I believe the fear of "rot" was about CD-R blanks you burn yourself. As far as I know manufactured CDs will indeed last forever.
--Ethan
Ethan, some Maxell CD-Rs I bought will last much longer than all the CDs I bought in the 80s and 90s.
They are much better designed with several layers of protective coatings.
Not only that, the copies I made for myself on those high grade CD-Rs from Maxell Pro, sound better than the originals!
Why? The bits are better re-recorded on the higher quality CD-R, and better read by the laser, and better reproduced.
...I found.
Many people transfer their LPs on digital files. Me I transfer my old/badly manufactured music CDs on Pro CD-Rs.
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I have several CD players, from a $250 Technics MASH 4-DAC player, to a $1,000 Denon 1500II player and a $1,500 Rotel 991 player.
And everything else between; roughly twenty more CD/SACD players...Marantz, Pioneer, Oppo, Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, Sansui, other Denons, Rotels, ...
If I play a CD in my Oppo 103 ($500) or in my Rotel 991, and use the analog output connections (the DACs in the players are active), I have much richness, dynamics, resolution, bass punch, greater presence...by closing my eyes from the Rotel player.
Put your bathing suit on, jump in the ocean, and swim across to my place for a demo.
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The laser mechanisms of the CD transports, the CD clamp, the railings, etc., from solider CD players will not only give a better music reproduction but most likely last much longer than the cheaper CD players. Not always though; and it depends...of how much use (number of hours in actual use...CD drawer opening and closing, features used...skipping tracks, fast forwarding, etc.). Thirty years of playing CDs will do that to you. And fifty years of spinning LPs can do much more still...
But you already know that, so why am I saying this then? Because I want to and I can.
