Physical cds on demand

Roy Bland · March 01, 2023, 02:47:56 AM

is there any system to get professional physical cds from download and streaming methods? I have reservations both about self-produced CDs and about storage on flash drives and the like

Todd · March 01, 2023, 03:59:46 AM

Quote from: Roy Bland on March 01, 2023, 02:47:56 AMis there any system to get professional physical cds from download and streaming methods?

Yes, but only in bulk. bisondisc.com will manufacture discs in batches as small as twenty-five.

Quote from: Roy Bland on March 01, 2023, 02:47:56 AMI have reservations both about self-produced CDs and about storage on flash drives and the like

Why? Burned discs should last decades (I have some that have) and files can be backed up on multiple drives as well as online.

DavidW · March 01, 2023, 06:09:29 AM

The flac rips I made a decade ago are still playable, live on an hd and two different high storage external drives. I have a thumb drive plugged into my streamer and playing the flac files is actually faster and easier than playing a cd with the same sound quality.

prémont · March 01, 2023, 07:28:04 AM

Quote from: Roy Bland on March 01, 2023, 02:47:56 AMI have reservations both about self-produced CDs

I digtized all my LPs and tapes and burnt them to CDR with a Maranz CD recorder in the early 1990es, and they all still play well after thirty years. Of course they have been stored dark and not too hot.

Roy Bland · April 09, 2023, 08:36:43 PM

However

https://chng.it/HChNHzsJ

Roberto · April 09, 2023, 09:48:00 PM

I'm an enthusiastic CD collector. I had long-time and costly experience with LP too but I realized that LP is not for me (although I must admit that LP packaging and booklets are unrivaled). My collection contains only original factory produced CDs (I have many CDs even from the beginning of the CD, 1982 and 1983).
I'm thinking about that main long-time problem with CD is not the deterioration of discs. The main problem will be lack of players. As far as I know today currently one Chinese factory produces laser pick-ups. Even the most expensive CD players use that cheap pick-up because there is no another. I use an old Sony ES from the 90s. Old players don't have replacement pick-ups or mechanism. If owner find another working compatible player in reasonable price, he is lucky. If don't, then he can throw out even the most expensive player. If the last factory stops pickup production, CDs will last as long as players work.
I know fellow hi-fi owners who sold all CDs not because deterioration of discs. Their player broke down many times and finally they said they don't want to buy new. Streaming is fine for them.

DavidW · April 10, 2023, 06:43:50 AM

Quote from: Roy Bland on April 09, 2023, 08:36:43 PMHowever

https://chng.it/HChNHzsJ

That has to be the most unpopular change.org petition I've ever seen! Also a flac download is bit for bit the same when uncompressed in relation to redbook cd (that is why flac is said to be lossless), and playback has less jitter (due to not having timing errors in spinning a disc), so I can't agree with the supposedly poor sound quality of downloads.

DavidW · April 10, 2023, 06:46:58 AM

Quote from: Roberto on April 09, 2023, 09:48:00 PMI'm an enthusiastic CD collector. I had long-time and costly experience with LP too but I realized that LP is not for me (although I must admit that LP packaging and booklets are unrivaled). My collection contains only original factory produced CDs (I have many CDs even from the beginning of the CD, 1982 and 1983).
I'm thinking about that main long-time problem with CD is not the deterioration of discs. The main problem will be lack of players. As far as I know today currently one Chinese factory produces laser pick-ups. Even the most expensive CD players use that cheap pick-up because there is no another. I use an old Sony ES from the 90s. Old players don't have replacement pick-ups or mechanism. If owner find another working compatible player in reasonable price, he is lucky. If don't, then he can throw out even the most expensive player. If the last factory stops pickup production, CDs will last as long as players work.
I know fellow hi-fi owners who sold all CDs not because deterioration of discs. Their player broke down many times and finally they said they don't want to buy new. Streaming is fine for them.

That is depressing news. I am glad that I own a nice Audiolab 6000 cd transport. In the future we might be reverting back to dvd players if that factory closes.

Roy Bland · April 10, 2023, 07:17:19 AM

Quote from: DavidW on April 10, 2023, 06:43:50 AMThat has to be the most unpopular change.org petition I've ever seen! Also a flac download is bit for bit the same when uncompressed in relation to redbook cd (that is why flac is said to be lossless), and playback has less jitter (due to not having timing errors in spinning a disc), so I can't agree with the supposedly poor sound quality of downloads.

