In our December issue, I write about the Emotiva ERC-2 CD player, which, at $449, brought me many hours of listening pleasure. Stereophile editor John Atkinson will describe the player’s measured performance in an upcoming issue. In January, I’ll write more about the Emotiva, and, in February, I’ll discuss NAD’s affordable ($300) C 515BEE CD player.
Obviously, I’ve been listening to a lot of CDs lately; and, while I have started to long for my LPs, I haven’t really gone crazy or anything. Listening to CDs can be fun, too—especially when the discs hold music by the likes of Alva Noto and Ryuchi Sakamoto, David Sylvian, and Matthew Shipp.
Meanwhile, Natalie and Nicole have mentioned a rumor that’s spreading all over the Internet: Major labels will abandon the Compact Disc by the end of 2012. Writing for DailyFinance.com, Rick Aristotle Munarriz discusses the demise of the CD and makes some interesting points:
What's a CD?
What do you think? Do CDs have a future or has forever gone away?
Amazon.com, Apple, and Google have rolled out cloud-based music storage services this year. Wireless phones and tablets are making music portable for those that don't see the point of dedicated MP3 players. Digital music stores are beefing up the quality of their tracks. If you don't feel it now, wait until you see how few 2013 model cars will come with CD players. As music streaming gets easier and more seamless, the percentage of music fans that don't have access to digital music will continue to shrink. You may not like it now, but you will probably understand later.Yikes. I’ve talked to representatives from Emotiva and NAD about this, and, while both parties agree that the CD is “a sunset medium,” both also feel that reports of the format’s demise are premature. On the other hand, over at AudioStream, Michael Lavorgna has heard from industry veterans who say the CD is already yesterday’s news. Computer audio is not only the way of the future; it’s the present.
