Physical Music Formats

GuitArchaeologist

GuitArchaeologist

Active Member
I have resisted streaming music. I did not/do not like the idea of my music being dictated by someone else's choice or guidance or worst (for me) an algorithm.
I do collect digital music, having well over 10,000 songs (mostly complete copies of CDs I have purchased or downloaded purchased releases).
I like having the portability of music on my laptop or phone that digital offers, and
because I have moved abroad, I really can't have a large collection of CDs, vinyl, of cassettes.

That said, apparently physical music formats are on the rise, which I applaud.
What say ye???

 
Having had several tape players in my car a few Walkman and still having my tape deck, I say nay!
 
Whether we like it or not..its gravitating to streaming..the real kicker for me is Monday Night Raw is going to Netflix .... ughhh....lol

Currently loading 200+ original songs to spotify. & youtube, its very easy & convenient to organize it all actually & some people are digging it & putting it on their playlist
 
GuitArchaeologist said:
I have resisted streaming music. I did not/do not like the idea of my music being dictated by someone else's choice or guidance or worst (for me) an algorithm.
I do collect digital music, having well over 10,000 songs (mostly complete copies of CDs I have purchased or downloaded purchased releases).
I like having the portability of music on my laptop or phone that digital offers, and
because I have moved abroad, I really can't have a large collection of CDs, vinyl, of cassettes.

That said, apparently physical music formats are on the rise, which I applaud.
What say ye???

Click to expand...
I think the rise in physical media is most likely a nostalgic fad.
Would it be cool to revisit the days of cassette players eating you favorite cassette? Possibly or having a CD player in my car that would skip if you hit a bump hard enough. Maybe.
Like you I have a massive collection of music on my phone.
I sometimes stream music when I want to listen to something other than my library.

I think it’s nice that physical media is being sold more. But the room required for albums, cassettes, and related players … meh
 
Everything is gravitating toward subscription services. I’ve heard that they want to remove am/fm radios from cars, and just have Sirius or other types of subscriber services loaded to the car’s computer. The same with computers. They want to charge you monthly to have an app on your pc/laptop/tablet instead of buying the software and having the ability to load it onto a new computer when your old one dies.

I still listen to mostly CDs or vinyl. I have loaded some of my CDs to my phone in case I’m in an area with no good radio stations driving my work vehicle. I refuse to buy in a download only format. I want to own a physical copy, and also make sure the artist gets paid. Most of my purchases these days are from the band’s merch table.
 
There will be some lost skills when it comes to storing and taking care of older formats. When new listeners start asking why their cassette sounds like butt after it sat around for a couple of years unused, the medium will fall back into museum status and just sit on hipsters shelves.
 
I stream music from Spotify. I have my favorite records on vinyl, and listen to them regularly. I sometimes audition records on Spotify before buying the Vinyl. I have a bluetooth to cassette adapter in my car that I use daily. Charging my cassette tape is something I never thought I’d do 30 years ago.

IMG_1204.jpeg
 
The real issue is not actually the type of media, so much as the quality of the files or recordings being stored.
The digital files are capable of so much more:
but what we are storing is compressed, substandard, the sound quality just isn't there.
It sounds "poor." It's not hi-fi.

The closest I can come is to convert the bit rate of a CD...
into a bit rate that is 10X higher; then it starts to sound like something worthwhile.
 
My 07 Civic has a CD Player. I still use it. Also has a slot for an SD card... which I have used, but not in a long time. Also has satellite capability as well as the obligatory AM/FM Radio. Our 2018 SUV has all that minus the CD Player but has Bluetooth. As far as home stereo goes. Presently all I have left is an old turntable from the 80s.... but no stereo to plug it into. I put that in the garage. Both the CD Player and Cassette player puked. Come to think of it.... the DVD Player also quit. Fortunately, this laptop has the CD/DVD slot in it so I can plug the laptop into the TV and we can watch DVDs.

So for me its a mix of media. Right now I have Metallica "Load" CD plugged into the Honda system. I have about 1200 songs loaded on my cell phone. And I have the SiriusXM App on my phone.... which I'm listening to Margaritaville Satellite Radio as I type this on the laptop. I have an adapter plugged into the AUX on the stereo in the garage that lets me send music from my phone to the stereo via Bluetooth.

As for listening to FM radio in the car. I pretty much refuse to listen to regular radio since I got satellite. On regular FM stations, I just got really fed up with diarrhea mouth DJ's and endless commercials. I listen to the "radio" in the car for music.... not 5 minutes of commercial followed by another 5-10 minutes of DJ's flapping their lips and saying absolutely nothing followed by, if I'm lucky, one song. Then repeat commercials and DJ's nonsense.

Long way to say. Today 2024 I'd have to say I embrace all formats. Now.... ask me in another year or two and we'll see.
 
Amp Mad Scientist said:
The real issue is not actually the type of media, so much as the quality of the files or recordings being stored.
The digital files are capable of so much more:
but what we are storing is compressed, substandard, the sound quality just isn't there.
It sounds "poor." It's not hi-fi.

The closest I can come is to convert the bit rate of a CD...
into a bit rate that is 10X higher; then it starts to sound like something worthwhile.
Click to expand...
:what::iagree:
 
be30720b51d3f4886e4652f0601dba64.jpg
 
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