Should I get a late 90s CD player or something current?

[johnsen88]

If you have a little time before making your decision I recommend you check out the "Let's talk CD Players!" thread on this forum, where you will find a great deal of informed opinion relevant to your question.

Thank you, Sir. I will.

 

[JRR]

I vote against getting a CD player. I cannot think of a use case where a cd player would be the rational choice. Use a pc based player like Jriver or even ROON instead. Whatever you fail to find on a streaming service can be ripped.

Also, google soulseek music.

 

[threni]

Also, google soulseek music.

If you read the first two sentences of the question you can see that they want to listen to CDs, not pirate music.

 

[Robin L]

I vote against getting a CD player. I cannot think of a use case where a cd player would be the rational choice. Use a pc based player like Jriver or even ROON instead. Whatever you fail to find on a streaming service can be ripped.

Also, google soulseek music.

"Lads, I have a tonne of CDs and would like to put them use."

That requires something to play CDs on.

 

[Dimitri]

I cannot think of a use case

Try this and see if you come up with something: ( Hint: there are two)

Lads, I have a tonne of CDs and would like to put them use. I do stream at times but I prefer to use a CD player

 

[Joe Smith]

Lots of good legacy players out there. My circa 1987 Onkyo DX-1400 is still going strong after 38 years, has never needed service of any kind.

For my main system, I use a Sony DVD/CD deck as transport and output via optical to a DAC.

 

[JRR]

Try this and see if you come up with something: ( Hint: there are two)

Why don’t you suggest your thoughts and I’ll tell you if I think that there is a more modern and better solution.

 

[DavidM1]

I vote against getting a CD player. I cannot think of a use case where a cd player would be the rational choice. Use a pc based player like Jriver or even ROON instead. Whatever you fail to find on a streaming service can be ripped.

Also, google soulseek music.

Ok, I’ll bite.
The experience of sitting down with a CD with its booklet and cover is different to calling up a file from a server or streaming platform.

A CD player is immediate. No need to download the CD before enjoying it.

A physical CD provides much more income to the artist. This is especially so with CDs bought directly from the artist at concerts or via their web site.

Soulseek is a peer to peer “sharing” service that seeks to scam artists out of earnings whilst enriching the app developer.

A CD is a possession to keep or to gift. It is an item to own not a service to subscribe to.

Finally, who really cares if someone enjoys CDs alongside more recent ways of listening to music? To quote Bob Katter “Let there be a thousand blossoms bloom.”

 

[Mart68]

I vote against getting a CD player. I cannot think of a use case where a cd player would be the rational choice. Use a pc based player like Jriver or even ROON instead. Whatever you fail to find on a streaming service can be ripped.

Also, google soulseek music.

I just prefer the experience of using physical CD to using a computer interface to select music to play.

It's not rational to use a method you dislike when there is an alternative available.

 

[JRR]

I

Ok, I’ll bite.
The experience of sitting down with a CD with its booklet and cover is different to calling up a file from a server or streaming platform.

A CD player is immediate. No need to download the CD before enjoying it.

A physical CD provides much more income to the artist. This is especially so with CDs bought directly from the artist at concerts or via their web site.

Soulseek is a peer to peer “sharing” service that seeks to scam artists out of earnings whilst enriching the app developer.

A CD is a possession to keep or to gift. It is an item to own not a service to subscribe to.

Finally, who really cares if someone enjoys CDs alongside more recent ways of listening to music? To quote Bob Katter “Let there be a thousand blossoms bloom.”

I want to preface this by saying I’m not looking down upon anyone who wants to collect discs. People collect all sorts of things that to me seems pointless but to them it is not. Additionally, uploading ones library to a server does not prevent you from collecting the discs still. However, spending money on a CD player that can only do one thing in my opinion is probably not the wisest choice. You’re paying for a separate DAC and a drive that can only play one format: the red book format.

I understand that having a booklet with the music is a nice thing. However, modern playback software like ROON provide metadata that out guns the small and static booklet you get with a CD in most cases.
What you will gain by using a software such as this is the ability to combine all your music in one place your CDs, DVD-a, SA CDs, pure audio Blu-ray, band camp downloads, you name it it’s in one place. The only media you cannot include is audio only Dolby Atmos Blu-ray discs, which happens to be the only physical media I collect anymore.
If you’re in the mood for classical in the 5.0 format you tick two boxes and the software sorts out your entire library.

Soulseek is a source that was originally designed to help people find obscure and out of print music afaik. I’m not going to lose sleep over some scalper having a hard time selling a pure audio Blu-ray for ten or twenty times its original value. The artist won’t be affected and we spread the wealth. Just don’t abuse it like some do.

I think you will find more enjoyment in a well organized library with all YOUR music in one place combined with whatever you stream online.

For physical media I use the The sony UBP x800m2. It can play all disc formats, has no DAC and can be had for $200 new. It is feed into a Marantz AV10 that functions as the central DAC for my two other digital sources.

 

[DavidM1]

I think you will find more enjoyment in a well organized library with all YOUR music in one place combined with whatever you stream online

Perhaps. I have a thousand CDs on a server, a hi res streaming subscription and a sweet little SMSL CD player used as a transport. I tend to use all three without thinking that much about it. The pleasure of CDs is affordable and, for me at least, worth having.

 

[Mart68]

I have all my CDs in one alcove, organised alphabetically and by genre. True the CD player only plays CDs but what else would I need it to do?

