CD players obsolete?

[Greasey Harley]

So, I just got done chopping a stereo shaped hole in the dash of my '79 K10 And I thought, maybe I'd get a brand new stereo instead of some old unit I [just] had laying around.
I went into the store with the "best buys" and noticed that some of the stereos were labeled as "digital media receivers"

These units have AM-FM, bluetooth, hands free calling, pandora, spotify SiriusXM, imput jacks front and rear, etc, etc.

What they don't have is A cd player.

It seemed weird to me, then I realized just how rarely I listened to CD's in my trucks. so I bought one. What the heck? don't need no cd's bouncin' around in my truck anyway.

What do you guys think? Are CD's a thing of the past?

I just put them in my rearview

[Warrens69GMC]

Yes, and have been so for about 5 years. Everything is going digital.

You *can* still buy your music (physical media), and the convert it in your computer to storable media (phone, usb stick, media player), so you can play it in your car/home/anywhere.

[Dead Parrot]

As a media for listening to in vehicles, yes, they are done. My 2009 Escape came with the Sync package with a CD player. The CD has been used once when a friend had an odd CD he wanted to listen to on a long trip. Otherwise, it is either OTA, Flash drive full of MP3s, or 3.5mm input from a portable device. One friend paired a iPod via bluetooth to play tunes.

Even if you have CDs, rip them to MP3 type files and store on a digital media.

Make sure your new radio has a USB port to plug in your flash drives.

IMO - the best flash drive is one that holds a micro SD card. Whole thing is about the size of a fingernail.

[SunSoaked]

Originally Posted by Dead Parrot

IMO - the best flash drive is one that holds a micro SD card. Whole thing is about the size of a fingernail.

???

[Warrens69GMC]

Originally Posted by SunSoaked

???

Must have a right handed grip

[straight6chevyguy]

You guys talking about cd's being dead is making me laugh.

I still use cassette tapes.
(And I'm going to keep using them)

[mrtoni]

2015 Subaru came with CD player

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by mrtoni

2015 Subaru came with CD player

The Cassette Player and the AC in my '92 Subaru worked when I sold it in 2017.

[special-K]

There are two answers to this question. The first answer is no, they will never be obsolete as long as they play music. The second answer is people can be stupid fools who exist to follow the next consumer product trend dangled in front of them and to the delight of the producers and distributors of next best thing cast what was and what gave them what they wanted off.

I still use a cassette deck. I have a record player, dual head cassette, CD player, and FM radio I can record great music on to play in my truck. I can burn CDs on my laptop. They all work fine and are of a better quality than what is sold today, therefore no reason what so ever to replace. So what is obsolete other than the common sense I insist on living by? The turntable I use I bought dirt cheap from a fool who sold all his records and got a CD. I guess he dumped all his CDs and player once MP3 came out. The never ending search for self fulfillment through consumer products is a ridiculous farce. Sorry, this touched a nerve.

[SunSoaked]

I'm with special k. New does NOT mean better.

[bhc41051]

I'm not ready to jump on the "Cassette Tape Band Wagon" just yet. Taking a wait and see attitude. My under-dash AM 8-track works fine.

[straight6chevyguy]

Yep, 8 tracks are cool too. I just never have had a descent recorder to record my own 8 tracks.

[WyattTX]

The USB port, bluetooth in stereo systems, and smart phones that have bluetooth capabilities, kind of invalidate CD players. A flash drive can store a lot of music, and not clutter your interior with all those discs that aren't being played, and you won't have to worry about a multi disk system refusing to eject or disc scratching either. Many people already download music on their phone, and link to bluetooth devices. These people have little to no use for CDs. If you have a flip phone, or massive collection of CDs, then a new CD player makes sense.

[jeffahart]

I started ripping CDs years ago, not for the truck but for other systems. There's hardly room in my cab for a cup of coffee and a jacket so I am glad I have the digital option. Glad I don't have to manage CDs. But I live in greater Los Angeles and I get good reception with lots of station choices, so I listen to FM Rock and Country mostly. And I will admit to listening to my CB a lot too.

Anyhow, I'd start ripping the CDs to mp3.

Here's what I do. I use the directory structure for Rock, Country, Christmas. as root directories. Then I have a sub directories with all Led Zeppelin and subs for each of their albums same with Beatles. each band or artist has it's own directory structure under the genre root.

When you flip through the directories the display will show where you're at. If you choose random at the root. then you get random tunes from the structure below.

Or you can just listen to an album in it's directory. It is pretty clean and easy once you're set up.

j

[straight6chevyguy]

Actually I think for vehicle use, flash drives would be pretty practical.
Never have used them but maybe someday!

The main reason I stick with the old tech. is because I just think its cool.

I mean to have something that most people my age don't even know what it is and to be able to make it play music like any modern gadget is such an amazing experience.

I guess its same reason we have our old trucks lol!

Really I think it just comes down to You have to use what works best for You.

[my56chevytruck]

Well there's a lot of good and so so advice as to CD players, flash drives etc. I bought a radio that plays CD's, because I have a large collection of them and wanted to hear them, to each their own I say. If you want to have the latest techie stuff, then go for it, but if you want to listen to Cd's I say go for it again. I wonder if people can honestly say, CD's are better to listen to than flash drives or the other way around?? Any opinions??

[PAWS 72]

I like having a 8 track player for the young people to look at and ask" What Is That? "

[ChevyRacefan]

In the early 2000 Kenwood had a head unit that had a cassette player or c/d player, but instead of having a remote c/d changer that you put in the trunk or under a seat,behind a seat. it was a music storage unit (think same idea as an i pod) And the head unit controlled the index of music on the music storage. It never took off as the size limits of memory/ hard drives.
Today with no limit on memory storage with in reason. This would be great for those that want to play whole albums/cd.
Streaming music is great if you have unlimited data, and only want to hear the Hits and not the deep tracks.
I will assume the flash sticks are the same thing only tiny and limited on how much it holds. (never used them)
I do have a music server in my house that I have much of my music on, Is it better than pulling out an album,cassette,cd. maybe not, but the desktop computer and nas drives take up maybe 2 square feet. My music collection takes up all the wall space of a 18x16 room. So it is all in the game room, and the 2sq foot server is in the tv room.

[Greasey Harley]

Update to this thread:
Since I posted this, I haven't once regretted the swap. In fact, I have since put a similar unit in my '68. My only complaint is the lag time for the phone to connect to the head units. maybe I'm just impatient.
These decks paired with a $12/month subscription is a wonderful thing for a music lover such as myself.

[67C10Step]

There is no holding back on audio technology and the CD is becoming like vinyl. Still cool for nostalgia but not going to be mainstream media platform for audio any longer. I think my son's 2016 Toyota Tacoma has a slot for a single CD but all the newer stuff we have than that does not. My kids got me into Spotify a few years ago and I now have country, rock, easy listening, etc. playlists and couldn't be happier.

When I get around to something in my 67 it will probably be just something to connect via usb or bluetooth to my phone and roll with that. Maybe AM/FM too but if not, there are only about three over the air stations in my area any good anyway.

For reference, I did a technical paper in college on how the CD was going to replace all other forms of media for audio and other than nostalgia the cassette tape and vinyl record would decline.