The CD player is dead.......

A Portland cement piano housing......WOW! Even Edison was trying to tame unwanted resonances a century ago....LOL.

What a discussion, 117 posts so far including this one. Here are the points I find most compelling on both sides:

The CD should not die, yet:

1. Owning and having access to physical media is attractive to many, with cover art, liner notes and a tactile sense of substance and ownership that digital files cannot provide - this may be more comforting to ludites and materialists than to those more comfortable being part of the "Matrix".

2. There is a huge standing inventory of CD's in peoples homes, new and used music stores, and public institutions like schools and libraries - the only current mass media form for millions of songs recorded from the 1990's and 2000's. In contrast CD-quality downloads are severly limited compared to the existing inventory of new and used CDs in the world.

3. There is a strong market for #2 above, and it provides access to reasonable quality digital music at a lower cost point and with resale value that is not currently available through Internet Downloads - or am I missing something here?

4. The CD player/disk system is simple to set up as a part of a HiFi system, if more effort to actually use, than well-executed HD or computer based servers (I am not talking using iTunes to load your iPod here, I am talking fully integrated remote controlled music servers).

5. No ripping of existing media required, put disk in and push play.

The CD is dead:

1. Music serves/DACs are theoretically not limited to 16/44.1 resolution, and can play anything from mp3's to 24/192 files (this is the best reason IMHO and all others pale in comparison)

2. iTunes and other music server software are convenient, immediate and complete all-in-one purchase, orgnaize and play solutions, and will absolutely kill in the cradle to grave music service when higher resolution downloads become cheaper and more widely available.

3. Downloading music from the Internet satisfies the human appetite for immediate gratification.

4. Who cares about the value of buying and selling used new and used music when you can just share all of your music files in networks for free (Dooh!), visit any college campus today, most kids don't even know HOW to buy music.

Clearly there are those in the industry who agree with Devilboy, Linn being among the first to quit making ANY CD players. In any case, quality CD players or at least optical disk drives will be around for a long time to access existing media for listening and ripping. I really don't have time to adopt now other than LoFi uses of iTunes, and in my mind the HiFi software applications, hardware and media are not yet mature enough for me to spend the money and make the time. They will be mature enough, but until then, the CD player and CD's are both very much alive at my house (and car, and office).

Nice summary, Knownothing.

In short, lots of options for everyone.

And, if you look at the history of recorded music, the one constant has been change. No format has ever had an unchallenged, unlimited run and never will.

Music boxes were the hot item in the early 1800s, but they had precedents going back hundreds of years. Later in the 19th century one had player pianos.

Wax cylinders were the first recording/playback devices, which gave way to 78 phono records in the early 1900s. Wire recorders popped up, but we acquired the open reel recorder from Germany after WWII. 1948 brought the LP record, the 1970s brought the invasion of the music cassette and 1980 the CD.

And here we are today. I guess the message is don't get too comfortable. Things will change whether you want them to or not.

Knownothing - Original question wasn't about CD but rather CDP. I still buy CDs new and used but enjoy convenience of the server.

Did IQ's just drop sharply since I have been in the Rubber Room? Do I need more Shock Treatment because I don't believe Consumers should DEMAND lower and lower Sound Quality? Do I need more Shock Treatment because I believe objects fall down, not up?
I don't believe that I have mentioned PRICE even once! I believe that I have been harping on SOUND QUALITY, as in the LACK there of! A portion of Edison's Inventions were indeed failures. Well no wonder he gave up on the Light Bulb. No wonder we should have given up on the Airplane, and the Telephone too! You know there were actually people back then who believed as much. Nice to know that they are alive and well in the "21ST CENTURY", demanding that we give up on Sound Quality as well. How does that work? If God had wanted Man to hear in High Fidelity, he would have given him bigger ears? This is the type of crap that you are trying to sell me?
The CD is NOT dead, and it will never be dead. It won't because it is MY WEDGE to make damn sure that whatever replaces it offers BETTER Sound Quality. Why?
L-E-V-E-R-A-G-E! After the failures of SACD, and DVD Audio the Industry is scared to death of the next Format. They better damn well be because they ALWAYS knew that SACD/DVD Audio didn't REALLY offer better Sound Quality. They have only ONE CHANCE to get it right next time. Do I get upset when someone wants to throw away ANY Leverage that Consumers might have to demand better Sound Quality? Lets kill the CD, and just blindly accept whatever Sound Quality gets handed to us? Well, what exactly makes us Audiophiles? What exactly makes us any different from some poor shmuck still listening to 8-track? We weren't satisfied with the Sound of CD when it first came out, why are we so anxious to do the exact opposite with the CD's replacement? What the Sam Hell is the difference? The Computer Industry doesn't KNOW what an Audiophile or High Fidelity is. THEY ARE NOT READY to replace the CD! Not untill they get their head out of a dark place!