I can have the mastering of my choice, it still works when the internet is out, there's no monthly subscription, I can browse a physical library to select something to play (which I personally prefer to scrolling on a screen), I don't run into software issues, time outs, glitching, failure to handshake with other devices, and all the other typical computer problems. Just pick a disc off the shelf, put it in and press play.

Is it really that irrational? If so then I suppose I'll just have to live with that.

 

[rdenney]

Why don’t you suggest your thoughts and I’ll tell you if I think that there is a more modern and better solution.

A person can have needs and preferences. You can argue about those if you want, but really needs and preferences are not subject to negotiation. I seriously doubt the OP is unaware of the alternatives.

Rick "response to requirements may be subject to negotiation" Denney

 

[JRR]

I have all my CDs in one alcove, organised alphabetically and by genre. True the CD player only plays CDs but what else would I need it to do?

You could have it play all the other disc formats some of which have great masterings.

I can have the mastering of my choice, it still works when the internet is out, there's no monthly subscription, I can browse a physical library to select something to play (which I personally prefer to scrolling on a screen), I don't run into software issues, time outs, glitching, failure to handshake with other devices, and all the other typical computer problems. Just pick a disc off the shelf, put it in and press play.

You can use a home server without internet. The rest of your points regarding occasional software glitches are on point. A CD player usually just works.

Is it really that irrational? If so then I suppose I'll just have to live with that.

Not for you. OP is at a decision point. I’m trying to steer him in another direction having been down the road of rekindling with physical media myself.

 

[JRR]

A person can have needs and preferences. You can argue about those if you want, but really needs and preferences are not subject to negotiation. I seriously doubt the OP is unaware of the alternatives.

Rick "response to requirements may be subject to negotiation" Denney

Absolutely, but just as most of us here would advise differently than the vinyl lovers on Stevehoffman forums so will I advise against going down the road of investing more money in CD playback. The Op can do what he wants. I doubt he is aware of the full potential of modern music library software.

He can play his CD library on the road or throughout the house, he can get better sound through advanced EQ and time alignment. He can use VST filters like BACCH and DIRAC without needing to purchase additional hardware. There are some really great options to explore with computer based play back.

 

[Mart68]

You could have it play all the other disc formats some of which have great masterings.

I have one of those Oppo players for when I want to play one of my handful of DVD-A discs. Or for blu-rays and DVDs (the A.V system is a totally separate system).

Not for you. OP is at a decision point. I’m trying to steer him in another direction having been down the road of rekindling with physical media myself.

Fair enough. I never left physical media so not rekindling here. Still have all my vinyl records too, although I never play them.

 

[DavidM1]

Still have all my vinyl records too, although I never play them.

I’m getting ready to ditch mine too. At the time they were pretty much the hifi pinnacle for most households. Turntable fans remind me of guys who like to tinker with vintage engines.

 

[rdenney]

Absolutely, but just as most of us here would advise differently than the vinyl lovers on Stevehoffman forums so will I advise against going down the road of investing more money in CD playback. The Op can do what he wants. I doubt he is aware of the full potential of modern music library software.

He can play his CD library on the road or throughout the house, he can get better sound through advanced EQ and time alignment. He can use VST filters like BACCH and DIRAC without needing to purchase additional hardware. There are some really great options to explore with computer based play back.

Is a CD player really expensive?

Nevermind.

Rick "not the guardian of other people's budgets" Denney

 

[Joe Smith]

I left behind long ago the idea of getting all of my music perfectly organized and in one place (or really keeping a list of what I have). At age 66, and having started buying vinyl and cassettes about age 12, that's a lot of legacy media. When iPods came along, I spent countless hours (mostly at work, ripping while I did other things in my white collar world) digitizing at best 50% of my CDs. Tried using Audacity to rip vinyl, do-able for something truly unique but not something I wanted to do generally. And then, streaming came along, and smartphones, and tablets.

I don't have the kind of house that lends itself to a "music room," so vinyl is in several places around, organized by genre. I use Napa racks for the cassettes, stored in the basement. CDs are currently in storage tubs organized alpha by genre. Not perfect, I periodically "reshelve" ones I have out and pull others I want to hear as I'm doing so. But we have about 1,500 or so and we don't really want to create a wall of CDs in any one room.

But probably 70% of my listening now is via streaming, because that's how I find new music. I expect some of the legacy media versus streaming + server divide is people who mostly listen to things they have heard before versus people who are always looking for good music, both new and things from the past they overlooked.

I guess in brief, I've embraced the messiness of my music collection. It's organized enough that I can find something I think of and want to listen to, if I remember I "own" it and want the experience of pulling the vinyl or CD versus just streaming it.

I think there is a good case to be made for classical music listeners being very organized with their collections, as it is kind of a pain to find a specific classical recording via streaming. Can be done, and I know some are better than others in this regard.

All of this is the tail end of my current lifestyle. I expect we will downsize our house when we're in our mid-70s, and then I will need to purge. But enjoying the current state of things for now.

 

[Robin L]

Is a CD player really expensive?

Nevermind.

Rick "not the guardian of other people's budgets" Denney

My (used) Sony Blu-Ray (SACD capable) set me back $10, can just about play anything audio (and most that's visual). If someone (like the OP) wants to play their CDs, cost isn't a factor at all.