Physical media scratches, rots, burns down, etc. They also require a lot of space, and you can’t have it all with you easily.
My FLAC library is got the same or better audio quality, I can backup and copy in seconds for myself or friends, I can carry everything, or just curated playlists, with the toggle of a button, and I can preserve them on any medium I find - mechanical HDs, SD cards, SSDs, etc.
I recently revived my record player and CD player and I’ve been enjoying three things:
You have to think about what to listen to,
the player is completely offline and separate from the devices you work and communicate on, so nothing will interrupt and you feel you’re doing something different, and
it means you listen to whole albums, not mixed up playlists, so you get deeper into it.
What I don’t enjoy is that records in particular are ridiculously expensive now. I don’t know who can afford them. So I’m stuck with the records and CDs of my youth and whatever I can find in bargain bins.
I do also use Qobuz and… other means of obtaining music.
But… those other storage mediums can also get damaged, burn, rot, etc
Sure can. You know what else they can do? Instantly and cleanly copy their data to any other storage device, they can even do so automatically every day!
Nothing a decent backup strategy can’t mitigate. Also less portable? Between the massive storage available on digital audio players and using jellyfin with something like symphonium digital audio is massively more portable.
I’m willing to bet my main SSD, my backup HDD, my FLAC player’s SD card, and my laptop SSD all carrying the same file are going to be more durable than a piece of plastic.
Those never worked well. They pick up every tiny bit of dust and scratch, far more than a stylus does. If you keep your stylus in good condition, changing it regularly, and set up your tonearm correctly, it shouldn’t harm the records.
Physical media scratches, rots, burns down, etc. They also require a lot of space, and you can’t have it all with you easily.
My FLAC library is got the same or better audio quality, I can backup and copy in seconds for myself or friends, I can carry everything, or just curated playlists, with the toggle of a button, and I can preserve them on any medium I find - mechanical HDs, SD cards, SSDs, etc.
Though I am very curious about vinyl…
I recently revived my record player and CD player and I’ve been enjoying three things:
What I don’t enjoy is that records in particular are ridiculously expensive now. I don’t know who can afford them. So I’m stuck with the records and CDs of my youth and whatever I can find in bargain bins.
I do also use Qobuz and… other means of obtaining music.
But… those other storage mediums can also get damaged, burn, rot, etc and are also less portable (excluding the SD cards anyway).
Sure can. You know what else they can do? Instantly and cleanly copy their data to any other storage device, they can even do so automatically every day!
Nothing a decent backup strategy can’t mitigate. Also less portable? Between the massive storage available on digital audio players and using jellyfin with something like symphonium digital audio is massively more portable.
You have a point except the portability. A single USB drive is infinitely more portable than a large cd collection.
Your hard drive can be erased in many ways. And soon you wont be able to afford them or be allowed to own them.
Vinyl lasts forever. Its only damaged if you play it 😐
I’m willing to bet my main SSD, my backup HDD, my FLAC player’s SD card, and my laptop SSD all carrying the same file are going to be more durable than a piece of plastic.
They make record players that use lasers so they don’t slowly wear down the grooves
Those dont work great and are no longer made,
Those never worked well. They pick up every tiny bit of dust and scratch, far more than a stylus does. If you keep your stylus in good condition, changing it regularly, and set up your tonearm correctly, it shouldn’t harm the records.