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The demise of the music CD inevitable?

Hi,

Back on campus, my senior year. Everywhere I look, its all earbuds and cell phones streaming audio. None of my friends would even consider purchasing a CD! I as well almost completely stopped purchasing CD's now that I have lossless streaming from TIDAL. It seems that SQ is not an issue anymore for this generation, its content that is most important and there is no loss of it out there in the streaming world.
grm
mahler123
3,312 posts
 
  • sorry, above, I meant to say that I am listening to a 24 bit stream currently...
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
The CD longevity is very finite compared to vinyl.
Vinyl kept proper will play forever CD will go bad in 20...25 years
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,456 posts
 

I just visited Best Buy to pick up the Beatles Live at the Hollywood bowl.

I noticed that there CD department is basically empty.

georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
I do not believe CD longevity is as great as it is typically purported to be. The material(s) itself wears out and often renders portions of the disk inaudible as the reflective layer "evaporates" and the laser is unable to read the data. Virtually no storage and/or handling modification can prevent this.
I think that was a rumour started by a vinyl lover reviewer article was called something like "CD Rot" in Stereophile one or two years after it was released.
I still have one of the first cd’s to come to Australia and it’s 33 years old now and still perfect, no see through pinhole if held up to a strong light either, just as perfect as the day I bought it, uncompressed Dire Straits "Love Over Gold" 1982 and it sounds very good, almost "Reference Recordings 24/96" quality.

Cheers George
chazro's avatar
chazro
635 posts
 
"...CD will go bad in 20-25 years."

This statement prompted me to check some of the very 1st CD's I bought, back in '84-'85.  I'll be honest, I've literally been reading about 'pinholes' and 'CD rot' for decades, I've never seen holes or rot, ever!  I own roughly 2000+ discs!  I held up those old CD's I mentioned before up to a light (looking for those pesky pinholes!;).  Nada, nothing, bupkus.  I'm listening to one of them as I type and it's playing as flawlessly as the day I bought it 31+ yrs ago!    
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