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

Agree with all three of your points and I'll add a couple more: the artist gets more money and streaming is too doggone expensive to get high-quality sound.

I recently purchased a Moon 280 D streamer. Bottom of the line for Moon's line, but I couldn't hear much of an improvement in more expensive streamers. I stream music much more than playing CDs on my McMormack universal disc player. When I do drop a CD into the McCormack I use the Moon streamer's D/A converter which is a bit livlier than the McCormack.

I listen to vinyl, however, far more than I listen to digital. I have a VPI Prime Signature turntable and EMT HD 006 cartridge, which I run through an Audio Research PH-7. I mention these pieces of hardware because they are good solid equipment which lift the level of my vinyl albums far above digital. Analogue on my system is more immediate and detailed. I've had friends who are not audiophiles notice the difference even though they haven't developed a discerning ear.

I listen to my Moon streamer to hear new artists or new albums. To discover what's going on in the musical world. Also to hear different classical artists playing pieces I own on vinyl and CDs. I often stream music I already have on CDs because streaming has higher digital samplings, up to 192 vs. 44.1 on CDs. 

The reason I still have CDs is because I literally can't give them away. I own about 1200 CDs and it's not worth selling them piecemeal. Too much time and effort for too little money. But almost all of my CDs can also be streamed. So, if somebody wants to take all my CDs plus the spinning rack they sit on, and lives in L.A., give me a holler.

I mention these pieces of hardware because they are good solid equipment which lift the level of my vinyl albums far above digital. Analogue on my system is more immediate and detailed.
 

audio-b-dog  What streamer were you using before the 280D?  How much total do you have invested in your vinyl rig versus your streaming setup?  Fair comparison?

itanibro

CD(s) sound better than any server/streamer.

 

Happy Listening!

@itanibro

 

i’m a mastering engineer with 11 Grammy winning projects in my résumé and I work on every style for 25 years… Here’s the reality

16 bit 44.1 Audio (CD) is not in any practical way inferior to 24 bit 44.1 Audio or 24 96 or 192 for 99% of modern recordings and only 1% of us could tell 24 from 16 bit

 

The industries surrounding higher bit rates and higher sample rates, those are all bullshit… The best quality master is the one that was done in the mastering room, someone like Daniel Lenois did many amazing records using 16 bit DAT tape, for example

streaming audio is very much inferior to 16 bit audio