Dumb question but am curious if one is better than the other.

I usually buy CDs for music. Call me somewhat old fashioned.

Is it better to buy a CD then rip it so that I can access from my phone as well? Or better to buy from iTunes and then burn a CD when I want to listen on my stereo or in my car?

I want to access my music both via CD and via devices like my phone. But not sure if it’s better to buy the CD or if it doesn’t matter. Digital is digital.

I haven’t bought a CD in ages since I’ve figured out iTunes. FYI, I bought a separate iPod touch that I keep in my car so I can listen to my entire music library. Any car you get than 10 years should have that capability.

That said, I think the compression to mp3 kills the sound quality of the music. If you listen to CDs on the home stereo too, then VDs are the way to go. Just burn the discs to mp3 for car travel. Or use the CD player in the car if you have one. Just a bit more limited on the music selection.

Cool thanks. Okay, buy CDs and rip to mp3 for phone.

Car only has CD player - my cars are older than 10 years. Actually older than 20 years - I still have a cassette player. .

Lately I buy Vinyl and stream!

I’ve been curious about the re-popularity of vinyl. I didn’t like vinyl when it was the only thing available. Well other than some form of tape. I’ve loved CDs ever since they became affordable. Why is vinyl popular again?

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I’ve been curious about the re-popularity of vinyl. I didn’t like vinyl when it was the only thing available. Well other than some form of tape. I’ve loved CDs ever since they became affordable. Why is vinyl popular again?

Pops and hisses! Vinyl seems to be a lot more reliable. than it was back in the day and a lot of bands are putting out special edition colored vinyl. I don't always play it but when I do i shake the china cabinet!

I burn the CDs into WAV. files then transfer to my mp3 player.

Vinyl is better for Rock & Roll. CDs are better for classical and jazz. At least in my opinion.

New cars aren't typically sold with CD players anymore. I buy used cars. The last 2 were 2018 models. Both had capability to plug in my iPhone and play my music.
I'm also a musician and putting out my 3rd album in a few months. The first two I've had CD's made (replicated, not duplicated - in other words not burned)as well as USB's. They're all also on all the streaming services. I might do a digital card for this next album, I'm just not sure. Just so you know, when one of my songs is streamed, depending on the service, I get paid between .002 and .004 cents, never more than a half penny. If I had a million streams (will never happen) I'd get paid about $4,000. If I sold 400 CD's at $10 I could get $4,000.
This wasn't your question though. I like having a CD, but digital music is the present and future. Musicians, on the other hand, aren't the future.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Cool thanks. Okay, buy CDs and rip to mp3 for phone.

Car only has CD player - my cars are older than 10 years. Actually older than 20 years - I still have a cassette player. .

Bet you still have a cigarette lighter in your cars, don't you?

Depends. A lot of musicians only have one or two good songs per release. So it is more economical to go get the singles off iTunes. But a few artists I will buy the CD and rip to .mp3.

I ripped all my CD's along time ago. I use Spotify but if I really want to own it I buy the MP3's from Amazon, DRM free. Not everything is available to stream, and I like to create my own MP3 playlists to have in the car.

What's a CD...?

Oh, you mean a Coaster Disc?



()

I like to have a physical copy. Also maximizes what the artist profits

I buy CDs then rip onto the NAS in flac format

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Why is vinyl popular again?

Fashion, and short memories.

People forget about all the downsides of LPs. While the theoretical advantage of analog signal stream is true, most people could not hear the sonic differences between lossless digital (Flac, e.g.) and vinyl in a true A/B test.

I say that, but of course they could: the sound stream with zero pops, hisses, wow, flutter, potato-chip disc playback distortion, fuzziness from dirty needles or discs, scratches, skips, or audio feedback from having loud speakers too near an undamped turnable - that would be the sound coming from digital content.

Then you factor in the conveniences...among which are:
- can play more than a few minutes without interruption to flip sides or change records;
- no degradation with times played;
- no need to clean discs or stylus between playings;
- ability to group, randomly play;
- can control the playback remotely;
- don't need to store discs near the player (once you've digitized)
- can be played on tiny, portable devices (as well as computers, TVs, cars, etc.);
- easy and lossless to copy to play on other devices
- can play out of order, skip songs you don't like, repeat ad nauseum, etc.

It's a continual amazement to me that people have gone back to vinyl at all. But it's the 'in thing' and very expensive, so of course it must be better. Hold on to your bell-bottoms!

I buy CDs rip them in to the FLAC format so there is no quality loss.
They are then available on my Plex server and available on all my devices. It does not take any storage on my phone (aside from having the Plex app installed) and I don’t have to worry about loosing quality either.

Many music downloads are not full audio quality.
Mp3 specifically is complete crap in regard to audio quality.

quote:

New cars aren't typically sold with CD players anymore.

Have you looked into the glove compartment?

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
I buy CDs rip them in to the FLAC format so there is no quality loss.
They are then available on my Plex server and available on all my devices. It does not take any storage on my phone (aside from having the Plex app installed) and I don’t have to worry about loosing quality either.

Dumb question perhaps: If I get a NAS and rip all my CD's in FLAC format to the NAS, can I use my apple tv (and iphones) device to play the music? This would perhaps simplify things for me a bit.

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:
People forget about all the downsides of LPs.

Good list - brings back memories and reminders of why I hated LPs. I'll never be an audiophile I guess (not that I could afford to be one).

Wife wanted to get rid of my 15YO desktop PC and then i realized i had no CD players left in my home. Got hundreds of CDs i started collecting since the mid 80s.
Ripped 1/3 not to long ago but am to lazy to fetch the rest from the building storage room.

CD are your to keep but in large quantities they take some noticeable space.

My current music collection , less than 3GB, is stored in a NAS, FLAC and MP3 mostly and comes mainly from the internet. I use no services like itunes, spotify, etc.

CD players are a vanishing species.

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I buy used CD's, either online or thrift shops and then rip 'em. I scan the covers also.