Now there is retro market back to vinyl LP's.
I guess the millenials and Z'ers will never the joy of being able to walk into a record store, buy a 12 inch LP and actually be able to read the liner notes, without a magnifying glass.
I remember the first CD player I heard. It was at the June ‘82 Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. “Funky Town” on premium headphones. It sounded great, and I didn’t even like the song.
I have sold a few laserdisc players for really decent money recently.
I should probably sell all my old cd players too.
I bought a Betamax in 1981 for around $850, as I recall. The movies it played looked great on my SONY Trinitron.
Sound engineers and audio producers will verify the CD is the crappiest audio medium ever. Vinyl is soooo much better sound quality wise. CDs are hollow and tinny.
I bought a Nakamichi Dragon cassette tape player in 1984 in Japan. Near top of the line tape player, with top of the line price. I think $800 for last years model, fresh from the factory warehouse, when they were going for $3000 in the states. When used with top quality cassette tapes, it was the equal of the early CD players, with the advantage of being able to record.
By the late 1980’s, though, it suffered by comparison to the newer model, much cheaper CD players.
I’m glad vinyl is in vogue again. Maybe it will help young people appreciate albums, instead of just random playlists of singles. It’s good for people’s appreciation of music, and for their appreciation of the artists that pour their heart and soul into producing albums.
The boom in streaming and vinyl means I can collect used, and often new cd’s much cheaper than before, now that demand for them is less.
By the way Spotify streamed music sounds awful. As Neil Young says it’s only about 5 percent of the music. Even 128k streaming is terrible compared to cd, but Spotify has the worst fidelity of the prominent streaming services.
About the time the DAC technology had matured, it seemed like two things happened: (1) music compression for portable devices became popular (128 kbps - ugh!), and (2) music CDs were being remastered for a higher loudness level at a given volume setting.
The latter had the net effect of compressing the music and reducing the dynamic range as compared to the original mastering. Some collectors make an effort to locate the original masterings if they didn't already own them (or made the mistake of selling them when they bought the new "remasters").
They made records small.
I think you’re gonna see a slowdown in format changes now that the physical form is no longer germane to the conversation. Bitrates, codecs, etc. will still improve but that’s not such a big deal now that it’s just 1’s and 0’s flying through the ether.
CC
I have many digital music files on my cell phone that I play while driving around. Better selection then the radio offers.
Over 2,500 titles on my computer. I had long ago made copies of the cd music I bought so long ago to my computer then have used Youtube and other sources for my music.
Quality varies.....
I burned 2 dvd’s just yesterday for a backup of software files for a new graphics card I got. I had to download the nearly 700mb file. Best to have a convenient copy. The newer usb flash drives have no room on them to list the contents.
...or admire the artwork on an album cover.
Very rich guy down the street had a disc player flown over from Japan on a courier’s lap. Supposedly the first player in the states. That Christmas he gave a player to each of his kids, along with just about every available classical music title — only about a shelf-foot’s worth.
The players cost that much in 1983-84, 900 to 1800...the discs were 12.50 to 30 dollars or so in 1983 dollars. Expensive to be sure. By 1985 I got a magnavox brand player for 100 dollars from Service Merchandise...the prices went down fast. The compact discs had moderated in price to where vinyl records had been in 1978 while vinyl dropped in price and quality compared to their cd cousins. I still have my first discs...my telarc sampler discs and a sampler from The Digital Domain sound and video works(still an active effects company for films).
I had been at Spangdahlem Air Base just a day (June 1984) or so and saw someone carrying one in his hands. I asked about it and immediately bought a stereo system that included a CD player. Some of my friends in the dorm would occasionally play frisbee in the hall with a CD. Cool times!!
I don’t think they put CD players in the new cars anymore. My 2019 and 2022 jeeps don’t have one.
Now I use a TV to stream Amazon and Spotify to a Kenwood KA-75 and Vandersteen 1C’s.
Went from 8track to cassettes…. Had albums all along. Then came CD and then streaming. To me the worst thing about cd’s was remastering. A lot of the re-mixes were not as good as the originals. Agree vinyl sound is better and 12 album covers etc. I still have a brand new unopened techniques turntable. Have a recording studio and recorded several local artists and my own band… producing cd’s.
But you know…. I give Apple 9.99 a month and have access to 50 million songs. Can Bluetooth play them through surround sound system…. Or Bluetooth into my recording studio if I want, or through my truck audio system. I mean it doesn’t sound like an album but it has a lot of value….
They were SO smart, to get you to spend $19.99 to buy digital music you already owned on vinyl for $5.99, that they forgot to copy protect the medium.
Actually vinyl is having a resurgence and presumably most of the buyers are young people. Walk into any Walmart or Target and you'll see a surprisingly large selection of LPs for sale in the music section. You'll see the old mega-selling classics but you'll also see albums by new artists as well. The younger generation might end up with the best of both worlds -- digital streaming for browsing and for portability, and then a small collection of their most treasured recordings on vinyl to listen to at home and to truly own as a physical possession. If the trend continues, it seems plausible that record stores could become a thing again. Wouldn't that be wild! There are also rumblings in the music industry that a new physical format may be on the way.