High-end hi-fi manufacturer Linn has announced that it will cease production of CD players next year to concentrate on digital streaming equipment.
Linn is the first big company to herald the death of the CD, claiming that there will still be a place for CD in recording and storage of music, but that music recorded on to a hard disk player can be higher quality than that retained on a CD.
The company will continue to manufacture turntables and DVD players, but production of CD players such as the Majik (pictured) will cease entirely from next year.
The firm already provides its own hi-res downloads through Linn Records, which also plans to continue producing CDs, for the moment.
Gilad Tiefenbrun, MD of Linn Products Limited, said: "Our customers have fast recognised the limitations of CD players and in an age of home networking, people now want better control of their music and the ability to enjoy it any room of their home. CD players no longer belong in the specialist domain.
“Having spent the past two years significantly developing Linn DS and listening to feedback from our customers, we have every confidence in our decision.”