Some time ago, I ripped all my CDs (1,000+, 85% classical) to lossless FLAC digital files. Everything’s on the tablet beside my comfy chair (also on my phone), fed to the DAC and then the amp on the chair-side table. I only listen via headphones these days, and use UAPP as my music player. I had removed all the booklets and placed them in a file box so I could get to them if I wanted. The advantages to all digital: convenient, no loss of quality with FLAC, and portable if I want. But… the best you have on the tablet is the cover, none of the other booklet info, which was often quiet informative. I’ve found I miss handling the physical media. There is just something satisfying about holding the jewel case in hand and placing the CD in the player. It’s akin to the tactile joy that vinyl junkies feel with albums.
Anyway, I now have a TEAC CD transport (no electronics to plug in headphones or speakers, just spins the disc and sends the raw signal to the DAC). I have placed all the booklets back in their respective jewel cases with the CDs. Did some re-organizing of the equipment on my chair-side table. I still have the tablet there, since about 1/4 of the music is downloads w/o physical media. So, best of both worlds now.
If I am being lazy, I fire up the tablet and cue up some stuff. For more serious listening, I go the shelves, pick some CDs I want to listen to and stack them on the chair-side table, sit in my comfy chair with snacks or drink at hand, and listen the old(er) fashioned way.
AND… physical media is better for the artist, pay-wise, than any of the streaming services (Spotify, Amazon, Deezer, I’m looking at you!
In my case, I pay the least attention to the music when it’s streaming. Unless I sit down on the floor and put on headphones. But if I do that, I’m likely going to put on a vinyl LP. I pay more attention to a spinning CD than to a stream, more still to a vinyl LP.
I feel you about booklets. I buy downloads occasionally, but won’t if there’s no booklet available. Using Qobuz through Roon is pretty good for booklets – you can open them up in Acrobat and save them as .pdfs.
I will also say this: With a portable player, yes, streaming on an app is easier. But the setup at home, with Roon, is a flipping pain in the ass. The promise of that app is amazing, but it’s always disconnecting, buffering, etc. Tremendously frustrating and I spend more time messing with it than listening to it. I’m getting a new PC this weekend, and if the additional memory doesn’t solve the problems, I’m done with it.
That’s very surprising, this certainly hasn’t been my experience at all. I do have to restart the server application once in ahwile (maybe once a month, if that), but other than that have found the software to work extremely well. What are your system specs? I’m running a Ryzen 5900X with 32GB of RAM.
I just recently spent three hours on Saturday afternoon at my favorite store, Rasputin’s Music in Berkeley, CA. They have everything: Vinyl, CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray, even posters and t-shirts. I looked at everything digital. If I had a record player, I’d have added another hour just for the vinyl selections.
The place is a blast from the past in terms of physical media. I ended up spending $87 USD on some stuff I just don’t have on my Sony Walkmans yet. I used my car CD player and my old Panasonic portable CD player plus an IEM to enjoy them first. One day soon I’ll rip the CDs to files and sync them to my Walkmans. Then the CDs and the Blu-ray I bought will go on my media shelf.
I appreciate the reply. At present only 16GB RAM, which I strongly suspect is the problem. But I ordered last week a new Surface Pro with 32 GB RAM. I’ll be picking it up Saturday and hoping everything runs smoothly.
I’d be cautious about newer CD units myself. That’s because a lot of the newer mechanisms are incapable of gap-less playback. For me, that is a big deal. Many of my favorite bands recorded concept albums that cannot be interrupted between tracks transition because a CD player can’t do gap-less playback.
I chose the TEAC PD-301. It handles gapless just fine. But your concern is a valid one, and one I checked before purchase. So far, I am pleased with the unit.
Right? I think it’s funny how newer CD players, especially portable CD players, seem worse than what you could get in 1998. It’s as if we had to go through a “Dark Ages” period of CD players, and now we’re in the early Renaissance.
I’ll be honest, the only reason I’d buy physical media nowadays is for the artwork. $30 - 40 is the price of some home decor art, so why not spend that on a cool vinyl record and get the sleeve with it? I think it’s a real shame that the art of putting together a beautiful, cohesive, overall physical package is now lost when we can buy everything digital now.
