Just about the same time I was considering buying a CD player in 1985 my wife gave me the best Christmas present EVER! A Rega Planar 2 TT with a Linn K-9 cart. It was a complete surprise to me. A dealer in a local hi-fi shop suggested it. The Rega replaced a somewhat rickety, gear driven, automatic Japanese table. What a difference -- quiet, accurate unvarying (to my ears) speed, detail, and drive that I had never heard in my home before. I did buy a CD player because, you know, the handwriting was on the wall: LPs were a dying medium and digital was the future, right? Eventually I began upgrading my system and acquired an excellent CD player and a better turntable. Not all of my CDs sound great, but some are spectacular. I can say the same for my LPs. As I continued to improve my system I made a non-binding contract with myself. I would try to maintain equal quality in my digital and analog gear. I have amended the contract to include streaming. Usually when I sit down for a serious listen in the evening pull out some LPs. There is just something a little more beguiling in good vinyl playback. But sometimes I play favorite CDs. And sometimes I go exploring for new music on Tidal. Any of these mediums can put me in the zone. So is there a lesson in my tale and the others that have been told above? You bet. We are not in control of the media du jour. From the time Mr. Edison invented his little machine business decisions have ruled the recorded music market. Music enthusiasts have demanded improvements in every medium that were not enthusiastically embraced by big corporate execs. But we are an insistent lot and there are enough of us to create a vibrant niche market where analog was revivified and the same seems to be happening with the venerable, compromise-ridden red book CD format. Like many of you I haunt used record stores and treasure some of my finds. Now I'm going to start hunting up used CDs before the price goes up when, you know, the CD revival takes hold. By Jove! There are a lot of ways to have fun with this hobby.
