CDs---Grampa's relics?

[blse59]

But that is why you rip.

I meant getting back into physical cds. Of course I have them ripped (who doesn't????).

 

[MattHooper]

I will tell you, it was a big relief to unload my records. Somehow I got it into my mind that it was a "Collection" instead of an albatross around my neck.

I sure get that. It was a relief to get rid of much of my CDs, and I've also been streamlining things I own, getting rid of speakers I don't listen to a lot, going through my basement, selling every single bit of gear I've hung on to but don't really use. It is a relief. I'm trying to be fairly ruthless in which records I keep and I actually like it when I find some to get rid of (very rare, though, since I love most of my LPs).

I can also imagine a day it will be a relief getting rid of my records, or some portion of them. But I'm enjoying them quite a lot for now.

 

[Ambientwks]

I have to say - having some inside view from the current state of the music industry, I don't think that vinyl can be considered a fad. Even if you just consider 'napster guilt' there is a whole new generation (or two) plus the original generation (or two) showing interest. Perhaps it won't stay at the fever pitch, but the fact that investment has come forward for small- run pressing plants in the Midlands in UK and also Taiwan (!), combined with pressing pressing delays up to a year means the demand picture is more than a flash in the pan.

I genuinely hope the same is true with CDs and cassettes. This conversation is an aesthetic one for the buyer, not a technical one. Doesn't it seem these days that tech is starting to outstrip the imagination of the 50s and 60s, and our relationship to tech is changing? Best might not always be 'best' and I'm always for that.

 

[Robin L]

I sure get that. It was a relief to get rid of much of my CDs, and I've also been streamlining things I own, getting rid of speakers I don't listen to a lot, going through my basement, selling every single bit of gear I've hung on to but don't really use. It is a relief. I'm trying to be fairly ruthless in which records I keep and I actually like it when I find some to get rid of (very rare, though, since I love most of my LPs).

I can also imagine a day it will be a relief getting rid of my records, or some portion of them. But I'm enjoying them quite a lot for now.

As long as you're enjoying 'em I've got no rational cause for complaint.

I'm just trying to get a leg up on the heat death of the universe, get mine in while the gettin's good.

 

[pablolie]

I meant getting back into physical cds. Of course I have them ripped (who doesn't????).

I get you. Same here - I don't collect CDs anymore, I just buy them to rip them and than it's goodbye. The only disc player in my place is on my computer. My music setup is exclusively based on streaming local files or Spotify.

 

[pablolie]

I sure get that. It was a relief to get rid of much of my CDs, and I've also been streamlining things I own, getting rid of speakers I don't listen to a lot, going through my basement, selling every single bit of gear I've hung on to but don't really use. It is a relief. I'm trying to be fairly ruthless in which records I keep and I actually like it when I find some to get rid of (very rare, though, since I love most of my LPs).

I can also imagine a day it will be a relief getting rid of my records, or some portion of them. But I'm enjoying them quite a lot for now.

Indeed it's awesome to let go of stuff. When I moved out of a big house I had lived in for nearly 15 years, wow, I was shocked at all the crap I had hung on to. I put stuff in storage - this included expensive floor standers and a lot of audio equipment I had hoarded over the years. I moved to a smaller place, and started even getting rid of some stuff I'd moved with... who needs 20 business suits these days, many books I'd never touched in many years... and one day I noticed I hadn't set foot in a storage unit that was costing me hundreds of bucks a month in 4 years. I put on an ad and told people come grab whatever. Everything was gone within 4 hours, and I surprisingly made like $3k in the process because people felt bad about just taking stuff, believe it or not.

 

[Robin L]

Indeed it's awesome to let go of stuff. When I moved out of a big house I had lived in for nearly 15 years, wow, I was shocked at all the crap I had hung on to. I put stuff in storage - this included expensive floor standers and a lot of audio equipment I had hoarded over the years. I moved to a smaller place, and started even getting rid of some stuff I'd moved with... who needs 20 business suits these days, many books I'd never touched in many years... and one day I noticed I hadn't set foot in a storage unit that was costing me hundreds of bucks a month in 4 years. I put on an ad and told people come grab whatever. Everything was gone within 4 hours, and I surprisingly made like $3k in the process because people felt bad about just taking stuff, believe it or not.

We stored most of our stuff for two years in a storage unit, waiting to get a home. Once we did [dumb luck, trust me], I happily unloaded a pair of Infinity bookshelf speakers [like for very big bookshelves] and some nice little RBH floorstanders. Also, a power amp that didn't seem to have much going on above 4khz. No problem. But those CDs?

 

[Prana Ferox]

Music won't be too high up on my list at that moment.

It's all about having the right music for the occasion.

I don't mind jewel cases, although they certainly are too fragile. I've bought way too many CDs where the case was broken in some way straight out of the box. Multiple CD cases, on the other hand, are almost always an atrocity, with no standard form factor, even easier to damage, and frequently hard to get the discs out of.

