The future of your music collection?

[Mark]

We live in interesting times, technologically speaking. The CD has celebrated its 25th birthday and remains, for many of us, the 'default' medium through which we enjoy the music we love so much. True, there are those who've never lost their love for LPs (and a few, also, who still like, if not love, tape cassettes), but even these folks have bought a good number of CDs over the years, either to experience new recordings or those not issued on vinyl, or to replace/complement the LP counterpart on their shelves.

But what do you think lies ahead for your music collection? Will you fastidiously rip every disc you own to MP3, FLAC or WAV, put it all on one home 'super computer' and feed your favourite hifi separates through wired or wireless networking? Will you go on finding new and innovative ways to use the storage potential of every nook and cranny in your home until your buying habits necessitate a change of address? Are you planning a major musical cull, stripping away everything non-essential and retaining just those discs that bring you greatest happiness - perhaps experiencing new recordings or reissues only through the medium of downloads, enabling you to decide (without committing shelf space) whether or not a disc is worthy of your newly cleaned-up collection? Or have you simply said to yourself that downloading is the future, and that all else can go hang?

For myself, I've had to (reluctantly) agree a compromise with my buying obsession: 60%-70% of new recordings are likely to be downloads in one format or another, with everything else being bought on CD/SACD. It's not ideal, as I'd really like all my music on those little, silver discs (I'm very much a child of the CD era). But alas, I simply don't have the kind of space that would make this possible ... nor the kind of money.

There are as many possible futures for our prized collections as there are possible replies to this thread. Let's hear about how you see things going in your collection.

[Que]

I think there is no doubt when the non-physical form of musical albums equals the CD in terms of sound quality and additional information (liner notes, libretti), as well as the possibility to acquire this on-line, store and play back at our homes, that the CD or any other physical format will dissapear.

Before that moment, I won't make the switch.
I'm not going to compromise on any of these points, no matter what the difference in price is.

Q

[71 dB]

CD/hybrid SACD are my default forms. I don't know what happens in the future...

[Grazioso]

I'm still 100% CD's, even though the medium's future is obviously shaky. I prefer to see and browse through a shelf--well, shelves!--of physical discs than searching my computer for data files. If I listened on the go, it would be a different story, but I only listen in one room at home, so I don't need the portability of an mp3 player.

[marvinbrown]

  Like most respondents here I am still caught in the CD and DVD age.  I like the liner notes and the shiny glitter of those CDs  0:).  As to the future I would like to start drifting into the digital mp3 etc. technology age and soon. Fear of this technology has kept me from buying an mp3/ipod player thus far but I am doing more research and soon I will have an mp3 player (most probably an ipod- they look very smart).  I do believe that one day the CD/DVD will become obsolete.  I say this because CDs/DVDs eventually scratch from repeated use or in my case ABUSE  and they are a real burden to carry around especially when I go on holiday for a couple of weeks- I relish the idea of having all my music on one player that fits snuggly into one of my pockets- a delightful thought  0:).

  PS: I have no emotional attachment whatsoever to cassettes (tape) the sound always suffer with repeated listening.

  marvin

[Mark]

I'm still 100% CD's, even though the medium's future is obviously shaky.

We had a discussion on this some months ago (perhaps our resident librarian/anorak, Que, can find the relevant thread ), and I believe I ventured that the CD will likely stick around for some time to come. I'm guessing the medium could well celebrate its 50th anniversary before it becomes little more than something for 'specialists'; a relic of a bygone era.

[Que]

We had a discussion on this some months ago (perhaps our resident librarian/anorak, Que, can find the relevant thread ), and I believe I ventured that the CD will likely stick around for some time to come. I'm guessing the medium could well celebrate its 50th anniversary before it becomes little more than something for 'specialists'; a relic of a bygone era.

You probably mean this thread?   Also started by ...YOU?! 
Your preferred formats?


Please Mark, don't leave it all up to me!
Exercise your memory, jog your brain! Do some crossword puzzles!

Q

[Great Gable]

I'm still 100% CD's, even though the medium's future is obviously shaky. I prefer to see and browse through a shelf--well, shelves!--of physical discs than searching my computer for data files. If I listened on the go, it would be a different story, but I only listen in one room at home, so I don't need the portability of an mp3 player.

That pretty much sums me up. the only future concession to portable digital files would be something in the car. Sound quality is of little importance in that environment and I like the idea of a large collection readily at hand.

I cannot think of anything worse than a future with just files on a computer. I like my collection, I like browsing it and I like to see it on the shelves. Along with my large collection of books and DVDs, it symbolises a large part of what is ME - a statement of who I am and what I hold important.

I never listen to music files on the computer and do not have, or want, a portable i-pod or equivalent. I do not want music on the move (other than in-car). My main hobby is climbing mountains and fell walking. I seek out the remote and the quiet and the notion of listening to music, or any man-made sound, whilst doing that is repugnant where I only desire the natural.

All of my listening is done on my main Hi-Fi. I have spent many years building up my current kit and have attained what many people never seem to reach - audio nirvana. It would be ludicrous to listen on anything else, given the quality I now have at my disposal. I also have a surround sound rig but it is far below the quality of my main system and not fit for music listening.

If they ever ditch the physical medium, which seems a distinct possibility, I will buy another high quality CD player to ensure some future for my collection.

[Mark]

You probably mean this thread?   Also started by ...YOU?! 
Your preferred formats?


Please Mark, don't leave it all up to me!
Exercise your memory, jog your brain! Do some crossword puzzles!

