CDJapan?
I find that CDs are generally still very affordable (here in Japan) but the price gouging has started on the other disc format: DVD. I use to buy second hand DVDs in huge numbers until about 2007 for about $5 a disc. Because so much content never made it to streaming or Blu-Ray, if I go back to the same shop I used to buy from, those $5 discs are now $80-150.
Just had a quick look at my local SH CD site (haven’t been there in a few months.) Prices still all over the place. A copy of New Order’s Get Ready is €4 while The J. Giles Band’s Showtime! is €32
Sadly, the latter is what I’m after but won’t pay that much out of pure principle.
Yep, don’t think I’m allowed to post link to it but if you Google CDJapan you’ll hit it, all sorts of goodies, including Japanese SHMCD’s, SACD etc.
Check your import tax restrictions first for each order mind…
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Found it. Interesting, thanks.
Yup. Just pre-ordered the next/final batch of Roxy SHM-CD’s…
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I got the vinyl for £10 at a charity shop in Edinburgh (Oxfam music shop in Stockbridge).
As much as l love CDs, they were beginning to get out-of-hand. So a few years ago, I fed 7/8 of my collection into a Cocktail Audio server, taking daily batches of CDs to a chain store for trade-in. It took a while (about 700+ discs were involved), and on the last day I happily walked into the store with my final batch.
The kid looked at me and said, “My manager says no more jazz.” I was gobsmacked. Then I remembered the chain had another store about an hour away, so I went there and got the rest of my trade-in $$. I’ve since moved backups onto a Naim Uniti Core (with mixed results; lots of ‘unknown artists’ to wade through but the music’s still a there). The sound quality is incredible.
I’m holding on to my 1600+ records, many of which are audiophile collectors’ items, which also sound wonderful. Fewer CDs means more room for vinyl!
I stream, too, mainly to check out new artists garnering great reviews in the latest music and audio mags.
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Thinking of buying used CDs to rip again. Not bought any in 15 years, but although I find SQ pretty much equal on Qobuz v NAS on my system (Audirvāna) I have found albums disappearing…. Which is very irritating.
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Be careful. Two years ago I was exactly where you are.
It can get very addictive very fast when they’re cheap and readily available online.
Every couple of days a box of 50-60 CDs would show up.
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No collector’s CDs then? That’s a fairly significant proportion of my purchased CDs now … really enjoy those… the mastering quality on some of the pressings is superb. My only gripe with rare collectible CDs can be fragility of the jewel case… so for day to day play I often compromise and stream them from a NAS / carousel… but that’s no good if you want to enjoy reading the inlays as well.
It certainly can be worth going through Discogs to see if any of your CD collection are worth thousands of pounds (hint you may need to inspect the CD and its packaging in detail)… not many at a thousand pound or more, but they are out there. Promos and singles are I understand especially worth checking… and as discussed earlier demand and therefore prices are rising at the moment.
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I shouldn’t have given my CDs short shrift. I have many Mobile Fidelity and Analogue Productions SACDs, as well as several SMH-SACDs from the aforementioned CDJapan. CD box sets, too, including some by Joni Mitchell, The Doors, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Van der Graaf Generator, and Caravan (I guess I’m something of a prog-hound). Classical sets as well, including The Decca Box and those by The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Zubin Mehta, Michael Tilson Thomas, and my favorite cellist, Pieter Wispelwey.
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