Dear DavidW
unfortunately I can't agree on the other hand if an archaic and expensive medium like long playing is resurrected I don't see why compact discs should disappear
Best

Spotted Horses · April 10, 2023, 07:24:10 AM

Quote from: Roy Bland on April 10, 2023, 07:17:19 AMDear DavidW
unfortunately I can't agree on the other hand if an archaic and expensive medium like long playing is resurrected I don't see why compact discs should disappear
Best

LP records require a mechanical gadget and some analog electronics, which can be made by a skilled craftsman. A CD player requires integrated circuit chips and some very high performance digitally controlled mechanical components. It has to position a read head with micron accuracy to read a spinning disc. These were colossally expensive until they were mass produced in enormous quantities.

CD audio players may go away, but CD/DVD/Bluray-ROM devices show no signs of going away anytime soon. I listen to all of my CDs as FLAC files. I haven't listened to a CD on a dedicated player in close to a decade, I think.

DavidW · April 10, 2023, 07:43:29 AM

Quote from: Roy Bland on April 10, 2023, 07:17:19 AMDear DavidW
unfortunately I can't agree on the other hand if an archaic and expensive medium like long playing is resurrected I don't see why compact discs should disappear
Best

Oh no I totally agree with you. And I think that one day there will be a cd revival just as we are in an lp revival.

Spotted Horses · April 11, 2023, 04:57:18 AM

Quote from: DavidW on April 10, 2023, 07:43:29 AMOh no I totally agree with you. And I think that one day there will be a cd revival just as we are in an lp revival.

Maybe so, but LPs had one thing going for them, not just the romanticized inconvenience. They sound different (even if that difference is in an objective sense distortion and noise). There is no difference between sending data to a DAC from an optical transport or from a file on some sort of storage device.

Florestan · April 11, 2023, 05:13:37 AM

Quote from: Spotted Horses on April 10, 2023, 07:24:10 AMI haven't listened to a CD on a dedicated player in close to a decade, I think.

That makes two of us.

Madiel · April 11, 2023, 05:13:57 AM

I had mixed results with self-burned CDs. Too many of them would start having problems in the later tracks (presumably because of the change in spin speed as you move to the outside of the disc). If a recording was long enough I might have to try 2 or 3 times to get one that worked properly throughout.

It's quite some time since I bothered. While I still prefer purchasing CDs whenever the option exists, if I only have something in a computer file I would probably just keep it that way now, not least because I have effective ways to stream to my CD unit. Every time you shift format it presents at least a slight risk of losing quality. Actually I'm not 100% certain whether the current computer has a burner, because it's so long since I tried.

Madiel · April 11, 2023, 05:14:22 AM

Quote from: Florestan on April 11, 2023, 05:13:37 AMThat makes two of us.

For me it's about... 6 minutes.

Todd · April 11, 2023, 05:15:44 AM

Quote from: DavidW on April 10, 2023, 06:43:50 AMThat has to be the most unpopular change.org petition I've ever seen!

And yet it will be exactly as successful as other change.org petitions.

Streaming killed optical media years ago.

Florestan · April 11, 2023, 05:16:34 AM

Quote from: Madiel on April 11, 2023, 05:14:22 AMFor me it's about... 6 minutes.

Madiel · April 11, 2023, 05:52:46 AM

Streaming clearly has not killed CDs given that a very large number of new releases are still issued on CD.

I don't just mean classical releases either.

prémont · April 11, 2023, 06:02:36 AM

Quote from: Roberto on April 09, 2023, 09:48:00 PMTheir player broke down many times and finally they said they don't want to buy new. Streaming is fine for them.

Within six years two rather expensive NAIM CD players have broken down for me. So now I have got a Rega CD player and cross my fingers. Else I think I have to turn to DVD players.

prémont · April 11, 2023, 06:06:21 AM

Quote from: Madiel on April 11, 2023, 05:13:57 AMI had mixed results with self-burned CDs. Too many of them would start having problems in the later tracks (presumably because of the change in spin speed as you move to the outside of the disc). If a recording was long enough I might have to try 2 or 3 times to get one that worked properly throughout.

I had similar problems. But a new CD burner (cost 100 EURO's) solved the problems.