2. amps-preamps
  3. 128687-32

The awful truth about CDs, do they have the same shelve life as LP's ?

The answer is properly not. Recent studies have shown that the chemicals used in their manufacture of CDs have reduced their life expectancy to ten years, not all but many, as per Paul Mcgowans email. The suggestion was given that if you have suspect CD's they should be re-copied. But my question is how do you identify these? I can tell you that I have a great deal of LPs and I can play anyone of these with great success and some are 40 years old. This no doubt would give some audiophiles another good reason to hold onto their belief that LPs are the way to go.
phd
tpreaves's avatar
tpreaves
2,682 posts
 
Take care of your media and it will take care of you !!!!!
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Be sure to always store all Cs are stored vertically for best sound.  Ditto LPs, DVDs, what  have  you. 

Cheerios

jl35
3,934 posts
 
I have had a few go bad (out of thousands). was curious if the initial statement meant that current CD's are being made much differently than the older ones...
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,397 posts
 
The main difference between LP and CD longevity to me, is that damaged or worn LP cannot be repaired, while less than perfect CD can be recovered/renewed by ripping software and recorded onto CD-R.
Longevity of CD-R depends on the photosensitive dye used. Taiyo Yuden CD-Rs have 100 years warranty. It is also possible to make backup of CDs on HD. Backup for LPs is not possible.
jbrrp1
423 posts
 
Having ripped ~2,000 CD's using dBpoweramp with its Accurip comparison tool, I have had very few that were not bit-perfect matches to everyone else's out there.  That seems like pretty good preservation.  When one does run afoul, it almost always shows some mistreatment damage to the surface (I have purchased a lot of used CD's from a wide variety of sources).

I'd say the news is way over-hyped, possibly even misleading with an agenda?  
More to discover