 

[pablolie]

It's all about having the right music for the occasion.

I don't mind jewel cases, although they certainly are too fragile. I've bought way too many CDs where the case was broken in some way straight out of the box. Multiple CD cases, on the other hand, are almost always an atrocity, with no standard form factor, even easier to damage, and frequently hard to get the discs out of.

:-D I have never ever seen a multi-CD case that lasted, in fact most seems to be broken when you got them and of course broke into a hundred more little pieces when you pried them open...

 

[MattHooper]

Indeed it's awesome to let go of stuff. When I moved out of a big house I had lived in for nearly 15 years, wow, I was shocked at all the crap I had hung on to.

Same here. I'm going through the Magic Crawl Space area in our basement in which I've stored everything. I'm not only amazed at the amount of stuff in there (my wife would change that word to "aghast" for her), but just as amazed that people will buy this stuff when I sell it on line.
There is nothing so esoteric that I haven't been able to sell.

That said, the thing taking up most of the crawl space are boxes for all the equipment I have owned, and still own. Many a time I've loved the idea of throwing out those boxes just to clear out that space. However I'm glad I kept them, because having the original shipping boxes even for old items makes an on-line sale much easier. I've probably sold something like 15 pieces of gear in the last year or two and virtually all have sold within a day or two. (Where the same items listed for sale with no boxes were sitting unsold for long periods of time).

 

[Chrispy]

Anyone get any of the SACDs out of Japan where they use a larger cardboard case, and with inserts (best word I can come up with) that have prongs for the disc so you don't need to put fingers on them taking them in/out of the sleeve (and aren't so tight like many using the smaller cardboard style sleeves)? Somewhat larger than a jewel case....without getting a ruler out I think they're 7", but maybe a bit smaller. Bit larger artwork and notes, too, several of mine have come with stickers too. I've thought if all cds came that way, it would be more attractive packaging for those who want larger art/notes/covers.

While I have tons of storage space in general, I don't have so many shelves to fit/house cds (or LPs for that matter), so just keep most cds in binders after ripping, and a simple rack I built for my most played LPs....the rest can be stored until needed. Don't know how people live in small apartments myself (let alone in cities) or those tiny houses....I need more elbow room than that. Each room has a sound system, too....no need to sell/consolidate the hardware either. Don't like selling stuff either, much easier to keep it/use it/store it.

 

[MattHooper]

Relevant to the relics and physical objects we own theme:

I think someone earlier mentioned it's a good idea not to "love stuff" or get really attached.

I think there are two sides to that coin.

On one side: there's clearly wisdom in "not being attached to material things" and to recognize what is most important in life. Especially as it's all to easy to lose those material things. You don't want to be devastated by your attachment to the ephemeral.

On the other side: It's a joy to love physical things, and we can always use more joy. One thing that is common to youth is enthusiasm, that life energy of "the world is your oyster" and becoming passionate about things, often seeing a long road ahead of you for it all to play out. That can be harder to keep up as one ages, I find. The older I get, the more appreciation I grow simply for "enthusiasm"..."passion" for almost anything. Just a love of something that infuses someone with joy and energy. Insofar as a hobby that entails material objects that fascinate - be it audio gear or some physical music medium - if it gets you all fired up and happy to get out of bed each day, why not? Embrace it.

I try to keep a balance as much as I can. For instance, I spent a couple years dreaming of and designing my "perfect home theater/music listenin room." It was super complex, very time consuming, and very expensive. But, finished in 2010, this room - the experiences it offers when watching movies or listening to music - has given me so much joy it's ridiculous. There isn't a single time I don't fire up my projector, when that big image comes on, that I'm not utterly giddy and grateful I have this available to me in my home.

On the other hand, as I tell my kids, if it all burned down or went away tomorrow I wouldn't be torn apart. In the end, it's just material stuff that can be replaced, or I can move on to other things. (I feel the same about my records - it's a big collection now, and I've spent a lot of money on it, but if it all got lost tomorrow...it's just records. Music goes on).

 

[pablolie]

Anyone get any of the SACDs out of Japan where they use a larger cardboard case,...

A lot of great opinions being bounced around here.

Album art is important to me. Hence I'd say when I get a CD these days that I care to FLAC, the ripping takes little time, but scanning the "album art" is what makes it work for me.

I wish there was a forum to exchange album art - I know it is copyright stuff, but hey, if you don't give it to me when I buy your download, it is fair for me to get it (or share it after I scanned it, and nobody would be interested unless they own the album anyhow) elsewhere. IMO. It's lazy stuff to not give us buyers album art.

 

[pablolie]

Relevant to the relics and physical objects we own theme:

I think someone earlier mentioned it's a good idea not to "love stuff" or get really attached.

I think there are two sides to that coin.

