Technology creates dilemmas. Guests tell Phil Donahue and Oprah Winfrey what they think about test tube babies and artificial hearts. Sometimes, though, technological dilemmas can be delightful, not merely demoralizing--as in the brave new world confronting record collectors. Indeed, so-called audiophiles are experts at adjusting to technology--78s were succeeded by 33s, hi-fi by stereo, reel-to-reel tapes by cassettes, and so on. To buy a compact disc (CD) player or not to buy one, that is the latest question.
Today the answer is a resounding "maybe." Tomorrow it will be "yes." Music lovers will have no other choice. Already some recording companies release only compact discs; others soon will follow. When the time comes to buy a new recording of, say, the Eroica, it may be available as a compact disc but not as a record. Audiophiles have heard the future, and it's the CD.
Aural Krispies
CDs sound better than LPs. The reproduction is clean, without the scratches and rubs that distort the sound coming from records. Snap, crackle, and pop may make great cereal music, but Brahms goes better without the aural krispies. Once a person has listened to a CD, his old LPs sound like the static from radio stations tuned in while driving along lonely patches of the interstate. The key is that CDs are "read" not by needles, but by lasers. Wise men ask neither how nor why, they just listen--and enjoy. They also remember this: A disc is just a disc, and recorded music can never displace live performances. All the technology in the world cannot re-create the emotional bond that develops between an audience and a performer in a concert hall.
As for selecting a CD player, the buyer can spend as much as he has--or as much as his credit line allows. Although several hundred dollars will buy a satisfactory set, the more elaborate machines go for thousands more. It makes little sense, however, to take the money saved for a condo downpayment and put it on a CD player. Prices eventually will fall, and listeners will receive more buttons and dials for less cash.
One problem is that CD players encourage listeners to become dissatisfied with all aspects of their sound systems. They will want better speakers, better amplifiers, and better versions of all the accoutrements that make some living rooms resemble NASA's command station in Houston. Professional shoppers bone up on Consumer Reports and the various stereo magazines before making the circuit of their city's stories; others buy whatever is on sale. The best advice may be to shun advice--except that a CD player should be on the same price and quality level as one's other equipment. If your home entertainment center features a middle-range stereo, there's no point in buying a top-of-the-line CD player to plug into it (unless you plan to upgrade the rest of your set), nor is there any point in buying a bargain-basement job.
Once the unit is installed, the real dilemma presents itself. Classical buffs boast huge record collections. Some longhairs aren't happy unless they own fifty-five recordings of Beethoven's Ninth. When assembling a CD library, do they buy reissues of cherished recordings, or newer versions of the same piece? Do they restock the war-horses, or gamble on the musical equivalent of colts, the music they haven't sampled
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