CDs are Dead....Almost!

[abasio]

If you listen to a CD or vinyl, then you're right. But since most hifi equipment has USB ports nowadays, you can easily put 20 albums on a stick and listen in random mode. That's what I quite often do: a nice selection of Ambient, Post-Rock, and some Luxembourgish folk, et voilą I can prepare my history lessons 

Well, whenever I buy either a CD or vinyl I always convert it to mp3 & for when I am out and about and even then I listen to an album, I never have it on "shuffle tracks". The only time I don't listen to a full album is when I get to work before the album has finished (which is usual as it is a 50 minute journey only)

[Brian Bieniowski]

I love CDs and LPs, but don't have much patience with tapes or CDR.  I guess downloading files is good, but unless I really liked the music (ie. Eluder free EPs, etc.) I generally either deleted the files or forgot about them.  My old G5 probably has a ton of downloads on its drive and that thing is up in the attic with a busted video card.

Mike brings up the boutique labels on a much earlier post as compared to small press SF/F publishers.  It's a cool model and I think it can lead to a lot of awesome products.  It's a double-edged sword to me, though, for the same reasons the small press publishers can be annoying.  High prices on "art editions" (the price point definitely makes a big difference to me because, at the core, I'm just interested in the music), vaporware editions that disappear instantly and are then sold on the second-hand market for big bucks, and wildly divergent philosophies when it comes to quality control on the materials used in their construction.

[Seren]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12308374 - death of books due to downloads.

one interesting comment "We could soon be opening an e-book and encountering not just text and pictures, he thinks, but audio and video clips, perhaps even games. You could even see films from within books. So the e-book won't be an end to literature but could instead be a route to an even richer experience".

I can see this as a possibility - but also wonder about the death of imagination if we become unable to read a book and not 'see' it in our mind's eye....if we need someone else's version to make it enjoyable - is that really 'richer'

Is this the same argument as the death of cd etc to download or a different one?

[doombient]

Mankind died because of ignorance.

What a loss.

Stephen

[zzzone.net]

Hey.  One other thing that I just thought of...

Browsing music electronically in file format (at least on my system) is more akin to having bins of 12 inch vinyl records where you can see the entire album art and titles as you flip through the selections.

This is as opposed to a library of CDs where as you browse, all you see is the spine of the CD and, just maybe, an artist name and title of the CD.

Sometimes I remember album art better than I do names so a graphical interface is definitely preferable and lot more easy than just seeing the spine of the CD or vinyl record.

I realized this today as I was browsing through the "L" area of my music server.  I guess it's ironic to some extent that a file-based system actually utilizes the graphics of the album in a more user-friendly way than actually handling the CD or LP itself.

Have a super Sunday.

[Julio Di Benedetto]

I have begun ripping my cd collection into itunes and as it grows I have to agree with Jimzzzak... for browsing ones collection its much better than looking at a cd spines in racks.

I also purchased Amarra Junior http://www.sonicstudio.com/amarra 

Im still working things out with itunes...its not perfect sonically compared to playback on a cd player, which has more to do with itunes than computer based systems and Im still at odds with having so much available at one time.

Music selection was always a more organic sort of experience.....I have not heard artist X in a while , or a sense of the music will play on ones mind and you have to go and sort of match what your feeling.  I suppose its more akin to walking through a public library, or book shop,  not sure why your there but something called you.   It requires you to reveal it. 

[zzzone.net]

The sonic advantage of some music files over CDs is finally being noticed by Apple: 24-bit sound is possible and desirable.

http://www.geek.com/articles/apple/apple-wants-24-bit-audio-for-itunes-music-downloads-20110222/

[ffcal]

I guess this means we should buy the new 24-bit iPod when it becomes available (not).

Forrest

[zzzone.net]

I guess this means we should buy the new 24-bit iPod when it becomes available (not).

Apple must be about to make a major foray into the home music server market.  24-bit files would be worthless and counterproductive on a portable device, because of the huge file sizes.