Download or CD or Vinyl?

Generally I will buy random singles or b-sides to bands/singers I don't really know or listen off of iTunes and the will make an effort to buy the actual cd to the bands/singers I really like.

Not sure why i just enjoy but I'm like quite a few here and just enjoy having the physical media :)
 
Downloads. Don't have the space for loads of cds around the place, don't mind the minor difference in quality, don't mind not having booklets etc.
 
My dad, who's a huge music fan, will still buy CD's of favorite Artists, and occasionally Vinyl.

I, download, Via Itunes.

I find it easier, and quite often cheaper to download a song / album from there.

Will often download the odd TV show (Thunderbirds :D) or the odd film to watch.
Itunes have some awesome offers on every so often, it's all so easy to use as well.
 
I'm really nailing this cd collection now,

My plan is to replace my library with cds and continue buying cds and ripping them on my computer at a really high quality for computer use and ipod use.

It will always be nice have the cd's as a hard copy so I can always get it back at the highest quality if i ever lose music on the pc
 
CDs. I have never bought a download song as I do like having racks of CDs to thumb through. I have ripped most of my collection to play on my media box connected to an Audiolab amp.

While convenient, it makes me more fickle having a large playlist. Putting a CD on seems more deliberate. I often grow into tracks previously disregarded.
 
vonhelmet said:
Downloads. Don't have the space for loads of cds around the place, don't mind the minor difference in quality, don't mind not having booklets etc.
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That's a rubbish 'excuse' not to buy CDs. I assume you're downloading and not paying for all the mp3s you acquire [correct me if I'm wrong]. To say you don't mind the difference in quality/artwork is one thing, but saying you don't have the space is daft. I live in a small studio flat and I own hundreds of CDs which are all kept in boxes and stacked vertically. The floor space they take up is about six square feet.

lemonkettaz said:
I'm really nailing this cd collection now,

My plan is to replace my library with cds and continue buying cds and ripping them on my computer at a really high quality for computer use and ipod use.
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This is precisely what I do. I wish, for the artists'/labels' sakes, there were more people who did similarly.
 
Lysander said:
This is precisely what I do. I wish, for the artists'/labels' sakes, there were more people who did similarly.
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Seconded.

I used to download music, then as I got older (about 17-18 I think) I remember a moment where I downloaded an album and then released "I have the cash for this in my wallet, why am I being such a tool?"

On that day I deleted all the music and movies I didn't own and have bought everything legit since then.

Rich
 
I always buy the CD and sometimes the vinyl. Downloads are too lossy and I can immediately notice the difference compared to FLAC or the CD. Basically I rip all my bought CDs to FLAC and never touch them again. My mp3 player will play back almost all formats including FLAC, so it's not a problem.

It's also a lot nicer to have the physical media to rely on if you lose any downloads, especially itunes stuff, which I don't bother with at all. Also, you can often appreciate the production that's gone into a CD a lot more than other formats. The inlays, artwork etc are sometimes nice to have, though not essential.

I would be all for an updated disc-based format, studio quality, on a small sized disc so it doesn't take up loads of space. Maybe like a small BD-ROM, which should provide ample space for excellent quality music. Inlays could be axed and maybe changed to pdfs on the disc or similar.
 
titchard said:
I deleted all the music and movies I didn't own and have bought everything legit since then.

Rich
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Also this! It's a much better feeling getting a good album and listening to it on cd for the first time, i'm sure you know what I mean.

I'm about to upgrade my audio setup to my first proper amp and decent speakers this month, I can't wait to hearing my music again as it should be!
 
titchard said:
Seconded.

I used to download music, then as I got older (about 17-18 I think) I remember a moment where I downloaded an album and then released "I have the cash for this in my wallet, why am I being such a tool?"

On that day I deleted all the music and movies I didn't own and have bought everything legit since then.