On one side: there's clearly wisdom in "not being attached to material things" and to recognize what is most important in life. Especially as it's all to easy to lose those material things. You don't want to be devastated by your attachment to the ephemeral.

On the other side: It's a joy to love physical things, and we can always use more joy. One thing that is common to youth is enthusiasm, that life energy of "the world is your oyster" and becoming passionate about things, often seeing a long road ahead of you for it all to play out. That can be harder to keep up as one ages, I find. The older I get, the more appreciation I grow simply for "enthusiasm"..."passion" for almost anything. Just a love of something that infuses someone with joy and energy. Insofar as a hobby that entails material objects that fascinate - be it audio gear or some physical music medium - if it gets you all fired up and happy to get out of bed each day, why not? Embrace it.

I try to keep a balance as much as I can. For instance, I spent a couple years dreaming of and designing my "perfect home theater/music listenin room." It was super complex, very time consuming, and very expensive. But, finished in 2010, this room - the experiences it offers when watching movies or listening to music - has given me so much joy it's ridiculous. There isn't a single time I don't fire up my projector, when that big image comes on, that I'm not utterly giddy and grateful I have this available to me in my home.

On the other hand, as I tell my kids, if it all burned down or went away tomorrow I wouldn't be torn apart. In the end, it's just material stuff that can be replaced, or I can move on to other things. (I feel the same about my records - it's a big collection now, and I've spent a lot of money on it, but if it all got lost tomorrow...it's just records. Music goes on).

That may be the one thing NFT tech has going for it - it's captured in (what we think) is completely safe blockchain tech enabled environment, which means it is always there to be recalled (just safe your hash somewhere safe) It could be the magic bullet to reconstruct all the stuff you owned from scratch without having to keep physical copies thereof.

 

[Zgrado1970]

Great thread! Years ago, I ripped my CD collection, got rid of the jewel cases, put the discs in binders and stored them. Since then, the few CDs I acquired were immediately ripped and stored.

Late last year, on a lark, I bought a cheap (<$50) DVD player with coax out, which I could connect to one of my dacs or integrated amp. The sound is perfectly adequate 44.1. For the most part, I listen on my speaker setup (as opposed to the headphone setup), and it has been a lot of fun spending a lazy afternoon flipping through the binder and playing old favorites. All my other listening is streaming, so this is a nice change of pace.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I wish there was a forum to exchange album art - I know it is copyright stuff, but hey, if you don't give it to me when I buy your download, it is fair for me to get it (or share it after I scanned it, and nobody would be interested unless they own the album anyhow) elsewhere. IMO. It's lazy stuff to not give us buyers album art.

Have you tried this: https://sourceforge.net/projects/album-art/

 

[TheBatsEar]

backup for post EMP music listening? .... maybe not as all the players will be destroyed as well. I guess all roads lead back to LP's as the ultimate for physical media.

It's not like in the movies. It's more like this:

• Electromagnetic waves induce currents in larger length of inductors, like cables, but also train tracks, bridges, steel concrete armaments and other metal constructs.
• The longer the length of the inductor, the higher the current. Think about your power and phone lines. Think about speaker coils. Think about all kinds of transformators. Citiy dweller are better off, because the distance because devices that will fail is shorter. Country folk might want to unplug their microwave oven, if they have the time.
• A thin sheet or mesh of metal can shield from electromagnetic waves (Faraday cage)
• Our devices, like computers and CD players, come in thick metal shielding but are connected to the energy grid, networks or antennas.
• The amount of coils in electronic devices has decreased with higher integration and miniaturization.

Unplugged devices will likely be unharmed, most bring their own Faraday cage, connected devices might need new fuses or transformators. The collectors of old HIFI will inherit the earth!

Checkout ISBN 9780803747524, Bruce Clayton collected some robust information about EMP.

 

[Gorgonzola]

I don't listen to CDs played on a compact disc player. I still buy CDs because they are best way to obtain Classical music but then I rip those CDs immediately to computer files, (usually FLAC but occasionally to ALAC). Last time I checked it out, it was clear that the download choice available at 16/44.1 is still far less than available on CD or SACD. (SACD is still quite popular for new Classical releases, though I rip them to 16/44.)

That is, I now consider CDs a distribution-only medium.

 

[restorer-john]

I meant getting back into physical cds. Of course I have them ripped (who doesn't????).

Why would I rip my CDs when I have CD players that will reproduce the native content better than any PC/streamer/source+DAC you can think of?

 

[Angsty]

I remember paying $15 to $18 for CD's in the mid 1980's (which is $38 to $46 in today's dollars) so I have a hard time passing up interesting CD's I see in the thrifts for $1 or $2. I rip them and save them for backup.... can't see how you can go wrong really.

Anyone looking to get rid of CDs should check Discogs before donating to Goodwill. I regularly buy CDs for $10 - $20 for titles I want. There are a lot of $1 CDs and LPs in the world, but well-kept discs of some works fetch far more.