Anyone still buying CDs and Tapes?
Discussion
I have to say, I agree that there is something quite satisfying about flicking through records/CDs and selecting them to play. I love spending time in record shops doing this. That was my Saturday mornings with my mates when we used to spend far too much time (and possibly money!) in Barnstorm Records in Dumfries. Then my older sister met her future husband who used to take me to record fairs. Still enjoy going to them now.
As convenient as Spotify is, it just doesn’t have those memories for me. I’ve loved getting back into vinyl.
As convenient as Spotify is, it just doesn’t have those memories for me. I’ve loved getting back into vinyl.
Unfortunately the audio on Spotify etc. is often heavily re-mastered and sounding very different to the original CD from the 80s/90/00s, irrespective of the additional processing/conversions going on.
I think it's a pity young people will likely never hear how dynamic and 'focussed' a lot of these albums sounded originally without the huge slabs of compression and limiting applied nowadays to the re-mastered versions.
IMO for this reason alone it's really worth hunting down and holding on to (or ripping) the original CDs.
The same could be said for albums pre-CD which were often digitally transferred directly from the master-tapes in the 80s/90s with very little or no additional mastering...probably still providing the best possible archive for how they would've sounded in the studio at the time.
I think it's a pity young people will likely never hear how dynamic and 'focussed' a lot of these albums sounded originally without the huge slabs of compression and limiting applied nowadays to the re-mastered versions.
IMO for this reason alone it's really worth hunting down and holding on to (or ripping) the original CDs.
The same could be said for albums pre-CD which were often digitally transferred directly from the master-tapes in the 80s/90s with very little or no additional mastering...probably still providing the best possible archive for how they would've sounded in the studio at the time.
A small shout-out for Roon - which I use to manage my library and find new artists and recording. I also use it to control various speakers and amplifiers.
Whilst it doesn't replace the experience of physical recordings, it does come close with extensive information on albums and artists. It allows users to disappear down various rabbit-holes following a particular drummer (for example).
Whilst it doesn't replace the experience of physical recordings, it does come close with extensive information on albums and artists. It allows users to disappear down various rabbit-holes following a particular drummer (for example).
I still buy a few CDs (then rip them to a FLAC copy to play from devices and put the CD away in a cupboard), most often if I can't find a high quality download to buy.
If I can find a good quality download then I'll normally buy it that way for convenience though.
If I can find a good quality download then I'll normally buy it that way for convenience though.
Edited by GravelBen on Monday 27th May 12:48
Jimjimhim said:
No, CDs were always crap and cassettes were even worse to own, so why would I now when there are better options!
I just had a look at three of my favourite Spotify playlists; I've been adding to them for ages.The jazz one is relatively recent but I've already got it up to 11 hours 58 minutes.
My house playlist is at 28 hours 49 minutes.
And my lounge one is 30 hours 58 minutes.
That's a lot of flicking through cases of CD's.....
I was in a music shop in Redcar a couple of months ago, and a guy came in with two large suitcases full of Cd's.
He said there was 1200 in there and offered them to the shopkeeper for £30.
The shopkeeper said No thanks.
The bloke said "OK, you can have them for nothing"
The man in the shop still didn't want them.
You can get five for a pound in many charity shops, which is great if you actually want them.
He said there was 1200 in there and offered them to the shopkeeper for £30.
The shopkeeper said No thanks.
The bloke said "OK, you can have them for nothing"
The man in the shop still didn't want them.
You can get five for a pound in many charity shops, which is great if you actually want them.
I've got about 2,000 CDs collected over 35yrs. I would find it incredibly hard to part with them, it's a labour of love. Many of them I can remember exactly when/where I bought them.
Since the pandemic I work from home 4 days a week. We dusted off my wife's old turntable, got our vinyl collections down from the loft and started listening to a lot of it. Nowadays for a new release I will listen to it via Apple Music and if I really like it I will buy the vinyl & CD, ideally direct from the artist's website, the CD of an album is then usually only an additional fiver on top of the vinyl. The vinyl will be to listen to at home, the CD goes in the car. I still listen to a lot of music via streaming, however.
