Anyone else gone CD 'retro'
Discussion
Am I the only person who has given up on MP3s.
Just can't be bothered organising music and downloading stuff,converting files, spending ages fiddling with tiny screens or even listening to the poor quality highly compressed music.
I have gone back to CDs and a CD changer..
who else?
Just can't be bothered organising music and downloading stuff,converting files, spending ages fiddling with tiny screens or even listening to the poor quality highly compressed music.
I have gone back to CDs and a CD changer..
who else?
Edited by new in today on Friday 1st May 09:22
Aside from the poor quality this is the main reason I cannot be bothered with them. If I want to listen to music I switch on insert disc which comes from an alphabetised,(by artist), cabinet and press play. #
As oppsoed to switch on PC, wait for OS to start. Start Application, wait for that to start. Search for music I fancy listening to, Wait for search to find album or collate a number of tracks to listen to, etc, etc.
As oppsoed to switch on PC, wait for OS to start. Start Application, wait for that to start. Search for music I fancy listening to, Wait for search to find album or collate a number of tracks to listen to, etc, etc.
S7Paul said:
especially as the result is inferior quality.
You may say that and I personally agree but on the Gadget Show a while ago they did a qualitative comparison,playing the same track on different media,vinyl,cd and MP3, through a Linn system.Surprisingly the listeners,who were blindfilded,agreed unanimously that the MP3 sounded best...difficult to believe but.....I use AAC for my phone and downloading reference tracks from iTunes if a client mentions something.
Home listening is CD or vinyl, occasionally online radio.
Considering I spend most of my day listening to 24 bit audio on £10k worth of monitoring listening to mp3 for pleasure, well it wouldn't be.
What it all comes down to though is the music.
As for the gadget show test:
who was listening?
how long were they listening for?
how many repeats of each piece in each format?
what were they listening to?
Home listening is CD or vinyl, occasionally online radio.
Considering I spend most of my day listening to 24 bit audio on £10k worth of monitoring listening to mp3 for pleasure, well it wouldn't be.
What it all comes down to though is the music.
As for the gadget show test:
who was listening?
how long were they listening for?
how many repeats of each piece in each format?
what were they listening to?
esselte said:
S7Paul said:
especially as the result is inferior quality.
You may say that and I personally agree but on the Gadget Show a while ago they did a qualitative comparison,playing the same track on different media,vinyl,cd and MP3, through a Linn system.Surprisingly the listeners,who were blindfilded,agreed unanimously that the MP3 sounded best...difficult to believe but.....The bike won. That doesn't mean it is the fastest for all other applications and Lewis Hamilton should be heading down to Halfords for the next GP.
What I am getting at is they were trying to make a blanket judgement. However, that judgement is depends completely upon the test. In this case the test was performed on amps and speakers that were not too great, similar to the Top Gear 'race' through central London.
When you limit the scope of the test to a very restricted playing field the 'best' does not come through as it should.
esselte said:
S7Paul said:
especially as the result is inferior quality.
You may say that and I personally agree but on the Gadget Show a while ago they did a qualitative comparison,playing the same track on different media,vinyl,cd and MP3, through a Linn system.Surprisingly the listeners,who were blindfilded,agreed unanimously that the MP3 sounded best...difficult to believe but.....
te Denon Turntable. Edited by SteveO... on Friday 1st May 12:21
I rarely play my iPod through the system now - I play CDs through the BlueRay player and the difference in quality is very obvious.
I also can't be arsed to download stuff and sync up the player etc.. plus, having been a recording artist (and still get royalties) I;m not a huge fan of free downloads.
The only time I will do it is when it is a very obscure track that I know I can't find here in Dubai, or, I've already bought the LP/CD and it's gone missing.
I also can't be arsed to download stuff and sync up the player etc.. plus, having been a recording artist (and still get royalties) I;m not a huge fan of free downloads.
The only time I will do it is when it is a very obscure track that I know I can't find here in Dubai, or, I've already bought the LP/CD and it's gone missing.
esselte said:
S7Paul said:
especially as the result is inferior quality.
