These are from the RIAA website .
The figures show units shipped up 47.7% , sales up over 20%
Iām sorry, but using that information to suggest that CD sales are on the up is blatant misinformation. After the lockdown induced low of 2020, CD sales didnāt recover to 2019 levels, which are part of a downward trend that has lasted year on year without exception for two decades. Also these are US-only figures.
Using this information to cajole Naim into investing in CD replay is pointless. The 47.7% figure you cherry picked from the RIAA ignores wider info from the same document which shows that CD sales failed to recover to their 2019 level, indicating that the downward trend continues:
The figures show that Naimās policy of streamers as the central part of their range, with vinyl catering for a growing minority interest, is right on the money.
How does it go āLies, damned lies, and statisticsā.
BPI 2021 figures show ā¦ Vinyl lp sales top 5 million units. [up 10%]
CD sales top 14 million units. [ 12% drop] Do to previous years
figures they suggest this annual drop is bottoming out.
So although cd sales are dropping they are still approx 3 x vinyl sales.
As for s/h cds being worthless , i would say they are very similar to s/h lps. Value of both is highly dependant on condition and rarity.
Thatās a very different figure to the RIAA one for US sales, which shows that vinyl sales are higher than CD sales by some distance, at least in revenue as opposed to units sold.
I donāt suppose either of these organisations have the faintest idea (or interest) in how many CDs are sold for 50p each in charity shops.
Obviously you donāt like cd players however there are many owners who do and to see a slight increase is very encouraging.
September is 40 years of CD music reproduction its become a niche market nowadays. Cd manufacturers are producing players to such a fine musicality they can perform better than streamed files.
Will your server be around in 40 yearās time ?
Obviously you donāt like CDs
My own preference is entirely irrelevant. Iām calling out posts that are drawing incorrect conclusions from statistics because itās misleading, thatās all.
As I said earlier will todayās serverās be around in 40 years time I very much doubt it.
Its testimony to Philips and Sony just how good, even today the format is.
Well if Iām streaming I wonāt need a server, Iāll be using online access to one run by Qobuz, or whoever. I donāt doubt that a web server will be an entirely different technology to what we use today, but I doubt weāll need local ones. Downloads, after their even shorter lifespan than CD, are dying an even faster death.
I love streaming but fact is I own many cds that are not available to stream or have tracks missing.
Crumbs, doesnāt say much for those buying them
What can I say though with an 80ās pop/synth and Nightwish fetish!
Thatās an excellent point and missed by many that there is a lot of recorded music that never made it to CD and hence never to streaming. They came out on vinyl though then lost from sight.
Thereās nothing wrong with a bit of 80ās synth pop
IMHO!
Certainly not as I currently listen to The Cureās The Head On The Door via vinyl!
Last year I probably purchased around 30 CDs and 15-20 vinyl LPs. These days, with prices being where they are, Iām all too happy to grab the $12 cd versus the $30 vinyl LP.
Sums up my position exactly
So why not rip them to your server and stream locally? I donāt see any reason to keep a CD player alongside a streamer.
Donāt have server to rip cds to Clive but I do own a CD player. Iām happy with the versatility 3 formats give.
It would probably be more trouble to buy NAS and rip 1500 cds.
My first streamer was an NDS, which only played locally stored music; it didnāt originally offer third party streaming services. I recall I ripped around 2,500 over a period of about 3 months. It was quite a good opportunity to discard the duffers which never got played. I still keep the jazz CD racks in the music room, but the rest are hidden in racks and boxes in a spare bedroom. I still have a CD buying habit.
I have to say, since starting streaming, and having a rekindled appreciation of new and used vinyl, I buy fewer CDs these days.
I hope thereās a place for the three broad media types though. I think they all have a part to play in supporting reproduced music, and artists. I continue to buy music on CD but itās definitely less than I spend on streaming/vinyl. I havenāt yet ripped all my CDs either, and enjoy playing the physical media still, regardless if I could stream the music I have on CD.
The StreamUnlimited developed transport mentioned earlier in the thread is really interesting. Not that Iām expecting it, but Naim already have a relationship with them, or have used their services before, so perhaps in some future where CD sales and the market has stabilised thereās scope for a new CD player or transport. Regardless, seems there are enough manufacturers who see at least a medium term future in the medium to continue developing replay hardware.