The Rapid Rise (& Fall) of the CD


A few days ago, one of my favorite YouTube channels did a video on the CD. This channel (Asianometry) always does an incredible job telling the story of different technologies, technical industries and/or products.

I think most of you will find the 25 minute video to be very interesting.

Asianometry - The rapid start (& end) of the CD

mwinkc

Great video. I bought my first CD player in Germany in 1984. A Sony and I have been a fan of the format since that day. Yeah I still have CDs and 3 CD players and a transport. Ahhh the good old days of the compact disc.

... and CD's are gaining in popularity again, there are a good many YouTube vids about this; sales are increasing and there are more CD players and CD transports hitting the market along with it.... 

I just recently got Cary CAD300 player for VERY CHEEP. I like it the way it is without upsampling or tube output!

@mwinkc:  Yes, people are still buying CD’s, and CD players, but only those primarily amongst the older crowd who grew up playing CD’s. Yes, CD and vinyl, on and off, can become slightly trendy for the young crowd. But, it’s only a passing whim and nothing even close to anything major. Believe me, the young, between the ages of say, 14-40, aren’t out there buying up a bunch of CD’s, or vinyl records. It never ceases to amuse me how us old farts (audiophiles) are constantly trying to fool ourselves into believing that vinyl and CD are going to make some king of a miraculous come back, just because we still love them. It ain’t happening!!! The digital world moved on past physical media like CD and vinyl years ago. Yes, the old and antiquated CD and vinyl record is constantly being resuscitated by the baby boomer generation (myself included), and they both will most likely slowly fade out almost completely, as all us old farts slowly fade out completely. Happy listening.

kennymac. As a side story, when the CD format was developed (as indicated in that video) I had bought a CD player straight away and enjoyed CD sound. I still had a Thorens TT and was spinning albums too. As time went on, CDs were engineered better and I got rid of my TT and albums. I had thought the format was dead. Well it was for 1-2 decades and now it’s back full tilt. I also have two tube amps even the US stopped making vacuum tubes long ago. I guess the point of this tale is that formats don’t usually die, they will come back eventually. To many audiophiles they sound good enough to enjoy the listening experience.