Are CD players dead

I don't think there's any question about computer audio and where it's going , but the OP asked if CD players are dead . In the early 80's they said that CD's would eliminate the need for LP's , and CD sales went wild , but nearly 30 years later LP's are still around and probably always will be . There is room for more than one format .

Just read that LP sales in the UK were at 223,000 in 2010 , compared to 119 million CD sales . There not dead yet .

ironically as little as ten years ago college kids were playing cds on mini systems...which soundwise were superior to most pc based computer speaker systems of today...and the industry has always predicted every 20 years or so a new medium will emerge..and the ipod/itunes did just that...it wont take another 20 for downloads to dominate...the decline of the cd AND dvd has already been implemented...they wont become relics overnight..but close enough for confusion

Availability of Redbook-quality or HD-quality downloads is not present across a broad spectrum of musical genres. I check regularly. Comments on this post that broadly claim one can simply download whatever music they want in Redbook or HD are not based in reality. CD players may be on the road to obsolescence, but the CD format is still where I'll be putting my money for years to come, especially when buying legacy music from my high school and college years. I can get literally *anything* I want music-wise on CD from Amazon, but every time I search for Redbook or HD quality downloads, I rarely find what I'm looking for.
Computer audio is making broad strides as a playback medium, judging especially from the distinct lack of CD players at RMAF. Funny thing, most of guys running the Macbooks at the show had NO IDEA what they were doing. The up-front cost and required input time to get computer audio up and running do not compete with a decent budget CD player, IMO. There is too much tweaking required.

Ditto, Realremo. I got involved in Computer Audio because
everyone was saying, "I think the day will soon be upon us
when most new Music will only be available via the Internet"! It still sounds to me like an ultimatum. I was lied to as to the so-called convenience of PC Audio. Multiple Formats, multiple Software, multiple Media Players, multiple versions of said Media Players, Multiple
Sampling Rates, Multiple ASIO's, Multiple Drivers, complete lack of Manufacturer's instructions for proper
installation on multiple levels, and Z-E-R-O Manufacturer's
Customer Support for troubleshooting. Hard Drives Crash, Music Files Fragment, Viruses, Malware, Spyware. No CD has
-CONVENIENTLY- ever been affected by these things! Plug and
play has been replaced with a requirement to have a degree in Computer Science for the priveledge of listening to Music, or it will be if PC Audio fanatics have their way. This will NOT provide more Music to everyone, but reserve the priveledge of listening to Music to a select few-again if PC Audio Fanatics have their way. Why the obsession to severely limit the Formats that everyone else shall be regulated to? Why limit the Music for everyone else?
Perhaps Ego is involved here, not the sharing of the Music listening experience, but reserving it for the select few!
Ain't that special! No market ever survived by providing only one choice, and ultimately one choice only. That is not a market-that is a dictatorship!