Rich
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Nice one. This is quite an encouraging thread - even though it's not representative of the majority [unfortunately].

alexhull24 said:
I would be all for an updated disc-based format, studio quality, on a small sized disc so it doesn't take up loads of space. Maybe like a small BD-ROM, which should provide ample space for excellent quality music. Inlays could be axed and maybe changed to pdfs on the disc or similar.
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Isn't that what Sony tried to do with minidiscs? The blank ones were better than CD-RWs because not only were they rewritable, but you could shift the tracks around on them after they were recorded! But like many of Sony's hopes to revolutionise the market, they died off after a few years. I don't know why the minidisc died out, I presume it was because people were loathe to move over formats [much like Blu Ray/DVD - I won't be moving over until Blu Rays are regularly under £10]. I'm also wondering if minidisc's small size worked against it.

alexhull24 said:
Also this! It's a much better feeling getting a good album and listening to it on cd for the first time, i'm sure you know what I mean.

I'm about to upgrade my audio setup to my first proper amp and decent speakers this month, I can't wait to hearing my music again as it should be!
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I've noticed that you also give an album more time if you've spent money on it.
 
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Lysander said:
Isn't that what Sony tried to do with minidiscs?

I've noticed that you also give an album more time if you've spent money on it.
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What quality music do you get from a minidisc? I found an old player and minidisc the other day and it sounded pretty bad compared to cd, but then I don't know where the music had come from, it was someone's mixtape. I always quite liked the size of minidisc, and I think the generation that would have been reluctant to adopt it has probably given up buying new music!

I agree with your other comment, if you download the music (especially from more dubious sources), you never appreciate it or give it as much of a chance as you would otherwise.
 
  1. Buy CD
  2. Rip in Lossless
  3. Enjoy

I will only EVER buy a download when it's offered at the same quality (or better) as CD.
 
cd's, I only buy mp3's when the musician doesn't have any cd's :( (only once I've had to do this)

I then rip them myself.


I own one vinyl, it's N.W.A - Straight Outta Compton, it's never even played it, since I don't own a vinyl player :cool:
 
Lysander said:
I own hundreds of CDs which are all kept in boxes and stacked vertically. The floor space they take up is about six square feet.
.
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bet thats real fun sorting them or looking for the one you want.

i just buy downloads. all go into my media player. can find whatever i want in approximately 2 seconds. take up no space whatsoever. not even 1 square foot

ive been and done the whole vinyl/cd collecting. it just became annoying when doing it digitally became so much easier for me

to be fair a lot of the stuff i buy doesnt come out on cd anyway. or only does in limited numbers. not easy to get hold of anyway
 
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lemonkettaz said:
Does anyone think that eventually hard copy music will not exist and it will all be via the internet?
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I'm sure it will always exist, but labels won't take so many risks with who to sign. It's more likely that in the future we will see increasingly mainstream releases and fewer underground acts on CD seeing as these are more likely to help the label recoup their expenditure on advances and promotion.

"andy" said:
bet thats real fun sorting them or looking for the one you want.
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I've ripped them all to mp3 so it's not a problem. But even when I don't do that, looking for the one you want actually is quite fun.
 
alexhull24 said:
I would be all for an updated disc-based format, studio quality, on a small sized disc so it doesn't take up loads of space. Maybe like a small BD-ROM, which should provide ample space for excellent quality music. Inlays could be axed and maybe changed to pdfs on the disc or similar.
Click to expand...

3" Mini-DVD's would be ideal.
1.4 or 2.6gb capacity depending on if it's single or dual layer.
Not quite up to the capacity needed for lossless DTS-HD MA, but lossless stereo would fit nicely.
 
I tend to buy my favourite albums on CD. As others have touched on, I like to have the actual package (the CD, the booklet, the case) in my hand rather than just some file on my computer. When listening to a CD, you a feel as though this is how the musician intended their sound to be heard, where as an MP3 file may be missing that something.

I do still have a lot of music on vinyl, though my turntables were sold long ago. I used to prefer the feel and sound of vinyl, though it always used to frustrate me the way in which every time you listened to a record, you were effectively wearing the record out. It was noticeable too in fact, my oldest records (the ones that had been played the most) began to sound more flat and lacking in bass.
 
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