Thought I better warn a few people about this. Regularly issued Music CD’s are not necessarily being sold on Amazon. More and More, I’m seeing CD-R’s custom made when you order. :smack:
There was recently a GQ thread where the reliabilty of Audio CD’s, CD-R’s etc was discussed. Audio CD’s are really tough. We all used to carry them in our cars. Lying on the floorboard, in the glove box, tucked under the sun visor etc. They still played fine.
CD-R’s are not the same animal. They can go bad just sitting in a CD wallet and untouched. If I wanted a stinking CD-R then I’d dl a pirate version and burn the thing myself. I’m trying to build up a nice collection of Audio CD’s that I can legally rip for my MP3 player. That’s the whole point of buying Audio CD’s.
This is such a rip off. No price discount either for their wonderful CD-R.
If you see this note on the Amazon Listing. Run, don’t walk to Ebay and buy the original Audio CD. That’s what I did with Barbara Mandrell.
Amazon still has a lot of Audio CD’s but as the stock drops it seems like they replace them with CD-R’s. So pay attention to the listing.
Not sure I see the problem. This allows them to stock many more titles that may be rare, unpopular, slow selling, etc without having to devote space to house them. Judging by the review dates on your example, that CD has been unavailable since 2007, but now that they burn them to order, people can buy it again.
As for legally ripping, Amazon has take care of that too, with what they’re calling AutoRip. Buy the CD, and you automatically get access to MP3 files.
Notice that it is “manufactured on demand.”* Amazon runs a service called Createspace that makes books, CDs, and DVDs for self-publishing. Amazon also will occasionally acquire licences to publish other titles due to the publisher behind in their work order or no longer interested in making that title.
Why do they use CD-Rs? Probably because it is faster and easier for one-disk production (not produced until a customer orders it) with a cheaper set-up. I’m sure they’ve done some sort of cost-analysis that the cost in machines/stock/process to upgrade in quality to CD is greater than the potential loss in customer sales.
Buyer beware indeed.
*I used to work in that department several years back.
the problem is obvious. You’re paying a premium price for a lessor product.
This is a different animal and should be explained to those who don’t know what they’re buying. It’s a good idea from the standpoint of discontinued items.
A good solution to the quality issues mentioned above. A guarantee is as good as the company policy backing it up.
I guess a CD-R is better than nothing for rare or out of print albums. So far, I’ve found the original Audio CD on Ebay. Sometimes used, but thats still better than a CD-R.
Sadly, I expect CD’s to go the way of the LP record. Digital distribution is getting more and more popular.
I don’t see the problem here at all. Amazon very clearly notes that it’s a MOD CD-R. Yes you pay a premium, but you always do for MOD products. These programs have been excellent for film since they’ve finally allowed many obscure and niche films to finally get an official release. It may not be a great value here since this is merely an OOP CD, but it’ll be excellent when they start digging into the archives of obscure stuff that is unlikely to ever see a proper release.
“Sadly”? I absolutely see the reasoning behind the mourning of the loss of the LP - it’s a different animal sound-wise from anything digital. But waxing nostalgic about CDs seems just silly. It’s not even that digital files are better or worse. They’re the same thing! Just with a different distribution channel and tons less waste.
No problem at all since they tell you what you are buying.
Now, the fact that Amazon sells used electronics as “new” with no indication of it being used is a major problem. The last 2 electronics items I’ve bought have both clearly been used, both in open boxes, one missing parts, and one with minor cosmetic damage.
(the reason I stick with them is because customer service remains high quality so far, but it is annoying to be forced to deal with it)
Digital files are compressed (unless you’re somehow downloading 650MB worth of wav files per disc), and depending on the compression used can sound quite a bit worse than the uncompressed raw CD audio.
And if you have the CD, you can always rip into any format or compression ratio you like. If you start with, say, a 360kps MP3 but later wind up needing some other format, it’s only going to compound matters and your file’s going to wind up sounding worse than if you just took the CD and ripped it to the format you need to begin with.
It might not be a huge deal to everyone, but there are still advantages to having a physical CD.
Hi. Just thought I’d post this as I didn’t realise that I was purchasing a CD-R until after checkout. Searching I found these forums and this thread.
After mulling it over I decided to go ahead but then found this:
So have since cancelled. So the CD-Rs can be created from MP3 source…and of course you don’t know until you’ve paid out and got it…plus too much money for a CDR as well IMO. I like the idea though, for out of print titles, as something is better than nothing…but not MP3.
I’m trying to build up a nice collection of Audio CD’s that I can legally rip for my MP3 player. That’s the whole point of buying Audio CD’s.