I recently bought an external cdrom for my laptop. The library here has a wonderful cd collection.
CD sales growth outpaced vinyl in the first half of 2026
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Re: CD sales growth outpaced vinyl in the first half of 2026
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
However if you’ve tried to read those cd-rw after 20-30 years, they would most likely be corrupted. Factory stampted cds are better in this regard
Is there a reason why or is it just the quality of the materials?
CD-Rs use an organic dye which fades (or in the worst case the bonds holding it on can delaminate).
They hold up much better if stored in a dark place. A spindle on a shelf that sees sunlight is the worst case and they can become unreadable in years.
Re: CD sales growth outpaced vinyl in the first half of 2026
#73Re: CD sales growth outpaced vinyl in the first half of 2026
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there a reason why or is it just the quality of the materials?
CD-Rs use an organic dye which fades (or in the worst case the bonds holding it on can delaminate). They hold up much better if stored in a dark place. A spindle on a shelf that sees sunlight is the worst case and they can become unreadable in years.
But the above comment said CD-RW? Those are a crystal.
Re: CD sales growth outpaced vinyl in the first half of 2026
#75Buy CDs, buy vinyl, buy merch, go see shows — support artists instead of platforms and middlemen wherever you can. This is a welcome trend.
There's a couple of artists that I would absolutely buy their vinyl except the shipping is more expensive than the vinyl. I've done it a couple of times for artists I really like and appreciate, but it is most definitely cost prohibitive. So it's pay their bandcamp prices for the digitals and streaming, but the physical media is just made in too limited quantities to be affordable by anyone but FAANG employees
I’m not sure if you live in big city or not, but if so, a visit to your local vinyl shop might be able to score you a copy. Or they might be able to order it in with their shipments.
Re: CD sales growth outpaced vinyl in the first half of 2026
#76Personally, I haven’t stopped buying CDs or in certain cases DVDs and Blu-Rays - not of movies but of music. I find it interesting these “went away” but I can see why: nobody I know has a cd player to begin with. A lot of laptops nowadays don’t come with disc trays, and nobody buys a dvd bluray player. Yes, the PS or Xbox can play it but everyone just streams movies or music. So somewhere along the way it disappeared…
The one thing I hope happens with a revival of CDs/DVDs is that hopefully we get a new generation of players. I still buy movies on DVD but the players are a bit hit and miss. That said, I do frequently see Sony bluray players in second hand stores for a few dollars and that is how I have my collection of players, but that is not a sustainable system. I just wish my PC case had a slot for the drive bay, that was a fo…
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Re: CD sales growth outpaced vinyl in the first half of 2026
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
I donno Bluetooth is pretty universal now
"For whatever reason, humanity achieved a lovely little peak of engineering, and then we immediately abandoned it for worse options." "I donno Bluetooth is pretty universal now" Your comment does not disagree with GP's in the way you think it does
I guess what I'm saying is 27 different media players duct taped together does not seem like the peak of engineering. A single wireless protocol seems pretty good.
Re: CD sales growth outpaced vinyl in the first half of 2026
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple has ruined audio for a generation. I have a budget android phone with a jack and it's miles more convenient than a dongle or Bluetooth headphones which are never comfortable to me. Nothing could sell a phone with a jack, but then you don't need to pay 300$ for some crappy Bluetooth headphones
> Nothing could sell a phone with a jack, but then you don't need to pay 300$ for some crappy Bluetooth headphones Have you looked at the price of actually mediocre Bluetooth headphones recently? They’re like… $20 for a distinct fine set of true wireless headphones, including the case, even from a real brand. Certainly comparable to $20 wired headphones.
$20 BT would get you a proper BT phonecall experience but they wouldn't give you a remotely good music playback at all. BT have a lot of codecs but a $20 headset including tax and markup would not include all the fancy ones by the cost alone.
Re: CD sales growth outpaced vinyl in the first half of 2026
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
However if you’ve tried to read those cd-rw after 20-30 years, they would most likely be corrupted. Factory stampted cds are better in this regard
Is there a reason why or is it just the quality of the materials?
Stamped = Data pits are a physical, unalterable thing on the disc.
CD-R = Pits are still physical, but they are on a die layer that can fade. Some discs are more resilient (blue, gold) than others (cyan).
CD-RW = Pits are (mostly) bistable for practical purposes, but will degrade to a neutral state on a long-term basis.
Re: CD sales growth outpaced vinyl in the first half of 2026
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Nothing could sell a phone with a jack, but then you don't need to pay 300$ for some crappy Bluetooth headphones Have you looked at the price of actually mediocre Bluetooth headphones recently? They’re like… $20 for a distinct fine set of true wireless headphones, including the case, even from a real brand. Certainly comparable to $20 wired headphones.
$20 BT would get you a proper BT phonecall experience but they wouldn't give you a remotely good music playback at all. BT have a lot of codecs but a $20 headset including tax and markup would not include all the fancy ones by the cost alone.
> BT have a lot of codecs but a $20 headset including tax and markup would not include all the fancy ones by the cost alone.
What do you mean by this? AAC or SBC is perfectly fine for $20 headphones. Definitely for that quality of headphone. LDAC or Apt-X are pointless for a headphone in that price bracket.