Key Takeaways
- Whereas CDs can last anywhere from 20 to 100 years, vinyl should last up to 100 under the right conditions.
- Vinyl is more delicate and requires special care.
- Choose vinyl if you want a cool artifact that you can listen to occasionally.
While lossless digital files are the way to go if you care about maximum quality, a lot of us still have CD and vinyl libraries. Some people are buying new albums this way, too, whether because they prefer physical ownership or just enjoy excellent artwork. Some collectors shell out for new turntables and speakers to achieve audio bliss.
If there’s one major downside to CDs and vinyl however, it’s longevity — you may have to buy (or make) an extra copy of an album at some point if you want it to last your entire life. Which medium should you choose if lifespan is the biggest factor?
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CDs vs vinyl
The ideal lifespan
In terms of projected durability, vinyl wins. A 2003 estimate puts the lifespan of vinyl records at 100 years, assuming reasonable usage and storage. There will be more to say about that in the next section, but 100 years does seem achievable on paper, given that my family still owns fragile shellac discs from before 1912. We won’t know about vinyl for sure until 2030, since the first vinyl LPs were released in 1930.
While that 2003 estimate puts the lifespan of CDs at around 30 years — less time than the medium has even been around — the Canadian Conservation Institute notes that longevity depends on the particular version of the technology. Read-only audio CDs may hold out for 50 to 100 years, and CD-Rs with phthalocyanine dye and gold metal could last over a century. Other CD-R formats, such as CD-RWs, are forecast to last between 20 and 50 years.
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CDs vs vinyl: Real-world lifespan
Now for the reality check
In practice, vinyl records can become unlistenable well before CDs. It’s inherent to the medium — turntables use needles, so a record that’s on frequent rotation will develop more and more damage until it’s not worth listening to anymore. Being laser-based, CDs often sound just as good the 500th time you play them as the first.
Vinyl also tends to be more sensitive to heat and humidity, which can warp a record if you’re not careful. A dehumidifier is a must if you’re living somewhere like Florida or Louisiana. In fact, a humid environment may further affect the static charge of a record, filling its grooves with dust if it’s sitting around for long stretches of time. In rare scenarios, your records could fall prey to “vinyl rot,” i.e. a mold infestation.
Just one deep scratch can render a CD unreadable.
CDs have their own vulnerabilities, of course, such as scratches and cracking. It’s also possible to scratch and crack vinyl, but since CDs are meant to be portable, they’re often exposed to threats more frequently. Just one deep scratch can render a CD unreadable, and lighter ones may trigger high-pitched “blips” that hurt your ears.
Lastly, CDs are susceptible to a phenomenon called “disc rot,” though it’s very different from vinyl rot. It’s caused by chemical deterioration, say by aluminum oxidation or long-term exposure to UV rays. That’s why CDs with gold reflective layers last so long — they’re less vulnerable to chemical corrosion.
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Which one should you choose?
A true audiophile dilemma
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Buying now, you’re probably better off with vinyl. Few people listen to physical media enough to do serious damage, so you might as well go for the long-term reliability of vinyl, not to mention its “warm” sound and visual appeal. Vinyl sleeves are popular as wall art — CD liners aren’t. Some people do put CDs on their walls, but vinyl looks even better if you don’t care about playing the music.
That said, there’s extra thought and care involved in maintaining a vinyl collection, which isn’t for everyone. Indeed, you might not want to bother with preservation period if you’re not planning to hand albums down to your kid. Ask yourself — are you really expecting to listen to that Rush or Taylor Swift record 20 years from now? 50 years? By then we might be pumping whole catalogs of music into our brains, never mind fishing a dusty pop record out of a box.
Go with CDs only if you have a particular fascination with them and/or you plan to listen to them often.
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