, yes the obvious options are teh streaming service lalitk (Ialitk?) suggests and a turntable. How available are vinyl LPs these days, and how much do they go for?

I lost a few boxes of vinyl LPs and a few hundred CDs in the fire as well.
The vinyl was old rock and roll, and the CDs were almost all mainstream jazz and classical, what I listen to now. Haven’t had a turntable in decades but I have listened to the same LP on CD and vinyl on a very good system and there is no comparison. I want to go vinyl, but I need to get a sense of the vinyl source world, what’s out there, how expensive is it, before buying a turntable.

Thanks fo you both.

Thanks
Jim

river251
My condolences for your loss. This is never an easy experience no matter the Audio system's cost.  The best news is that there has never been a better time for a cd player, especially, if you are going to continue purchasing CDs. 
You owned classic Creek models. If you like the house sound seek out one of the newer players. Unlike the 43/53, the newer spinners are sourced to china. Make certain parts are available for repair/service.  Otherwise, find a local or nearest dealer/retailer and listen, listen, listen.  Have fun discovering modern players.
Happy Listening!
That’s amazing that Best Buy will stop selling CD’s.  I wonder if they will still sell vinyl.  That would be an incredible turn of events if they did.  

Too bad insurance won’t just give you the money the player is worth.  Are you required to replace the item? Research what the law and policy says.   if so, do you play Blu-ray?  Maybe you could get a nice unit that plays all formats.

i recently pulled some CDs out from a rack for the first time in many years.... to temporarily tape them to a wall or sound baffle while I bounced a laser beam off them for positioning speakers or sound baffles for first reflection point.  the CDs nice reflective surface and light weight make them ideal.   I’m glad I finally found a use for CDs.