The future of collecting

[vinteuil]

I have always enjoyed browsing my cd shelves in search of inspiration for cds to take on car journeys of any reasonable length, not least commuting to work. A recent change of car brought me to a crisis as the car I bought has no cd player. (Admittedly I could and should have noted that before buying, but that`s another tale.) :

... many thanks for the salutary warning. Some time in the next year or so we will need a new car; our current Golf and its predecessor Fiat both had multi-CD facilities (six with the Golf, ten (in the boot) with the Fiat) : I think such things are now history, but I have such happy memories of selecting a clutch of CDs in preparation for long European journeys.

.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I think such things are now history, but I have such happy memories of selecting a clutch of CDs in preparation for long European journeys.

Not at all. Don't let anyone grind you down.

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/technology/car-stereos/rcd-models

[vinteuil]

.

... thanks, Alpie - that may be very useful!

.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

.

... thanks, Alpie - that may be very useful!

.

You're welcome. I think the difference is that now CD players are often an optional extra. It was Ford who started the trend, with some hasty and ill-considered hype several years ago.

[Dave2002]

I've mostly stopped buying CDs these days - it's not just the lack of space but the easy availability of streaming services. The only CDs I still buy are those from series which I have started buying on disc and so will continue to do so until they are finished. Once those half dozen are completed, then that's it! (aside from the discs which I review which I will continue with)...

Fair enough, though isn't it still a slight extra faff having to copy downloads onto a USB to use in the car? Further, you mention streaming, which is not quite the same. Some services are now veering towards streaming, rather than offering downloads which could be listened to "off-line". Access to streaming services is arguably OK for domestic use but for mobile use surely it doesn't quite work - or have I missed something? ... very probably!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

When the streaming service shuts down, or you hit hard times and can't afford the subscription, what do you have? I'm alright, Jack, because I can play a couple of thousand CDs.

[jayne lee wilson]

When the streaming service shuts down, or you hit hard times and can't afford the subscription, what do you have. I'm alright, Jack, because I can play a couple of thousand CDs.

Absolutely - about having 1000s of CDs, why worry about a streaming service shutting down? It really does depend on where you are, and how you see, the future of your listening life.

I love Qobuz HiFi lossless Streaming simply because it gives me instant access to New Releases and the facility to search for unfamiliar music and recordings (after a BaL say, or out of sheer curiosity), in very good sound, for a very good-value price; so I can listen whenever I like and sometimes decide to buy the files or the physical disc after that. But often, I don't feel the need to.

If I was much younger it would all come down to - income, to where I lived and how I listened or could listen - storage space, neighbours, possible volume levels and so on... I'm not sure I would worry too much about services going out of business as the streaming model is of a kind that should become both more prevalent, and more competitive. Most services don't ask for minimum contracts, so you could just sign up for a new subscription as the need arose.

But physical carriers - whether CD, LP, or Cassette, are bound to retain a certain cachet for many of us - for physical presence, the collector's lure, artwork or the fine sound you can achieve from some dedicated playback systems. In my own case, redbook-only vintage CD transports.

[Jonathan]

Fair enough, though isn't it still a slight extra faff having to copy downloads onto a USB to use in the car? Further, you mention streaming, which is not quite the same. Some services are now veering towards streaming, rather than offering downloads which could be listened to "off-line". Access to streaming services is arguably OK for domestic use but for mobile use surely it doesn't quite work - or have I missed something? ... very probably!

True, it is a faff but I have over a thousand CDs anyway and our car does actually have a CD player so it's not a problem yet! With regard to streaming services, if you had unlimited data you could certainly run it via a mobile phone but I don't buy enough data to run a streaming service via that in the car (plus there's the small issue of the sometimes inadequate signal round here and the rubbish speaker on phones - although you could channel that through the car via the aux cable (maybe)).

Alpie - I've already fallen on hard times but I paid my subscription up front when I was still working so that is not currently a problem. As detailed above, I do have a lot of discs anyway!

[Cockney Sparrow]

I very much regret buying a 2015 model car with no CD Player and satnav, reversing camera, bluetooth, USB so integrated it cannot be disturbed and no inbuilt facility to add in a CD player of any sort (in the past I had a cassette with 3 CDs located under the passenger seat). Having received the approval of Mrs CS for the car in question, I purchased and then realised the drawback. Manufacturers and their apologist salesman see no need for them as everyone listens to "tracks" don't they?

I mostly listen to Google Play via bluetooth but I found this, (Amazon ref below), which works:
Apeman Portable DVD Player, 7.5'' for Kids and Car
ASIN: B071D59RLK

The player outputs a sufficient signal into my AUX input (3.5mm Jack) and is not affected by bumps and movement of the car. However it is a loose unit in the car, and only shows track numbers on the screen. So difficult (= not with sufficient attention to be safe when driving) to use when driving alone and too much of a faff on a short journey. When on a longer journey with my wife (usually) one of us can use it.
I wonder if any manufacturer will offer the option of CD player or at least a facility to plug one in. They will get my vote, but I'm not optimistic.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Manufacturers and their apologist salesman see no need for them as everyone listens to "tracks" don't they?

I thought it was "songs". Strauss's Alpine Symphony has 22 songs, but no singers. My Spanish Linguaphone course has over 200 "songs" but if there are any songs, they're all unaccompanied Sprechstimme.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Alpie - I've already fallen on hard times but I paid my subscription up front when I was still working so that is not currently a problem.

Really sorry to hear that.

[Jonathan]

Thanks! I've had several interviews but no news yet...

[Serial_Apologist]

Thanks! I've had several interviews but no news yet...

Good luck my friend. At 72 I've long been retired, and I enjoy a largish collection of LPs, some inherited from my late father, cassettes and CDs, and just thinking that new and future media formats seems less likely to encourage the physical sharing that is so much a part of what was once meant by "community" brings a swelling lump to my throat. One may want to expand one's collection too, in line with one's expanding musical worldview, if such a thing remains possible.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Just imagine trying to pass on your online collection to your family. My father only had to tell me where the perennial flower (in the family since the mid-19th century) was, when he was on his deathbed. There was no need to ask for a series of passwords and user names to locate all the heirlooms to be passed on.

[richardfinegold]

When the streaming service shuts down, or you hit hard times and can't afford the subscription, what do you have? I'm alright, Jack, because I can play a couple of thousand CDs.

I already had one service, Classics Online, shut down on me, and I remember a chill of anxiety that ran through the Quobuz users here when they went into receivership