Perfect Sound Forever: The CD Thread

BjorgenFjorgen

BjorgenFjorgen

Well-Known Member
Vinyl's great, of course, but for several reasons over the last year or so (cost, quality control, running out of space in a small apartment, etc.) I've been drawn back a bit to CDs. My Sunday afternoons usually include a little browsing at the used/overstock book store near me, in the basement music section. I've loved being able to take a chance on something that looks interesting for a total of $5.67, tax inclusive. Feels more immediate, and with higher stakes, than just streaming something (which I haven't found enjoyable recently).

It was also the primary format (physically, anyway) during my youth/when I was getting into music, so it will always have a powerful nostalgic draw for me. If my apartment went up in flames, I don't know if I'd grab any records. I'd certainly grab a couple CDs I have in my night table.

Last night I listened to Endtroducing..... for the first time ever. Amazing! I've been picking new ones up more recently, too, and I'm starting to amass a little micro-collection. I've got 300+ in my parents' basement, but the 40 or however many I have here right now feel a bit like the early days of collecting CDs or vinyl in the first place. "This is what I've got. So, what am I listening to?" I think there's value to that limitation in a way. Been enjoying it.

So post about some of your favourite CDs, or memories or whatever. Post new grabs you're excited to hear. Or make fun of them, whatever, all's good. Maybe some time we can organize a mix CD exchange.

Okay, back to Loose Fur and Endtroducing...
 
I've been enjoying getting back into CDs for the same reasons. I have more nostalgia for them than record players really. My first stereo system that was my own, I bought because it had a CD player. I spent an evening last week playing through a stack of random mix CDs I made almost 20 years ago, lol. I used Siri to help me remember names of songs. Some songs were ones I've been trying to remember for years.

These ones specifically sound really good on CD. I have a vinyl copy of the Damien Rice and I think the CD sounds better.

Damien Rice - O
Craig Armstrong -As If to Nothing
Ola Gjeilo, Phoenix Chorale, and Charles Bruffy - Northern Lights (dual layer CD/SACD)

We used to do a mix cd monthly club, it was kinda fun.

I need to pick up Endtroducing as well, I've been exploring 90s crate digging electronic music with my recent jump back into CDs. Stuff that was originally made for CDs. A 2xLP to accomodate CD tracklisting is one of my vinyl pet peeves :)
 
BjorgenFjorgen said:
Vinyl's great, of course, but for several reasons over the last year or so (cost, quality control, running out of space in a small apartment, etc.) I've been drawn back a bit to CDs. My Sunday afternoons usually include a little browsing at the used/overstock book store near me, in the basement music section. I've loved being able to take a chance on something that looks interesting for a total of $5.67, tax inclusive. Feels more immediate, and with higher stakes, than just streaming something (which I haven't found enjoyable recently).

It was also the primary format (physically, anyway) during my youth/when I was getting into music, so it will always have a powerful nostalgic draw for me. If my apartment went up in flames, I don't know if I'd grab any records. I'd certainly grab a couple CDs I have in my night table.

Last night I listened to Endtroducing..... for the first time ever. Amazing! I've been picking new ones up more recently, too, and I'm starting to amass a little micro-collection. I've got 300+ in my parents' basement, but the 40 or however many I have here right now feel a bit like the early days of collecting CDs or vinyl in the first place. "This is what I've got. So, what am I listening to?" I think there's value to that limitation in a way. Been enjoying it.

So post about some of your favourite CDs, or memories or whatever. Post new grabs you're excited to hear. Or make fun of them, whatever, all's good. Maybe some time we can organize a mix CD exchange.

Okay, back to Loose Fur and Endtroducing...
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I was spinning Entroducing last week, I've got the box set, great pressin- wait a second... CD's??

I'll see myself out.
 
Got some birthday money recently and went to the bank right away to deposit that shit!
 
Kris said:
I've been enjoying getting back into CDs for the same reasons. I have more nostalgia for them than record players really. My first stereo system that was my own, I bought because it had a CD player. I spent an evening last week playing through a stack of random mix CDs I made almost 20 years ago, lol. I used Siri to help me remember names of songs. Some songs were ones I've been trying to remember for years.

These ones specifically sound really good on CD. I have a vinyl copy of the Damien Rice and I think the CD sounds better.

Damien Rice - O
Craig Armstrong -As If to Nothing
Ola Gjeilo, Phoenix Chorale, and Charles Bruffy - Northern Lights (dual layer CD/SACD)

We used to do a mix cd monthly club, it was kinda fun.

I need to pick up Endtroducing as well, I've been exploring 90s crate digging electronic music with my recent jump back into CDs. Stuff that was originally made for CDs. A 2xLP to accomodate CD tracklisting is one of my vinyl pet peeves :)
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I love it! I've gone through a few forgotten mixes in my CD binder from 2012 at the latest and been thinking about making some new ones.

I have the Damien Rice album in storage; I'll have to try to find it! Haven't heard it in forever.

Yes, totally! I think the stuff being made for CDs is a huge part of it.
 
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Yup I'm all about CDs. In fact some things I prefer on CD. For example lots of box sets or deluxe editions. Case in point - I have the Entroducing deluxe anniversary on both CD and vinyl. If I want to listen to anything other than the main album (ie all the extras) then I prefer the CDs to bounce around easier. Or the Prince SOTT deluxe. I have it on both formats but, again, for the extras, mostly prefer CD so I don't have to listen to diff versions of the same songs over and over.

Shit pressings only available? CD! Why would you suffer a crap pressing just for some weird allegiance to one format (vinyl) and blanket aversion to another (CDs)?

I also buy a lot of SACDs - jazz and classic rock mostly.

Out of a roughly 1500 piece collection maybe 1/4 is CD/SACD.
 
