I review home audio products on my blog and YouTube channel, along with tips and tricks to get the best sound possible out of your home stereo!
I Didn’t Expect This From CDs in 2025
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This time last year I posted a video on my YouTube channel highlighting 11 reasons why I thought CDs were coming back in 2025. After selling a lot of CDs in 2024, both in my vintage booth in our local antique mall and at record shows, I thought CDs were becoming cool again with a younger generation. That video was very popular, so I made a few more videos about CD players and those performed well. I then made videos highlighting rare and expensive CDs sold on Discogs and eBay and even THOSE videos were popular with viewers. I reviewed 10 CD players this year and just posted a roundup video ranking those worst to first. I have two more CD players in for review that I need to work on and hopefully more are on the way for 2026. I also bought several vintage CD players this year and repaired them all with simple service techniques that got them working again, which I shared in another video. I hate to think of all the CD players tossed in the trash because they were "broken" when all they needed was a new belt or some new grease applied. So...yeah, I decided to lean into CDs in 2025 and had a blast doing so and it more than doubled my audience on YouTube from 2024. It turns out there's a great community of folks still buying and collecting CDs! Now that I look ahead to 2026, I have a lot of CD related content ready for YouTube. I thought it would be fun to do vintage CD player comparisons by brand with their modern day versions and make that a little series. I also want to release more videos about music in general. I tried one this month about forgotten bands from the 1990s and people really seemed to enjoy it. I also want to make more CDs available in my Discogs store for people to shop and purchase. It's important to note that vinyl records still hold a special place in my heart and I found a new appreciation for them after upgrading to a moving coil cartridge. Right now I have a 1950's HH Scott tube amp powering Klipsch Heresy speakers using the Audio Technica OC9EXN moving coil cart into a Sutherland KC Vibe phono preamp and it sounds amazing. I'm grateful to everyone who has signed up for this mailing list and if you've read this far, remember you can hit reply and message me back with any questions or video ideas for next year. Happy new year. Aaron |
Forever Analog
I review home audio products on my blog and YouTube channel, along with tips and tricks to get the best sound possible out of your home stereo!
Hi friend, Most of the audio related questions I receive involve buying a DAC. There are so many options now that people get "analysis paralysis" and can't make a confident decision. In today's YouTube video, I try to highlight common mistakes people make when shopping for a DAC with the hopes of helping make the process easier: My most common advice is to give yourself time with each piece of gear before upgrading. If you upgrade too quickly, you'll never know the baseline sound signature of...
Hi friends, In the early 1980s, Sony was a leader, along with Philips, in the design, implementation and release of CDs and CD players. Today, Sony no longer makes CD players. In my new YouTube video, I spend time marveling at Sony's engineering on a player they released in 1986, while also trying to understand why they stopped making players today: I enjoyed making this video and hope you do too. Have a great week! Aaron
Hi friends, First, the Forever Analog YouTube channel passed 50,000 subscribers this weekend. I started this channel as a way to help friends with their audio gear purchases and hitting this kind of milestone is very surreal. I appreciate any of you who subscribe and take time out of your busy day to watch my videos. Speaking of YouTube... I thought it would be fun to compare a vintage CD player with a new model, but make sure it was the same manufacturer. So, I bought two Denon CD players,...