The Rapid Rise (& Fall) of the CD

I still have never heard anyone say, Wow!  Look at your download collection! 

@vinylvision1 But you’re kinda missing a lot of the point of streaming.  I don’t care how large your current music library is, it’s just a fraction of what’s available to stream, and there are worlds of new music to be heard that you’d never hear otherwise.  And that’s the point — finding worlds of wonderful new music rather than playing the same stuff you’ve already heard over and over again.  Not saying that’s not rewarding as far as it goes and I still do that as well, but that’s as far as it goes.  The ability to effortlessly explore and find unlimited new music is the most exciting and rewarding thing I’ve experienced as an audiophile of over 40 years.  Ignore that to your own detriment. 

For most of us the technologies are not mutually exclusive.  Some have dispensed with their CDPs altogether but I think most still have players and may spin some CDs.  And the difference between CD, CDs ripped to a server, downloads , and a streaming service are not that great.  Vinyl is different, not necessarily better, but one that has a lot of extra musical factors at work.  Same with Reel2Reel.  Surround sound is the one format that (regrettably) is headed for extinction .

Yes I buy lots of cds.I only buy mint condition ones.My local sells cds for a buck and no tax. I went to a antique shop and found brand new Japanese cds with the obi tags ,for 5 bucks.Brand new,cd box sets 3 ,4,5 cds I'm them 5 bucks  come on man that's a steal.They sell on ebay for 30 to 50 bucks plus shipping. LoLBut I did buy the new Rhino reissue of Black Sabbaths first it was 39 bucks.I also bought  3 of the Doors ,45 rpm albums that was $180.Why because I'm a old fool ...

DACs have improved till, for single-ended use, there is a new Sabre chip ESS9038 outclasses far more expensive and difficult to get accurate ladder DACs. I still use mostly discs: CDs and 5-channel SACDs, but I have some downloaded copies of symphonies and ripped CDs on my computer. I am unwilling to tie myself down to a paid subscription service. I do not care for how music is catalogued by name of artist and name of song because I know which composer I want to hear and what symphony, concerto, overture, etc. I want to choose. 

I don't get the aversion to streaming if the intent of this hobby is the music. Streaming easily beats out any physical media for easy access and affordability. Between my cd's, vinyl, cassettes, reel to reel I probably have well over 10k physical media, this simply pales in comparison to whats available with streaming. I could never have the storage space or afford to purchase even 1% of the entirety of streaming libraries, streaming is a music lover's paradise.