The compact disc is alive and well, as our pick of the finest CD players and transports proves. Long live the original digital format!
Despite streaming having muscled its way to the front of our music-listening preferences over the last few years, CDs – the first digital format – are still an important medium for masses of music lovers. more than 14 million compact discs were bought in the UK in 2021, and global sales actually increased that year for the first time this millennium. And if CDs can’t be considered as ‘on the up’, the previous slide into obsolescence has most certainly slowed.
Why has this happened, you ask? Clearly many of us still prefer physical formats, and there are plenty more good reasons why CDs remain a great way of listening to your music.
Unlike streaming, CDs don’t need to rely on a stable internet connection, nor do they suffer the ravages of signal compression. Regardless of the music you are playing you will always be guaranteed 16-bit, 44.1kHz quality on a compact disc. That translates to 1411kbps, while the highest-quality MP3 file has a bitrate of just 320kbps. Hi-res streaming is, of course, becoming more widespread, but it costs more and those who choose it are still in a relative minority.
With a CD you actually get to own the music (and the lovely artwork and lyrics that often accompany it) rather than merely ‘borrowing’ it. This also applies to vinyl of course, but compact disc albums are considerably cheaper than vinyl records