You may say that and I personally agree but on the Gadget Show a while ago they did a qualitative comparison,playing the same track on different media,vinyl,cd and MP3, through a Linn system.Surprisingly the listeners,who were blindfilded,agreed unanimously that the MP3 sounded best...difficult to believe but.....True, but with FLAC, ALAC formats, both of which are uncompressed, the quality compared to CD's is identical or better.
Pretty much the majority of music I have is in Apple Lossless, ripped from CD's. Server connected to a squeezebox connected to my amp is permanently on, it makes life so much easier choosing, browsing and playing music etc, with no loss in quality.
I'll still buy CD's because it provides a useful back up, and the number of FLAC/ALAC's you can download is lmited.. plus you get the liner notes, but I'll still play everything through a streamer.
Obviously you can get into the debate of whether a CD's onboard DAC is better worse than your outboard DAC your streaming too, but that's another story...
Pretty much the majority of music I have is in Apple Lossless, ripped from CD's. Server connected to a squeezebox connected to my amp is permanently on, it makes life so much easier choosing, browsing and playing music etc, with no loss in quality.
I'll still buy CD's because it provides a useful back up, and the number of FLAC/ALAC's you can download is lmited.. plus you get the liner notes, but I'll still play everything through a streamer.
Obviously you can get into the debate of whether a CD's onboard DAC is better worse than your outboard DAC your streaming too, but that's another story...
IMO, music has lost a lot of its tactile emotion factor.
When I were a lad (!)..... Got into music proper around 13 or 14. At 14 I got a Saturday job which I finished at 2.00pm when I'd hop on a bus to Romford and spend my wages at Downtown Records on whatever I fancied or caught my eye. The latter point is relevant. I have many albums purchased on the quality of the Album cover artwork.
On the bus back, I'd rip of the cellophane, sniff the vinyl and read through the sleeve notes and lyrics by the time I got home. The experience started way before I actually played the album.
CDs lost a lot of this due to their size and it doesn't exist at all with MP3s.
I do a bit of mobile dejaying and wouldn't dream of using anything but MP3 but for listening at home, CDs are where's it's at.
When I were a lad (!)..... Got into music proper around 13 or 14. At 14 I got a Saturday job which I finished at 2.00pm when I'd hop on a bus to Romford and spend my wages at Downtown Records on whatever I fancied or caught my eye. The latter point is relevant. I have many albums purchased on the quality of the Album cover artwork.
On the bus back, I'd rip of the cellophane, sniff the vinyl and read through the sleeve notes and lyrics by the time I got home. The experience started way before I actually played the album.
CDs lost a lot of this due to their size and it doesn't exist at all with MP3s.
I do a bit of mobile dejaying and wouldn't dream of using anything but MP3 but for listening at home, CDs are where's it's at.
I use an Ipod in the car for convenience.
In general I use CDs at home (they sound better than so called lossless MP4s), however the Ipod can save a lot of time trying to find a particular CD - I must have about 500 of them randomly distributed between racks....
For some reason I have to own original, physical copies of music I like, I would neve consider buying music by download...
In general I use CDs at home (they sound better than so called lossless MP4s), however the Ipod can save a lot of time trying to find a particular CD - I must have about 500 of them randomly distributed between racks....
For some reason I have to own original, physical copies of music I like, I would neve consider buying music by download...
i was never a huge mp3 convert anyway. i have an ipod but i had something against copied cd's and downloads from the beginning. the format isn't the issue, more that if i'm buying an album i want the artwork and the packaging to go with it.
haven't bought many cd's of late though. seems to be that i'll download odd tracks and to test listen to an album. if i like it enough i'll track it down on vinyl. i have spent far too much on cd's in my life only for them to become worthless with mp3, whereas vinyl is still worth the outlay.
haven't bought many cd's of late though. seems to be that i'll download odd tracks and to test listen to an album. if i like it enough i'll track it down on vinyl. i have spent far too much on cd's in my life only for them to become worthless with mp3, whereas vinyl is still worth the outlay.
From another perspective, I used to be a die hard vinyl junkie around the same time as I was using CD's for travelling, car, and exercise and as you may expect favoured the sound of vinyl.
