SwingDJs

I'm wondering which is the best way to preserve your CD's. Is it better to keep them lying flat or in an upright position. I remember that for LP's it was a bad idea to keep them upright as they would eventually warp.


Jacques

Sorry to disagree with you but I was taught just the opposite. I always store my LP's upright.

Been doing so for decades and have never had a problem with warping.

I was taught that laying them flat is what makes them warp.

Agreed. I've never heard of anyone storing their records flat, one on top of another. I can't imagine that method of storage being all that good for the records. I have a lot of serious record collecting friends, and they all store them upright, myself included.

As for CDs, I doubt it matters either way as they are in protective cases and not lying against each other like records, nor are they made of a material as delicate as vinyl.

Jesse

My bad. Come to think of it, all those used LP stores sell them standing up as well.

JG

What's more important is probably the same as other things of an archival nature; avoid extremes of heat/cold/humidity and above all keep the envirommental conditions consistent. Large and frequent temperature change will likely do more damage than orientation.

Sorry to disagree with you but I was taught just the opposite. I always store my LP's upright.

That what I thought when I read the original post, but I thought maybe he knew something I didn't.

As for CDs, Toon Town's comments mirror my experience and what I have read/heard: quick and steep temperature variations are much more dangerous foes. They have wrecked havoc on a few of my CDs. That and using them to play frisbee golf(, Ron... ). The first time I realized that CDs were not indestructable was from CDs left in my car in the summer or Chicago winter. Temperature variations not only disrupt the adhesion between the data film and the disc on CD-Rs (causing it to "bubble" off), but also cloud the silicone on all CDs so that the laser cannot penetrate the silicone.

Albums were more prone to warping because of the vinyl and the size. Not so with CDs, which are smaller and made of more sturdy silicone, not vinyl. Moreover, jewel cases take all the strain of being stored vertically, as opposed to cardboard record sleeves which only protected records from scratches.

(good thread, but shouldn't it be in tech talk?)