Who is ditching their shiny disc spinners?

@johnspain


I can relate, but I tried out the X45 and found it  very interesting. I did not like the fit and finish too much, but did like main features - a biggie for me is simple access to “network shares” vs a requirement for a UPNP server running in yet another computer, or one that can run on the NAS (Minimserver is always recommended) but that makes a tosses salad of my music library…

I’m testing the rave-reviewed Technics SL-G700 right now and the souls is quite good playing SACD/CD and streaming, but the controls are dismal - the app, remote control and tiny display all do disjointed things. And the thing here is getting any support is absent. Since it was an open-box unit it was an acceptable price-point, but is likely going back. 
This seems to be the state of the industry- disjointed, over-priced and disappointing. 
So I’m a “John’s pain” member also 😳

I'm from a vintage of when CD's took off in the mid 80's. The CD was a God send to the hifi music listening community. I adopted well and even sold off my LP's by 1987, built up much of my CD collection  via  Columbia House by keeping  on resigning up for those 11 discs for $1 sort of thing.

I fell back into vinyl in 2003 and went all in bananas, almost stopped listening to my CD's except for the car. I spent, cough cough pi$$ed away, way too much money riding the vinyl LP addiction I had.

This realization that I was only buying LP's for sake of buying discs ( especially used) as all too many sat on shelves not really being played, coupled with now my mental math of the THOUSANDS of $$$$ I was spending on turntables, cartridges, phono preamps and cleaning gear/ machines, hit me hard mentally.  I saw that I  was just listening to gear and not music.

 From 2003 till 2019 I was ga ga on vinyl but the  guilt of all the money I spent and most pi$$ed away hit me like  a switch and turned me off my vinyl. I also pulled my out near 300 CD's I had siting and collecting dust in big CD binders  and put them back into the jewel cases and on my software shelving. I began to thumb through the discs and played  them on my current A/V set up and low an behold  THEY SOUNDED FANTASTIC!. It was a refound pleasure of CD's I had ignored again accept for car playback since 2003.

The ease of just placing a CD in one of my 3 players ( classic Philips CD -101, Oppo BDP-83  and Panasonic DVD Recorder) to then sit down and with a remote hit PLAY was  so enamouring to me now.

Out of essentially pure silence music flowed through my current A/V set up. Where as I for 18+ years chased to make my LP's  sound clean and click free (never truly possible) as well as the effort to just spin an LP  was yes for many years  what I called it a ritual, became tiring when  would switch from a  CD to an LP.

As cool as it was for many years to play LP's I did realize once I got back in to playing my CD's on my home system that when  listening to LP's I always new I was listening to a vinyl record, no matter how clean and click free it was. But when listening to my CD's I found I was  just listening to music.

 Now one can stream digital audio and get quality playback too, but  again  I am from a vintage of OWNING STUFF! Touchy feely things. The  enjoyment of looking through my shelf of CD's and deciding which to pull out and play along with the  CD  booklet (some are very detailed other just slip sheets) sitting back in  my seat  a beverage in hand and just listening  for what 45-60-80 minutes of uninterrupted music has become now  my enjoyment, as when  it was I bought my first CD player and CD's in 1984.

So yes, for me I want to keep doing this and when I want to, just buy CD's when desiring to, to add to my collection. I may stream music when personally listening  through headphones   on my smart phone but at home I want the TOUCHY FEELY AND PRIDE  OF OWNERSHIP!

Who is ditching their shiny disc spinners?

Never, for what??

I would never replace them for streamed/downloaded compressed re-issued stuffed, good for car/ipod/background music.

Just look at these three compression comparisons of the same album
https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2216248

Now see if you can ditch your cd's and players

Cheers George

If one were to get a CD player, what would be recommended at the 1-2k price range?

I would prefer transport so I could use an external DAC, but what is everyone using to listen to their CD's now a days in the HiFi world? CDP's are the just one of many things I've yet to check out in HiFi, I did go all in on the streamer already with my Innuous Zenith MK3 (arriving this week).

Obviously I have tons to look into, but any suggestions would help.

My current DAC is the Gustard X26 Pro, which I do enjoy as a reference for sound.

Cambridge Audio CXC cd transport only, is good for the money new or used Mki or Mkii same thing
Cheers George