Needles & Grooves

I'm also starting to seriously shop for an audiophile CD player. I've got 500 shiny discs packed up in a closet i'd love to spin

It’s the cirrrrrrrcle of liiiiife!

Make no mistake, I like vinyl first and foremost, this is "Phase 2" of Quality over Quantity. There are albums I really like, but can't stand listening to them on vinyl because I don't think they sound good, and this is after looking for the best sounding pressing I can find, if it even exists, so it's easier to spend a, literal, few bucks and have the CD minus the "audible" frustration

Beware of so-so CDs too! I've been debating getting a CD player one of these days too but think it would just cause me to spend even more money since I do not have a CD collection anymore

I just never had an interest in CDs

They just seemed like the same thing I could get streamed with no real benefits

@duke86fan you could theoretically say the same about vinyl and 24bit digital streams though. It's physical media which people like to own. Even comparing CDs to vinyl, CDs often have better dynamic range than vinyl. Vinyl is limited in dynamic range and the range of frequencies because the stylus has trouble tracking too much bass and distorts high end frequencies.

@MikeH , I know there are some poor quality CDs out there, but taking a chance with only spending $2-3 (I'm talking used) over $15 -20 on an album is an easier pill to swallow......my opinion of course

i guess i just find CDs not as much space compared to my vinyl (because i use my vinyl a lot more than CD, and otherwise i would just use a stream.. though my brother would probably like getting a boombox). i find LPs more fun to listen to an streaming/ digital files more enjoyable personally but i understand liking a CD player

Oh, LPs are definitely more fun, but CDs are more consistent in quality. Part of the fun of the vinyl hobby is tracking down not just your favorite album but the best version of your favorite album. CDs make it easy to enjoy the best version all the time, at the cost of reduced personal interaction with the art of it all

$1-$3 CDs are great, you can rip uncompressed (FLAC/WAV) for computer playback (better than most streams) or high-res lossy for mobile playback. In my car I don't hear a difference between 320 kbps MP3 and lossless.

Just be glad you didn’t get one that also plays SACDs, that’s a whole other wormhole that I keeping trying to forget exists...