What did we do before music streaming services and Bluetooth-enabled smartphones? We had CDs. Books of them. We made “CD mix tapes” and some of our friends were a little naughty and got their music for free on LimeWire.
Obviously, times have changed. But the relevance and quality of compact disc (16-bit/44kHz, much better than your Spotify files and the resolution now recognized as the gateway to high-resolution audio) has not. And products like Yamaha's five-disc changer, the high-end Hegel Viking, Arcam's CD5, Pure's C-D6 (a DAB radio with built-in CD player) and the very expensive six-disc vertical CD player from B&O are proof of this. that the format is enjoying no small renaissance.
And it gets even better because this particular Lenco CD player not only combines our love of all things transparent (hello, Nothing Ear(a) headphones, LG OLED, and even this huge transparent speaker system), but it's also portable and cheap. !
The Lenco SCD-24TR (that's what it's called) is a portable CD player and FM radio that can be mains or battery powered and its eye-catching transparent design is perfect for watching your CDs get moving and spin your tracks.
You make me spin, baby (turns to the right)
It's not a new technology (CD was first introduced in 1979, the year I also made my debut) and you won't find Bluetooth audio or phone charging here. But I maintain that the joy of sharing CDs and listening to an entire album, from start to finish together, is something that will help you get to know your friends or your partner better and, above all, makes music tangible again.
Yes, the best music streaming services offer easy access to music, but you often overlook album art, and music platforms can throw you a little off course when trying to listen to the artists and performers you love. Plus, not every daily Spotify playlist or weirdly named Blend mix hits the mark.
I recently found an excellent cache of CDs in my mother's car. They were a musical time capsule, many of them covered with my own Sharpie doodles from when she used to make her Eric Clapton, Cream, and Jackson Browne albums on iTunes. I lost that skill (or at least, I lost that laptop with the CD drive) and I lost that time with it, but the music we used to sing together on road trips is a beautiful reminder.
The Lenco SCD-24TR is available for around £59.99 in the UK (that's around $76 or AU$115) and honestly, it looks like a lovely idea for summer…