We've got a vintage caravan which has a Pioneer (auto-reverse!) cassette deck in it, so I'm really glad I kept all my tapes from the 80s. Annoyingly it just chewed up my 'The Singular Adventures of The Style Council' tape, so I'm after a replacement on eBay!
I am by nature a bit of a hoarder, as is my Dad. He came from make and mend generation, so was always reluctant to throw anything out. I've definitely inherited some of that. My wife hates it!
Since the pandemic I work from home 4 days a week. We dusted off my wife's old turntable, got our vinyl collections down from the loft and started listening to a lot of it. Nowadays for a new release I will listen to it via Apple Music and if I really like it I will buy the vinyl & CD, ideally direct from the artist's website, the CD of an album is then usually only an additional fiver on top of the vinyl. The vinyl will be to listen to at home, the CD goes in the car. I still listen to a lot of music via streaming, however.
We've got a vintage caravan which has a Pioneer (auto-reverse!) cassette deck in it, so I'm really glad I kept all my tapes from the 80s. Annoyingly it just chewed up my 'The Singular Adventures of The Style Council' tape, so I'm after a replacement on eBay!
I am by nature a bit of a hoarder, as is my Dad. He came from make and mend generation, so was always reluctant to throw anything out. I've definitely inherited some of that. My wife hates it!
My cd collection is like my musical skeleton and it stretches over 40 years. I'm buying them all the time, they're great value (apart from that Mordred lookbook job I fell for last week at £40...).
AC43 said:
That's a lot of flicking through cases of CD's.....
Consider your categorisation (mine is incomprehensible to my wife for some reason) and presentation?Edited by castex on Tuesday 28th May 23:18
I'll buy a CD or cassette very rarely, usually if it is some type of interesting edition from an artist's website or Bandcamp. I've no means of actually playing either on my HiFi system, but the CDs will get ripped and added to my Apple Music library.
I've got many thousands of albums ripped and stored on Apple Music, but additions to the library these days will be predominantly saving streamed versions from Apple itself. I'll add albums that I buy on vinyl if they come with a download code or if I've bought from Bandcamp which usually includes a direct download.
Home listening is almost 100% vinyl, and the digital/Apple Music collection is used on the move, either through headphones or in the car.
As inconvenient as a physical collection can be in terms of space and keeping it in some semblance of order, I do find that a lot of the listening I do comes from just searching through my record collection and finding something that I fancy at that moment.
I know I could do the same with streaming, but the choice almost feels too vast and I find I can flick through individual tracks quite a lot, rather than listening to full albums which I prefer to do. Streaming is excellent for listening to new albums before deciding whether or not to purchase them though.
I've got many thousands of albums ripped and stored on Apple Music, but additions to the library these days will be predominantly saving streamed versions from Apple itself. I'll add albums that I buy on vinyl if they come with a download code or if I've bought from Bandcamp which usually includes a direct download.
Home listening is almost 100% vinyl, and the digital/Apple Music collection is used on the move, either through headphones or in the car.
As inconvenient as a physical collection can be in terms of space and keeping it in some semblance of order, I do find that a lot of the listening I do comes from just searching through my record collection and finding something that I fancy at that moment.
I know I could do the same with streaming, but the choice almost feels too vast and I find I can flick through individual tracks quite a lot, rather than listening to full albums which I prefer to do. Streaming is excellent for listening to new albums before deciding whether or not to purchase them though.
[/quote]
Consider your categorisation (mine is incomprehensible to my wife for some reason) and presentation?
Edited by castex on Tuesday 28th May 23:18
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https://youtu.be/2msCS8dvSok?si=KPRoS_kL2JDtUlJH
Not autobiographical????
(If you know, you know.....)
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