Why buy CDs?

[Dave2002]

Yesterday I happened to be in one of the remaining HMV shops, and saw a few interesting CDs on offer. Two were of some interest - Colin Davis and the LSO playing Nielsen symphonies (LSO Live - £6) and the other was Harnoncourt conducting Haydn's Nelson Mass (£5).

I didn't buy them - preferring to buy a couple of others instead. However when I got home I thought I'd check to see if I could listen to the performances on Spotify. The Nielsen symphonies are on Spotify, and there is a recording by Harnoncourt of the Nelson Mass - though I'm not absolutely sure if it's the same one.

Most of us know, or would at least expect that, the sound quality on Spotify is lower than a CD. Despite that, the SQ is arguably acceptable for most people, for most purposes, and in the future we could expect that the SQ from streamed or downloaded sources would be at least as good, or even better. This is already the case for some providers (e.g Linn) - though at a price.

My monthly premium for Spotify is slightly less than the amount I paid for 2 CDs which were on offer yesterday. I also subscribe to Rhapsody/Napster, though listen to it less, but it has a lower subscription cost. It is useful for exploring performances which are not on Spotify - and there are quite a few of those.

Re the CDs I didn't buy, I may still go back and buy them anyway, though I wonder whether this really doesn't make sense. In the case of Davis/Nielsen the performances are decent, but if I can listen on Spotify, why would I need the CDs? Re the Harnoncourt, I found quite quickly that I wasn't immediately attracted to the performance, though it's probably decent enough. This raises another question - "should I buy it anyway, and see if in time I get to like it?".

Do others sometimes buy CDs which are different from what they're used to, just to see if in the longer term they find something worthwhile to take away?

[Ferretfancy]

I've reached the stage that if I visit a second hand shop like Gramex,I find myself buying something without realising that I've already got it! I'm not in a position to download music for serious listening,at least not without difficulty, as my iMac and sound system are at opposite ends of the room. No doubt I could hook it up, but in any case I like to have a physical object to contemplate and read the notes.

I tend to look out for bargains in music that I don't really know. A recent example was the Kabalevsky Piano Concertos with Kathryn Stott on Chandos. This one was a mistake, as the music is not very interesting and the recording is over reverberant, but it was worth hearing them.

I wonder if others find that if they have improved their hi-fi system they have to go out and find something spectacular to give it a treat?

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

no not any more .... i have far too many cds for the shelves and no space etc .... i find mp3 downloads and ebooks far more to my liking these days ... [hi fi with my aged ears! loud is good ]


...and i must confess that browsing racks murders my back ....

[umslopogaas]

I still buy CDs regularly, I've no interest in downloads and like to own the object. I started buying vinyl in my teens and still do, on the increasingly rare occasions I can locate any decent secondhand items. I dont buy on ebay, I've heard bad stories about quality and anyway, I dont like handing over credit card details. My local hi fi dealer orders up CDs for me every month after Gramophone has told me what I should buy. I avoid the familiar in favour of music and composers I dont know: Beethoven was undoubtedly a great composer, but I've got enough versions of his symphonies, life is too short to keep listening to new versions of the Pastoral. I would happily buy secondhand CDs, but am no longer living close to appropriate secondhand shops - probably just as well for my bank balance (or imbalance, as it would frequently be more appropriately described!).

Recent purchases, all on Gramophone recommendations: Martinu six symphonies cond. Belohlavek; Allan Pettersson sixth symphony cond. Lindberg; Poulenc complete chamber works played by the London Conchord Ensemble; Lalo, Magnard and Ravel cello sonatas; Guillaume Lekeu piano trio and quartet (never heard of Lekeu? Nor me, Belgian, lived in Paris, died 1894 of typhoid aged only 24, so didnt leave us much).

If I improve my hifi system, rather than go out and buy a new disc to celebrate I will probably trawl through my collection to play again something I already have. However, I have stopped buying new hifi equipment on the grounds that the limiting factor is now not the equipment, but my ears. My last equipment purchase, which has made a very noticeable improvement, was a sub-woofer: my bookshelf speakers are good, but inevitably a bit bass light. The sub-woofer really beefs up the sound of orchestral music, especially on vinyl from Decca and the like.

[JFLL]

... Guillaume Lekeu piano trio and quartet (never heard of Lekeu? Nor me, Belgian, lived in Paris, died 1894 of typhoid aged only 24, so didnt leave us much).