I was CD only up until about 7 or 8 years ago. I have about 1,000, but don't have a CD player in my main system, and the CD's are all in the garage. I ripped them all as FLAC's to a NAS, but I really don't play the files as much as I should. Really need to fix this though.
 
I, too, was primarily playing CDs until about 7 years ago. My very first recording purchases were 45s, but I got my first CD and CD player in 1988 and did not look back for decades. I only started back into vinyl when I inherited a small vinyl collection.

Consequently, my CD collection is about 4 times the size of my vinyl collection, even with my pandemic vinyl buying! I regularly buy both CDs and vinyl based on availability and cost.

My favorite CD is my first real jazz CD - The Max Roach Quartet, Pictures in a Frame. I picked it up at a used record store in the Nineties and got to see Max Roach perform live a few months later. An indelible and course changing event which made me a jazz fan forever.

I subscribe to the notion that the mastering matters more than the medium. I have a few examples of mastering that exceed their counterparts in the opposite medium. My lastest example of fine mastering on CD that would likely exceed the vinyl pressing is Joe Chambers - Samba De Maracatu, which has not been released on vinyl. It’s captivating!

store.bluenote.com

Joe Chambers - Samba De Maracatu - Blue Note Records

If the digital album is purchased, you will receive the full album via email upon purchase. Standard digital downloads are delivered as MP3 44.1khz/24-bit audio files. Please note, digital downloads are only available in the U.S. The purchase of physical music does not include a digital...
store.bluenote.com store.bluenote.com

BTW - I still have some of those early 45s and I was astonished at how good they sound today when cleaned and on a proper setup!
 
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Sonicpharmacist said:
I like cd’s too 😉

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Extremely jealous of these shelves!

Sign 'O' the Diaper Baby said:
Yup I'm all about CDs. In fact some things I prefer on CD. For example lots of box sets or deluxe editions. Case in point - I have the Entroducing deluxe anniversary on both CD and vinyl. If I want to listen to anything other than the main album (ie all the extras) then I prefer the CDs to bounce around easier. Or the Prince SOTT deluxe. I have it on both formats but, again, for the extras, mostly prefer CD so I don't have to listen to diff versions of the same songs over and over.

Shit pressings only available? CD! Why would you suffer a crap pressing just for some weird allegiance to one format (vinyl) and blanket aversion to another (CDs)?

I also buy a lot of SACDs - jazz and classic rock mostly.

Out of a roughly 1500 piece collection maybe 1/4 is CD/SACD.
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CD box sets are king, I totally agree. Some of the Dylan Bootleg Series would just be unwieldy on vinyl.

I've never actually heard an SACD but would be curious to one day.
 
BjorgenFjorgen said:
I've never actually heard an SACD but would be curious to one day.
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as in all things audiophile, YMMV -- I have some Dead Can Dance SACDs (and would like more but...yikes, the cost) and they sound phenomenal. the rolling stones SACDs are just ok; they're essentially digital masters that have been bumped to SACD. They sound nice but the source material is rough, so you're only gonna get so much of an improvement. I found Fiona's "Extraodinary Machine" SACD in a thrift store for $2, that sounds quite nice. I would compare them to mofi CDs (mofi CDs can sound better, but sometimes their mastering choices are uh not what I would have chosen.)
 
Yup, same thing. Been picking up cds for stuff I cannot get/afford on vinyl. Here are a few recent grabs. The Teenage Fanclub has 3 unreleased songs. Both Gooblehoof (Dino jr adjacent) and Change of Heart (great 90's indie rock from TO) are unavailable in any other format, not even streaming. Not owned a cd player in over 10yrs, just rip to the networked storage and bobs your uncle.

@BjorgenFjorgen which bookstore are you hitting up?
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jamieanderson1968 said:
Yup, same thing. Been picking up cds for stuff I cannot get/afford on vinyl. Here are a few recent grabs. The Teenage Fanclub has 3 unreleased songs. Both Gooblehoof (Dino jr adjacent) and Change of Heart (great 90's indie rock from TO) are unavailable in any other format, not even streaming. Not owned a cd player in over 10yrs, just rip to the networked storage and bobs your uncle.

@BjorgenFjorgen which bookstore are you hitting up?
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BMV! The big one on Bloor is just down the road from me so I've been going there for years. Only place I buy books really.
 
I was inspired to go CD hunting in the basement this morning. I found two boxes (been packed up for probably 10+ years), and not going to lie, it was like seeing old friends again. 😅

I run my Orbit into an old Panasonic stereo that has a six disc changer so I popped in a copy of The Tea Party's Splendor Solis and cranked it all the way up. Sounded awesome.

I had a bunch of CDs stolen at one point and was having a major sad when I saw that all my Alice in Chains albums, except for Jar of Flies, were gone.
 
Been a good 4 months since any activity on this thread.

I have picked up a couple of cds in August.
Teenage Fanclub - Thirteen (Japanese with 6 extra tracks)
Clash - London Calling (25th anniversary) - this includes a 2nd cd of demos plus a great little booklet.

The last couple of weeks I have created a separate Discogs account just for CD wants. Been adding a bunch of stuff to it (items that are hard to find on vinyl or too pricey, or have bonus material).

Also I have been down a bit of a rabbit hole looking up best cd versions of albums. Sadly so many cds were made in the 90s that are just terrible with compression and pre-emphasis.

Ordered 8 cds on Saturday, from 2 different discogs sellers. All together with shipping and taxes I spent about $74, hard to argue with that.
 
jamieanderson1968 said:
Also I have been down a bit of a rabbit hole looking up best cd versions of albums. Sadly so many cds were made in the 90s that are just terrible with compression and pre-emphasis.
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sucks that hardly anyone ever comments on the quality of those CDs on discogs.
where do you find any more info ?
 
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