Compact Disc

It was the future, once. And there's still something good about holding a physical embodiment of a sound source

- DELWYN MALLETT

ON 1 MARCH 1983, Dutch newspapers carried an advertisement introducing a new and apparently miraculous recording medium with a bold claim: "This will be a memorable day in the history of sound. For the first time music will sound in the living room as pure as in the concert hall: without the extra noise of the needle in the groove, without dust particles, scratches or dents.

The 'Compact Disc' was a joint development by Dutch company Philips and Japanese giant Sony, and it was the Japanese consumer who got first dibs at the novelty in December 1982.

The first commercially produced compact disc was pressed at Philips' Polygram factory in Langenhagen, near Hanover in Germany, on 17 August 1982. It was a recording of Chopin waltzes by Claudio Arrau, who was on hand to press the start button. The first pop CD was The Visitors by ABBA, their last studio album and digitally recorded. By November a catalogue of 150 albums, mainly classical, had been pressed.

Immediately the 'Is vinyl better than CD?' controversy started. Hi-fi buffs, in love with the sound of the stylus in the groove and their expensive decks, amplifiers and speakers, swore then - and continue to do so to this day - that analogue is better than digital. Here, 'better' is largely a subjective assessment; both formats have their sonic advantages.