I hadn’t until some years ago when I heard the Méditation for string quartet on the radio, and instantly liked it. Since then I’ve acquired the unfinished Piano Quartet, the Piano Trio in C minor, the Violin Sonata and the Cello Sonata. Recommended if you like fin-de-siècle chamber music in the Fauré/Franck/Chausson mould, eh?

[Roehre]

I still buy CDs regularly, I've no interest in downloads and like to own the object. I started buying vinyl in my teens and still do, on the increasingly rare occasions I can locate any decent secondhand items. I dont buy on ebay, I've heard bad stories about quality and anyway, I dont like handing over credit card details. My local hi fi dealer orders up CDs for me every month after Gramophone has told me what I should buy. I avoid the familiar in favour of music and composers I dont know: Beethoven was undoubtedly a great composer, but I've got enough versions of his symphonies, life is too short to keep listening to new versions of the Pastoral. I would happily buy secondhand CDs, but am no longer living close to appropriate secondhand shops - probably just as well for my bank balance (or imbalance, as it would frequently be more appropriately described!).....

That makes two of us Umslopogaas, I could have written this

[VodkaDilc]

That makes two of us Umslopogaas, I could have written this

Three of us!

[Ferretfancy]

Three of us!

Four of us ! ( see message 2 )

[VodkaDilc]

Four of us ! ( see message 2 )

I see that there is a thread titled "The Myths of DAB". I think that the talk of the demise of the CD could be compared with the FM/DAB debate. Downloads are out-numbering CD sales in the popular music areas, but I am convinced that classical listeners are more than happy with CDs - for all the reasons mentioned above. I see no reason to change to downloads - and certainly no reason to spend hours transferring CDs to a hard-drive box.

The myth of the demise of the (classical) CD just suits certain commercial interests.

[MickyD]

I wish I knew the answer to this question; it has been raised before on these boards. I look around my study at the thousands of CDs which surround me and I know full well I will never have time to listen to them all, let alone starting downloads. But somehow I never fail to be tempted by new releases, bargain boxes etc. Ah, what it is to be a compulsive collector...

[mikealdren]

I tend to look out for bargains in music that I don't really know. A recent example was the Kabalevsky Piano Concertos with Kathryn Stott on Chandos.

Did you buy this at Gramex on 31st and was it you I spoke to about them? If so, glad to have met you and I wish I had known it was you, we could have talked at length!!

Mike

[Barbirollians]

I dislike the lack of a tangible object with downloads - I seem to end up putting them on Cd-Rs anyway.

[pastoralguy]

I think ones age is a deciding factor. As my 50th birthday hurtles towards me I'm aware that I'm of a generation that expected to have something put in a paper bag in exchange for money. Hence, our spare bedroom contains some 12,000 CDs! (I'm VERY lucky in having a wife who encourages my obsession).

However, I appreciate that you can't stop progress and downloads will, one day, take over from physical objects. What I find odd is that whilst I love having access to 100's of books and movies on my iPad (saves so much space!) I really love the ritual of listening to CDs. And having built up my Hi-Fi system over 30 odd years I don't think downloads Will suffice in terms of sound quality for me. (And I really can't be bothered with the skitter of wireless connections).


I'd like to mention that I've thousands of CDs from eBay in the last 10 years and have had maybe 3 or 4 duds in that time. Some of the bargains I've had have been amazing as well as many long out of print discs.

In answer to umslopogass, well, for me trying to find the Holy Grail of popular pieces is part of the fun. I LOVE hearing new versions of the Pastoral Symphony and hearing those oh so familiar notes played just a wee bit differently. I do see his point that one can 'like what one knows and know what one likes' and I do try to follow my old University tutors advice of listening to new music but, after a day of working with very ill people, it's the old friends I like best.

Just my three 'happence worth.

[Flosshilde]

I still buy CDs regularly, I've no interest in downloads and like to own the object.

Five - & counting!

CDs are much more convenient - switch on CD player, take CD off the shelf, place in CD player, press 'play' & listen.

[teamsaint]

I am a LONG way from giving up buying CD's . Just love them , and I want lots more, as my collection is kids stuff compared to most on the board !!
Lots of music i still want to have a physical copy of.
Any good tips on where or how to buy whole or part collections would be welcome. I never seem to look in the right places!