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Why Do ~You~ Still Play CDs?

I'm curious why you still play CDs in the age of streaming. I recently got back into CD listening and I'm curious if your reasons align with mine, which are:

  • Enjoying the physical medium—the tactile nature of the case, the disc, the booklet, etc.
  • Forcing myself to actually listen to an album, versus being easily distracted by an algorithm, or "what's next" in my playlist.
  • Actually owning the music I purchase, versus being stuck with yet another monthly subscription.

Others? 

itanibro
jl35
4,014 posts
 

Still love LP CD and Streaming...all serve a different purpose...not saying one format always sounds better, but they often sound different...I often find it simply easier to pop in a CD rather than find my phone and search for what I want... there seem to be a lot , or just a very vocal few, streaming lovers who encourage others to not play CD...this is a great streaming time of year with all the best of lists...but I probably prefer CD overall at this point...I encourage others to enjoy all 3 and, got one friend into reel to reel...

loomisjohnson
1,948 posts
 

i concur with your reasons and would add a couple more:

1. i own thousands of cds, can't bear to get rid of them and therefore feel compelled to put 'em to use.

2. somehow getting up off my chair to actually unbox and insert the disc (as opposed to merely touching my phone) makes me feel more committed to listening.

3. i'm sure this is largely in my head, and contradicted by the technical data, but cds still sound more dynamic and somehow richer.

njwvista
16 posts
 

I am very album oriented and don't mess much with playlists. I love streaming and being able to call up almost any album, but when not available on Spotify or Qobuz, i'll pick it up on vinyl or CD. 

hasmarto's avatar
hasmarto
200 posts
 

I completely agree with your three points. Even though I have Qobuz, I much prefer playing my own collection. With around 10,000 CDs, I truly enjoy the process of selecting and playing them.

artemus_5's avatar
artemus_5
1,969 posts
 

Why Do ~You~ Still Play CDs?

Because I still have them and a good CDP.

But I also concur with your reasoning  concerning streaming.   I'm mostly a vinyl man but my TT  drive system is broken so I've been streaming a lot. Its a totally different experience from vinyl. Vinyl holds your attention to the music whereas the convenience of streaming is a 2 edged sword. I find myself making playlists like a DJ and instead of listening to the music I'm making a playlist. If I  hold myself to playing just albums then its pretty good. It still won't hang with my vinyl. But I have a lot more $$$ dedicated to the vinyl. I'll be glad to get the new drive system this weekend.

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