Which format are you using most?

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

I think this poll has put to rest the superiority claims of vinyl junkies.

well Robert, to be honest, I shoulda voted vinyl since that is by far the medium I prefer... but I have to have a CD to play my vinyl in the car... and now 3/4 of my cars do not have a CD player so I voted MP3 only out of necessity, not preference.

[Sunlight Caller]

I buy either CD or Vinyl but generally rip straight to digital for listening in the car or on the move, then it becomes easier to stream from my iPhone to digital speakers round the house too. I buy physical because of (a) habit (b) collectors mentality (c) to reward the artists ... I may one day make the break because it’s pretty crazy in space and storage grounds and planetary resources.

[Vic2012]

I thought I was gonna hunker down all day because Corona, so I decided to sort and count all my CDs. Well, I sorted 'em but didn't count 'em. I'm exhausted. But I doubt I'll ever buy another CD. I've been streaming for a couple years now on YT, gratis. I've heard hundreds of complete albums and entire discographies. I can even bluetooth the phone in my car and my cheapo sound system at home.

I'm keeping the CDs though. I would not mind thinning down the collection but no one's buying or trading anymore.

[NogbadTheBad]

I thought I was gonna hunker down all day because Corona, so I decided to sort and count all my CDs. Well, I sorted 'em but didn't count 'em. I'm exhausted. But I doubt I'll ever buy another CD. I've been streaming for a couple years now on YT, gratis. I've heard hundreds of complete albums and entire discographies. I can even bluetooth the phone in my car and my cheapo sound system at home.

I'm keeping the CDs though. I would not mind thinning down the collection but no one's buying or trading anymore.

Please tell me you buy downloads of the albums you like on YT not just streaming them for free endlessly.

[Vic2012]

Please tell me you buy downloads of the albums you like on YT not just streaming them for free endlessly.

No I'm not buying any downloads. The music is available on YT for listening. I don't think I'm doing anything wrong. One day it'll all end.

[rcarlberg]

well Robert, to be honest, I shoulda voted vinyl since that is by far the medium I prefer... but I have to have a CD to play my vinyl in the car... and now 3/4 of my cars do not have a CD player so I voted MP3 only out of necessity, not preference.

I think I used the wrong word when I said "superiority." What I really meant was "dominance" or "ascendance" or "market share" or something.

[yamishogun]

I work for the NSA and at the cafeteria we all chill out to our favorite tunes that go directly into our brain implant. You guys are really going to like the Gates of Delirium when you get this music upgrade in 2029.

[dropforge]

Discs.

[Mr.Krautman]

I still have my collection of (3-4.000) vinyl LP's but very rarely listen to them, only when I'm forced to because it's not available in CD-format. As far as I am concerned CD is the perfect media and I am quite frustrated by the current trendy "vinyl-only" reissues (which I don't buy). I eagerly look forward to the CD-revival. (which should come back sooner or later, the sooner being the better.)

[moecurlythanu]

The CD revival will come when the Prog-Rock revival sweeps the nation.

[Mr.Krautman]

The CD revival will come when the Prog-Rock revival sweeps the nation.

Very soon then... or am I a little bit over-optimistic ?

[moecurlythanu]

Very soon then... or am I a little bit over-optimistic ?

Maybe a wee bit. <holds fingers 1/8 inch apart>

[progmatist]

I don't see any reason the CD will come back. Around the time the CD came out, and for the 1 or 2 decades following, the CD ROM held massive amounts of data. Also around that time, 16 Kilobytes of RAM was a massive amount of memory. Not long after, 1 Megabyte of RAM was an insane amount of memory. Today, a CD holds a paltry amount of data. Even a DVD ROM isn't that much data. Most large programs require a set of several DVD ROMs to install all the features.

[Mr.Krautman]

I don't see any reason the CD will come back. Around the time the CD came out, and for the 1 or 2 decades following, the CD ROM held massive amounts of data. Also around that time, 16 Kilobytes of RAM was a massive amount of memory. Not long after, 1 Megabyte of RAM was an insane amount of memory. Today, a CD holds a paltry amount of data. Even a DVD ROM isn't that much data. Most large programs require a set of several DVD ROMs to install all the features.

