Am I alone feeling like this?

[raulvilla]

I own over 3,000 CD's and find it cumbersome to load them all on a hard drive, so when I feel like playing one, I look for it and play it, sitting on my dedicated music room, relaxing, maybe drinking a glass of wine and-maybe perhaps reading a book.
I see companies still making CD players, upgrading them, improving upon existing models as not everyone has the time to place their music on a "stick". Most times, for me, listening to an specific artist, song or album is impulse driven; so before I lose the impulse, I place the CD in my BCD-1 and listen to it. Am I alone feeling like this? Will the BCD-1 ever come back?

[CanadianMaestro]

You're not alone! CDs are still superb media.

[Gary Dayton]

You're not at all alone. If enough of you protest loudly enough, we may bring a CD player back to market

With the development of the Bryston Optical Drive accessory for the BDP, you can play CDs directly and rip them. I think it will be popular for people who have no desire to lose a large part of their life ripping CDs, but are content to do it one by one when listening to them.

--Gary / Bryston

[CanadianMaestro]

Well, if you do bring in a "BCD-2", please add the ability to program track sequences on playback. Also, a BNC digital out would be great too (like BDP-1), as I favor BNC over AES/EBU.

[Chris Rice]

[CanadianMaestro]

[wilsonij]

I think there are (at least) three factors at play here:

1. Listening behaviour - many of us still like to open a cd case, put the disc in, and look at the artwork or read the lyrics and other liner notes while playing the album from start to finish in the order the artist decided upon; however increasingly folks listen to individual tracks, hopping from one to the other across artists and styles, and if you're in the latter camp the inconvenience of one-disc-at-a-time cd players just don't cut it.

2. DAC - you may have it in your player, in your pre-amp, or in a separate unit; where it is today might be through conscious choice or it might be through circumstance, but either way I'd suggest that you *do* want options and flexibility but you *don't* want to pay for something you're not going to use.

3. Media - increasingly those in control of the industry are pushing for non-physical distribution where there is greater scope for control and profit; this is true of film as well as music. The cessation of physical media may, or may not, be inevitable (and even if it does happen, over what timeframe) but the overall direction of travel is undeniable.

Does that mean cd is dead ? Absolutely not !!
Does that mean there's no market for serious quality cd players ? Absolutely not !!

But I would say that it means the size and nature of the market is changing and, like it or not, any business has to be mindful of where it sits today and where it will be sitting tomorrow...

Ian

[CanadianMaestro]

Well expressed, Ian. All valid and good points.

For me, space constraints are starting to take their toll. I actually will not buy an LP and will opt for CD, because my shelf space has maxed out now. Another "advantage" of digital files and the superb file playback quality of the BDP-1. But the tactile pleasures of opening a CD case/handling a vinyl LP are unbeatable.

Maestro

[Gary Dayton]

Even today, the largest repository of lossless DRM free music available is on CD. Especially, if your musical tastes lean more towards eclectic, it's difficult to find the releases you seek available as a lossless download. Occasionally, an album I'm after will land on HDTracks, but more often than not, I'm choosing between the vinyl (and the gratis 320k MP3 download, bleh) or the CD and a rip-it-myself lossless copy.

I've nearly fully committed to digital file playback by now, but I really miss the ritual of pulling an album (CD or otherwise) off the shelf and reading detailed liner notes. I'm bothered that the labels won't publish full liner notes with most releases.

--Gary / Bryston

[CanadianMaestro]

Good point about the sparse liner notes with digital formats. I especially like to have the lyric translations of choral pieces/operas/lieder (German songs), included in most CD packages, but not with downloaded "hi-res" files. Huge difference to the enjoyment factor.

Cheers,
M