Wow, this is the beginning of the next generation of new car audio. No more CD players for Ford, just fully digitalized audio either with an mp3 player or streaming straight to your car. To start on the Focus for 2012 models.
I knew this would happen eventually, but I still remember my mom's Craig CD player she bought for her '89 Escort GT in 1990. You had to pull the entire CD player out for security. 
Am I the only one out there who still enjoys the act of purchasing and listening to an Album? Is there something crazy about thinking musicians might have an artistic vision that extends longer than a single track?
I still buy complete albums.. but I am also looking for a NON-cd mp3 player radio for my car.
Damn, My SAAB still has the factory tape deck in it...sucks E36 M3,...but it works
Salanis wrote: Am I the only one out there who still enjoys the act of purchasing and listening to an Album? Is there something crazy about thinking musicians might have an artistic vision that extends longer than a single track?
You do realize that on a tiny thumb drive you can have many full albums of music?
I would expect most others to follow. I like the idea of streaming from my 20 gig music database.
I've bought more vinyl records in the past year than I have CD's.
But I still like the physical media. I still use cassettes in cars.
RossD wrote:Salanis wrote: Am I the only one out there who still enjoys the act of purchasing and listening to an Album? Is there something crazy about thinking musicians might have an artistic vision that extends longer than a single track?You do realize that on a tiny thumb drive you can have many full albums of music?
Yeah. And I like a cd/digital combo player. Plug the thumb drive in and play that most of the time, but have the option to pop in a new album or a friend's album when I feel like it.
Having full digital and streaming capability makes sense. But why does that mean no CD?
I think it's crap. I like CDs.
It's sad that so many think that MP3s sound "good."
RossD wrote:Salanis wrote: Am I the only one out there who still enjoys the act of purchasing and listening to an Album? Is there something crazy about thinking musicians might have an artistic vision that extends longer than a single track?You do realize that on a tiny thumb drive you can have many full albums of music?
Yes, but I much prefer to buy an actual CD of music and then rip it to a digital device.
A) If I don't want more than 1 song by an artist, odds are I won't even want 1 song. I never buy singles.
B) I strongly prefer the security of actually owning a physical object that contains the music I'm paying for. DRM has never worked out well for me and I like to have that original item to fall back upon.
C) I like the artwork and librettos from bands that care enough to put them in.
Personally, the feeling if opening the cellophane, pulling that CD out and loading it for the first time. I love that new package smell. It's a euphoria I still adore to this day.
I knew the end of CDs was coming, but maybe they'll stock around like vynil has.
z31maniac wrote: It's sad that so many think that MP3s sound "good."
Most people don't really care all that much about fidelity. How many people have been buying those cheap all in one surround systems for years? Most folks probably haven't even heard a decent multi-component stereo.
In reply to z31maniac:
I'm still wondering what to do with all of the 8-track tapes I have. Especially the ones where I copied the records onto. With the best tapes, I could put 2 albums on one, since the long version tape single track lenght was the same size as one side of an album.
Oh, and CD's suck, albums have good sound. MP3 is just a different digital version of a CD.
(truth be told, I rarely listen to all the CD's I have.....)
mtn wrote:z31maniac wrote: It's sad that so many think that MP3s sound "good."Most people don't really care all that much about fidelity. How many people have been buying those cheap all in one surround systems for years? Most folks probably haven't even heard a decent multi-component stereo.
Back in 1990, I needed a new radio for my '88 CRX HF, and could not really understand spending so much for a CD player, since the car sounds would out weigh the great audio. But was dumb enough to try using a portable CD player.... 
To be honest, I don't really buy albums, but my wife does. I put everything on either my iPod or iPhone. Albums I do have on CD I have burned and are now in my iPod.
I'm waiting for Pioneer's App radio, but neither of my vehicles are Double DIN. 
I just feel that this change is the start of a generation passed.
Salanis wrote: Am I the only one out there who still enjoys the act of purchasing and listening to an Album? Is there something crazy about thinking musicians might have an artistic vision that extends longer than a single track?
I'm with you. I'm still a big fan of the album concept--A side followed by B side. That doesn't mean I don't use iTunes, but I almost always listen by the album, not in random order.
Well I guess another Ford won't be in my future.
It's not that I carry around and listen to CDs all the time, but I do have a lot which helps a long trip seem shorter. More importantly I receive CDs quite often from a variety of work sources and I need to be able to listen to them on the go.
I don't see CDs going away anytime soon. They are a much simpler, and cheaper way to distribute audio. It would be way to expensive to have to give away thumb drives.
alfadriver wrote: Back in 1990, I needed a new radio for my '88 CRX HF, and could not really understand spending so much for a CD player, since the car sounds would out weigh the great audio.
This is my view with car audio as well. I pretty much only use my ipod in the car these days. Especially in a convertible, audio quality doesn't matter that much.
carguy123 wrote: I don't see CDs going away anytime soon. They are a much simpler, and cheaper way to distribute audio. It would be way to expensive to have to give away thumb drives.
No it wouldn't. 4 GB, $6.00. That translates to roughly 80 hours of music.
http://www.staples.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Blade-4GB-USB-Flash-Drive/product_919639
I find this funny, since Lexus just stopped putting tape decks in cars with the 2010 LS.
mtn wrote:carguy123 wrote: I don't see CDs going away anytime soon. They are a much simpler, and cheaper way to distribute audio. It would be way to expensive to have to give away thumb drives.No it wouldn't. 4 GB, $6.00. That translates to roughly 80 hours of music. http://www.staples.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Blade-4GB-USB-Flash-Drive/product_919639
At a horrible compression yes. At cd-levels of fidelity, it's maybe 4-5 hours.
CDs are cheap. Distributing a thumb drive for every album isn't.
mtn wrote: I've bought more vinyl records in the past year than I have CD's. But I still like the physical media. I still use cassettes in cars.
You need one of these:
z31maniac wrote: It's sad that so many think that MP3s sound "good."
They don't.. and neither do CDs. But in an automotive enviroment.. (especially my automobiles) you are not going to hear ever nuance
Years ago I worked at a company called Neotek - we made high end audio mixing consoles. As far as audio quality - analog recordings on vinyl are flat out better audio than digital. All digital recordings are at some level of compromise. The thing is, 99% of the public don't care and it's easier to replicate and easier on the technical side to manipulate the files. As far as CD/vs something else - we're mainly talking about storage media. Smaller, more portable wins. People will give up a little quality for portability and size without noticing or complaining and if in the process you can get people on auto payment subscription plans, you'll make a pile of cash.
mtn wrote:carguy123 wrote: I don't see CDs going away anytime soon. They are a much simpler, and cheaper way to distribute audio. It would be way to expensive to have to give away thumb drives.No it wouldn't. 4 GB, $6.00. That translates to roughly 80 hours of music. http://www.staples.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Blade-4GB-USB-Flash-Drive/product_919639
$6 for a thumbdrive but how many CENTS for a CD?
No, I can't see businesses giving out hundreds of thumbdrives instead of a quicky CD.
And I'm not talking distributing albums, I'm talking about distributing work materials. Some musical but many more plain human voice audio.
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