Sure, but considering the technical specifications alone and limited storage capacity the old analogue (obsolete) vinyl disc never should have experienced a massive rebirth either. But it did.

[progmatist]

^^ Vinyl records are a different animal. Unlike digital, or even analog tape in which sound is encoded, the audio waveform is physically cut into the record surface.

EDIT: Comparing what's cut in the grooves of a record to what's on a CD is like comparing the old analog TV signal to what's on a DVD. In today's digital TV standard, thanks to the Mpeg-2 compression also used on DVDs, it's possible to broadcast a 1080i main channel and 2 SD sub-channels, or a 720P main channel and 4 SD sub-channels in exactly the same bandwidth as a single analog TV channel. The reason the PAL standard was able to improve upon the NTSC standard was by reducing the frame rate from 30 to 25, that freed enough bandwidth to increase the resolution.

[Mr.Krautman]

^^ Vinyl records are a different animal. Unlike digital, or even analog tape in which sound is encoded, the audio waveform is physically cut into the record surface.

EDIT: Comparing what's cut in the grooves of a record to what's on a CD is like comparing the old analog TV signal to what's on a DVD. In today's digital TV standard, thanks to the Mpeg-2 compression also used on DVDs, it's possible to broadcast a 1080i main channel and 2 SD sub-channels, or a 720P main channel and 4 SD sub-channels in exactly the same bandwidth as a single analog TV channel. The reason the PAL standard was able to improve upon the NTSC standard was by reducing the frame rate from 30 to 25, that freed enough bandwidth to increase the resolution.

Completely irrevelant. We're not talking about technical details and data coding systems but the possible unexpected wide resurgence of an old exctinct music media which was once considered as obsolete, whether digital or analog. If it happened with the vinyl disc it could also happen with the CD (or the Philips music cassette).

[rcarlberg]

Unlike digital, or even analog tape in which sound is encoded, the audio waveform is physically cut into the record surface.

Sure, if you ignore the bias frequency and the RIAA curve.

[progmatist]

Completely irrevelant. We're not talking about technical details and data coding systems but the possible unexpected wide resurgence of an old exctinct music media which was once considered as obsolete, whether digital or analog. If it happened with the vinyl disc it could also happen with the CD (or the Philips music cassette).

What is relevant is walking or driving around with a stack of CDs is like doing so with a stack of 5.25" floppies in the year 2005. As many 5.25" high density floppies would fit on a CD-R is how many CDs ripped in lossless FLAC format will fit on a thumb drive, or (Micro) SD Card. Using lossy compression, multiply that to thousands.

[rcarlberg]

We're not talking about technical details and data coding systems but the possible unexpected wide resurgence of an old extinct music media which was once considered as obsolete, whether digital or analog. If it happened with the vinyl disc it could also happen with the CD (or the Philips music cassette).

LPs were never "extinct." They were quickly supplanted by Compact Discs in the marketplace because of their higher profit margins and superior specs, but LPs never went away completely. Hence, not extinct. There were a few male LPs and a few female LPs hidden away somewhere in a cave in Mongolia. The LP gene pool was severely compressed, and the resulting offspring have shown many signs of genetic damage from inbreeding, but LPs are still a valid media.

Compact Discs have seen a decline in sales as online streaming and downloads supplant them, but they're nowhere near extinct either. The overall sales of all music media are down, as free alternatives are plentiful. The "music industry" is on its knees.

But music lives on, and there is more variety and more quality available now than any time before in history.

[Mr.Krautman]

"...But music lives on, and there is more variety and more quality available now than any time before in history.

That's the most important point, and really a good thing. Period

[Steve983]

Streamers are going to find it hard when the internet goes down.

[aith01]

Streamers are going to find it hard when the internet goes down.

When "the internet goes down"? As in, the entire Internet is going to go down? Why?

[Plasmatopia]

Streamers are going to find it hard when the internet goes down.

Unless we're talkin' porn, then not so much.

[yesstiles]

Cd's, then Lp's.

Streaming or Digital Files........never!

[Superfly]

I voted for CD's since I listen to them at home and in the car. At work it's the ipod classic, but all the music on the ipod is ripped from the CD's. I never stream anything, not because I can't, it's because I don't want to. Gave up vinyl many years ago...surface noise doesn't appeal to me all that much.