I now use CD's in the car and MP3's for everything else. A collection of circa 8,000 MP3 tracks all in one place which I have spent time acquiring, ordering and formatting.
I can cut the library in any way due to extensive use of search parameters, ratings, playlists and smart playlists.
I find this more involving than what I had with previous formats. Admittedly the 'hands on' experience is reduced to next to nothing but I feel like this is the next step. For me anyway. I'm generally not a fan of the 'throw away' generation where the merit and associated time and effort invested in this music we listen to is disregarded. I still get alot of pleasure from by electronic collection.
I now use CD's in the car and MP3's for everything else. A collection of circa 8,000 MP3 tracks all in one place which I have spent time acquiring, ordering and formatting.
I can cut the library in any way due to extensive use of search parameters, ratings, playlists and smart playlists.
I find this more involving than what I had with previous formats. Admittedly the 'hands on' experience is reduced to next to nothing but I feel like this is the next step. For me anyway. I'm generally not a fan of the 'throw away' generation where the merit and associated time and effort invested in this music we listen to is disregarded. I still get alot of pleasure from by electronic collection.
It is interesting reading this thread, like many 40 somethings I grew up with proper records. Moving slowly to CD when I won a player in kerrang (oh yes 
)
Anyway I as I moved to CD my music taste was undergoing a massive hange so with the exception of zep and a little rush I never replaced my old records.
Time passed and I ammassed a reasonable collection of cds but whilst I love music I am no audiophile so the fact that I could rip to wav then mp3 and have my music instantly was a huge bonus for me. So thats what I did.
I have the attention span of a goldfish so I have always skipped tracks, the 16gb usb stick in the car (it is full) is always on random etc.
I was discussing this with a couple of friends in the pub a few months ago, we came to the conclusion that we were missing out on the point of an album as a collection of songs by an artist, these artists had probably sweated hours getting the running order that way for a reason and we were making a mockery of it skipping hither and thither..
SO we formed a club, once a month we pick a couple of albums (one old and one new) we all get a copy and listen to it properly, we then meet up in the church hall, stick them on (as loud as we dare) drink fine wine and talk bks
It is a wonderful thing.
So far we have covered
month one Jeff Buckley Grace (my choice) Big red wines
month two The who - quadrophenia
month two Matchbox Twenty - Exile on mainstream rose (yes you read that correctly)
Month three
fleet foxes
matchbox twenty again (the chap who chose it missed a couple of months) Chilean reds (oh yes)
Month four (next week)
The specials - more specials
The leisure society - the sleeper (I am listening to this now and it is a thing of wonder) the wine this month is anything that can be bought from the local coop as we were getting a little up ourselves
Anyway, I can say without reservation that this really is re awakening my love of music. We are talking about getting a turntable...
This has gone way off topic, sorry, but try it.
D
)Anyway I as I moved to CD my music taste was undergoing a massive hange so with the exception of zep and a little rush I never replaced my old records.
Time passed and I ammassed a reasonable collection of cds but whilst I love music I am no audiophile so the fact that I could rip to wav then mp3 and have my music instantly was a huge bonus for me. So thats what I did.
I have the attention span of a goldfish so I have always skipped tracks, the 16gb usb stick in the car (it is full) is always on random etc.
I was discussing this with a couple of friends in the pub a few months ago, we came to the conclusion that we were missing out on the point of an album as a collection of songs by an artist, these artists had probably sweated hours getting the running order that way for a reason and we were making a mockery of it skipping hither and thither..
SO we formed a club, once a month we pick a couple of albums (one old and one new) we all get a copy and listen to it properly, we then meet up in the church hall, stick them on (as loud as we dare) drink fine wine and talk b
ks It is a wonderful thing.
So far we have covered
month one Jeff Buckley Grace (my choice) Big red wines
month two The who - quadrophenia
month two Matchbox Twenty - Exile on mainstream rose (yes you read that correctly)
Month three
fleet foxes
matchbox twenty again (the chap who chose it missed a couple of months) Chilean reds (oh yes)
Month four (next week)
The specials - more specials
The leisure society - the sleeper (I am listening to this now and it is a thing of wonder) the wine this month is anything that can be bought from the local coop as we were getting a little up ourselves
Anyway, I can say without reservation that this really is re awakening my love of music. We are talking about getting a turntable...