Q

I could be mistaken, Que, but that's not the one. I thought it was and would've pointed to it myself, but I'm sure the thread to which I refer was in The Diner.

[Que]

I could be mistaken, Que, but that's not the one. I thought it was and would've pointed to it myself, but I'm sure the thread to which I refer was in The Diner.

Oh well, then I'm in the dark as well!

Q

[Mark]

If they ever ditch the physical medium, which seems a distinct possibility, I will buy another high quality CD player to ensure some future for my collection.

Ditto.

[techniquest]

I like CD's. I buy them at record shops and from ebay; I burn downloaded music onto them and then create my own covers (I like doing that too). I have a CD player in the car as well as the main hi-fi at home, and since I do rather a lot of driving, I like to browse my shelves and select a few which will see me through the length of my journey depending on my mood that day.
I also have a cheap mp3 player and listen to that mainly at work, or if I decide to travel anywhere by train. It is also an essential companion on my annual vacation.
My vinyl collection is still with me on vinyl - I can't see me ever converting them to digital files. I like the hostory attached to my vinyl collection, and because I play them so rarely, it's something of an occasion to have a browse through and listen to stuff that may not have been played for years!
In the end, however, all my years of careful collecting and the CD's / vinyl of music I love so much will most likely end up either at a charity shop or in a bin.

[longears]

I expect to keep the vinyl and CDs I have.  It's taken a long time for technology to advance enough to get affordable, good quality sound (depending on your priorities) sound from CD playback.  There might already be soundcards for the PC with an audiophile quality digital out, but if not, there probably will be soon, and I can foresee eventually ripping much of my CD collection to a server-based system using flac.

John Atkinson's review in this month's Stereophile of the relatively new bel canto DAC3 (I love my DAC2!) included a test of its USB input and found that wanting.  (I know, you guys who think reality ought to conform to your theories will say "bits is bits--what difference could a USB connection make as long as the digital code is transmitted intact," just like you say "wire is wire" and so on.  If a theory doesn't account for reality, I tend to think the theory is wanting--go figure!)

For those of you not yet familiar with mp3s and the like--don't worry, digital music doesn't have to sound awful--after all, your CDs are digital.  Its just that the stuff kids use (and outfits like Apple have capitalized on) tends to be horribly deficient 128kbps files with at least 80% of the audio information on CDs gone!  There are better formats.

[Guido]

I don't understad why it isn't possible to download liner notes along with CD purchases - it would be so easy to implement, and would make me download things far more often. Only Naxos have all their sleeve notes online I think, but maybe there are others too?

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Mark, could this be the thread?


As far as answering the OP - I'll simply cut and paste the following post of mine from the thread Que linked to above:

Personally, from my vantage point I see just as many advantages staying put (home stereo) as delving into the latest and greatest (downloading).

Nothing to me seems "better" unless I feel like traveling extensively with a loaded iPod attached to my collar.

Which I don't.

Or I'm in dire need of storage space.

Which I'm not.

Besides, if I ever did go 'computer', the first time my hard drive crashes and I lose my entire setup I'd be right back to buying "crashless" CD's again.

[BachQ]

You probably mean this thread?   Also started by ...YOU?! 
Your preferred formats?

LOL

[BachQ]

CD's are all but obsolete in my soundworld .......

But what do you think lies ahead for your music collection?

My CD's will become a dormant, archival standby, available for when I want the liner notes ........

Will you fastidiously rip every disc you own to MP3, FLAC or WAV, put it all on one home 'super computer' and feed your favourite hifi separates through wired or wireless networking?

Already being done.

[SonicMan46]

Mark - nice intro post!     I believe that we've had a number of threads on this topic or related ones - not sure 'how' pertinent a search would be at this point; too lazy to do one at the moment!  

Since this is such a 'transitional period' in the production, delivery, and listening of music, the answers will obviously vary for each individual; for me, age is an important consideration - as one of the older members of the forum and a collector of CDs since 1984 (completely went 'cold turkey' w/ LPs at that time), and now an owner of 3200+ discs, I plan to live out my life w/ my CD collection - will continue to purchase & cull out the collection; newer disc players will remain 'backward' compatible w/ the 'original' CD for years, if not decades, so I don't see for myself, a lack of using these little platters for a long while (so agree w/ your assessment).

However, I've also owned a computer since 1980 (starting out w/ an Apple II+), and currently have 3 in the house; a DT running Windows XP attached to a cable modem/Linksys 'wireless' router, a new laptop w/ VISTA, and an old IBM laptop on which I just installed Ubuntu (Linux clone; BTW, having a ball playing around w/ this OS) - so this technology has & will continue to fascinate me.  I've burned compilation CDs (WAV files), ripped CDs into MP3 & WMA files (which I've listen to from the computer or made CDs), and have put 'compressed' audio files on SD cards for my Palm PDA.  Thus, I'm enjoying using all of these options, and if I were 30 years younger, I would likely migrate even further into this 'digitial cyberspace' era.  

[Mark]

Mark, could this be the thread?

Good shot, but no.

The thread I refer to had lots of posts in it by DavidW.

[mahlertitan]

It's an economic question: would the producers benefit more from producing music online?　hell yeah! it lowers the overall expenditure! And, on the long run it will lower the price of most music albums too. So, it's a win-win situation (if the technology is there, of course, APE/Flac already exist, but they are not exactly user-friendly, when the computer scientists conquerer that problem, CDs will be officially obsolete).