CDs are better than vinyl and most people listen to music on systems that sound dreadful
CDs are in every way better than vinyl records. They are smaller, much higher quality audio, lower noise floor and don't wear out by being played. The fact that CD sales are behind vinyl is a sign that the world has gone mad. The fact you can rip and stream your own CD media is fantastic because generally remasters are not good and streaming services typically only have remastered versions, not originals. You have no control on streaming services about what version of an album you're served or whether it'll still be there tomorrow. Not an issue with physical media.
The vast majority of people listen to music using equipment that produces audio of poor quality, especially those that stream using ear buds. It makes me very sad when people don't care that what they're listening to could sound so much better, especially if played through a hifi from a CD player, or using half decent (not beats) headphones.
There's plenty of good sounding and well produced music out there, but it's typically played back through the equivalent of two cans and some string. I'm not sure people remember how good good music can sound when played back through good kit.
I mean, if we're just talking high bitrate digital audio then yeah, convenience and sound wise digital beats the pants off of analog any day. CDs in particular though? Nah. Gimme that solid state no moving parts convenience I get from packing 50GB of flac, aac or vorbis rips onto my phone and a Chromecast audio to plug into my sound system.
Thousand dollars says if I put a 256kbps mp3 left channel and any bitrate/sample rate FLAC in right channel on your speakers or headphones (same song obviously) you’d never know it.
Preservation is a different beast and not something most people concern themselves with. If you keep your music on your computer/mobile then that space becomes a bigger issue unless you keep externals or don’t have that much music.
Storage capacity will keep getting cheaper and more reliable; a lot is invested on that horse. Preserving the audio will always be the best bet for the future!
Without a doubt. As I said in another comment, anytime I get a new record in the mail I immediately clean it thoroughly and then digitize the contents. I then cut it into “sides“ and exported as wav, FLAC, and 128kbps mp3.
It’s like my own little hobbyist archival project. It’s very fun and i get to take my records “on the road“ with me! I host them on my Plex server
With displays getting cheaper and bendable, batteries and energy being more efficient, etc... For the vinyl lovers on this thread, imagine having the art displayed on color accurate screens dedicated for it (can show lyrics, and other "extras" you like as well). Having access to it globally with the best quality possible without transporting basically anything. The future is 1000% this and it is awesome!
Nope doesn’t even remotely compare. We are talking about diminishing returns. The jump from 30fps to a higher one would be like going from 96kbps to a higher sample rate. The improvement is obvious to virtually everyone.
A better example would be telling people to discern between any 2 framerates above 144fps.