This has gone way off topic, sorry, but try it.
D
davidd said:
It is interesting reading this thread, like many 40 somethings I grew up with proper records. Moving slowly to CD when I won a player in kerrang (oh yes )
Anyway I as I moved to CD my music taste was undergoing a massive hange so with the exception of zep and a little rush I never replaced my old records.
Time passed and I ammassed a reasonable collection of cds but whilst I love music I am no audiophile so the fact that I could rip to wav then mp3 and have my music instantly was a huge bonus for me. So thats what I did.
I have the attention span of a goldfish so I have always skipped tracks, the 16gb usb stick in the car (it is full) is always on random etc.
I was discussing this with a couple of friends in the pub a few months ago, we came to the conclusion that we were missing out on the point of an album as a collection of songs by an artist, these artists had probably sweated hours getting the running order that way for a reason and we were making a mockery of it skipping hither and thither..
SO we formed a club, once a month we pick a couple of albums (one old and one new) we all get a copy and listen to it properly, we then meet up in the church hall, stick them on (as loud as we dare) drink fine wine and talk bks
It is a wonderful thing.
So far we have covered
month one Jeff Buckley Grace (my choice) Big red wines
month two The who - quadrophenia
month two Matchbox Twenty - Exile on mainstream rose (yes you read that correctly)
Month three
fleet foxes
matchbox twenty again (the chap who chose it missed a couple of months) Chilean reds (oh yes)
Month four (next week)
The specials - more specials
The leisure society - the sleeper (I am listening to this now and it is a thing of wonder) the wine this month is anything that can be bought from the local coop as we were getting a little up ourselves
Anyway, I can say without reservation that this really is re awakening my love of music. We are talking about getting a turntable...
This has gone way off topic, sorry, but try it.
D
I like your style...)Anyway I as I moved to CD my music taste was undergoing a massive hange so with the exception of zep and a little rush I never replaced my old records.
Time passed and I ammassed a reasonable collection of cds but whilst I love music I am no audiophile so the fact that I could rip to wav then mp3 and have my music instantly was a huge bonus for me. So thats what I did.
I have the attention span of a goldfish so I have always skipped tracks, the 16gb usb stick in the car (it is full) is always on random etc.
I was discussing this with a couple of friends in the pub a few months ago, we came to the conclusion that we were missing out on the point of an album as a collection of songs by an artist, these artists had probably sweated hours getting the running order that way for a reason and we were making a mockery of it skipping hither and thither..
SO we formed a club, once a month we pick a couple of albums (one old and one new) we all get a copy and listen to it properly, we then meet up in the church hall, stick them on (as loud as we dare) drink fine wine and talk b
ks It is a wonderful thing.
So far we have covered
month one Jeff Buckley Grace (my choice) Big red wines
month two The who - quadrophenia
month two Matchbox Twenty - Exile on mainstream rose (yes you read that correctly)
Month three
fleet foxes
matchbox twenty again (the chap who chose it missed a couple of months) Chilean reds (oh yes)
Month four (next week)
The specials - more specials
The leisure society - the sleeper (I am listening to this now and it is a thing of wonder) the wine this month is anything that can be bought from the local coop as we were getting a little up ourselves
Anyway, I can say without reservation that this really is re awakening my love of music. We are talking about getting a turntable...
This has gone way off topic, sorry, but try it.
D
I remember the days when you used to buy an album and then spend days or weeks 'getting into it' There were good songs and bad on every album regardless of artist but listening to the whole thing as an entity gave you a better idea of the direction they were aiming.
Now because you can cherry pick your selection of music many many decent album tracks or B sides will be lost to entire generations.
It would be a travesty if for example listeners only ever downloaded 'more than a feeling' without listening to the rest of the 'Boston LP'.
Gassing Station | Music | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff