CD players = dead?

With the release by Marantz a mainstream player recently of their Reference line CD/SACD player the SA10 that includes their proprietary transport mechanism designed as part of this product development program and proprietary software for 1-Bit processing upscaling all signals to DSD suggests that the cd format is alive and well as a niche technology. Clearly cd's are not going anywhere anytime soon. Of course Tower Records HMV and so on have been made redundant by streaming. Mass market watches movies and streams music. Still we have radio stations and new vinyl manufacturing facilities and technologies emerging. Premium brands like Linn have entered the streaming market too. It's fascinating because wired beats wireless for reliability yet convenience beats reliability! And discs are better quality than streaming yet streaming is far more popular as it is much more accessible and cheaper. CD's will remain a niche, and SACD and similar high quality discs another small niche. My understanding only.

With well over 6,000 CD's in my collection,  owning a top notch player is essential.  I've been perusing the marketplace quite a lot over the last 10 years and have witnessed with increasing frustration, the audio industry's growing marginalization of this piece of gear.  Not only is the rapidly diminishing number of audiophile quality machines of concern, but also the diminishing  quality of the design of some of these, my Audiolab 8300CD for example, (reflecting the increasing lack of commitment by some companies to this end of the market).

I got rid of a 2000 CD collection a few years ago in favor of building vinyl and hi-res digital. I own 0 CDs now and my 13-year-old, seldom used Arcam 73 is dying, and I’m *still* wondering about getting a replacement transport. Reason being that I’ve realized, as a fan of small label indie jazz from the ’80s and onward, that there are loads and loads of albums that will likely never exist on any other format. They’re not available on a hi-res digital format, were never pressed on vinyl, and there’s no reason to expect they ever will. Their single-pressing, single-format existence at all was a labor of love. So I’m not sure what to do with that. Anyone else in that boat? 

i am a  huge vinyl lover for 45 years and went on the CD wagon as well, because like jazztherapist writes, i wanted the music.
I could never dream to skip my CD collection, just because i can
stream. 
Looking on the shelve for a good disk, inspires me and all the music i keep, gives me a lot of precious time.
I too will go streaming if the new music is going there but i will not throu away my LP CD or SACD collection, thats part of me and shall continue to be that.
Ripping may look easier and i may be soundig oldfachion but its like digital pictures compated to real ones, its funnier to look into an photoalbum than a screen. I do however hope that younger people will get the same nice music expiriences with streaming, that my generation did with the vinyl.
Cd isent dead by not for the massmarked anymore, i beleave. Funny because soundwise i feel it just got ripen.
regards

I could never dream to skip my CD collection, just because i can 
stream.

Just like vinyl - it's personal preference. 

I never had a really good CD/DVD-SACD player and once I started down the streaming path it proved to be far better, so I converted my entire library (still doing it actually)

My streaming device provide superior sound and is far more convenient to use.

I've even experimented converting a vinyl pressing to 16/44 streamed digital, but to maintain that vinyl flavour I only recorded two tracks - Side A and Side B - so you can't skip to an individual track, you have to listen to the entire "side" - you even hear the pops and crackles - amazing :-)

But I sill like my real vinyl for really serious listening :-)

Cheers