Vivia - Turntable for Compact Discs

Electronics music Audio player product concept industrial design reddot

Vivia is a turntable for Compact Discs.

By applying the analog features of the existing vinyl turntable to CDs, Vivia increases the tactile experience of the CD.

Vinyl surpassing the sales of Compact Discs

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), in 2022 vinyl sales surpassed Compact Discs (CDs) for the first time since 1987, with 41 million vinyl copies sold in the U.S. compared to 33 million CDs.

Since the 2010s, streaming services, such as Spotify, YouTube Music and Apple Music have become the universal standard for listeners. Music has now become a thing that people “borrow” like books from the library, rather than owning it itself.

However, vinyl still has the analog value of making listeners feel like they “own” this music. Tactile features such as taking out the record, putting it on the turntable, setting the tone arm, spinning the record, and even seeing the data engraved directly on the record help the listener interact directly with their music.

Although to play a CD it must be physically handled like a vinyl, the data contained in them is digitized, like a streaming platform. This creates a divide between the listeners and their music. Furthermore, since the CD player is operated by buttons, it puts the CD in an ambiguous position between LP and streaming services. This has decreased the total sales of CDs.

How CDs are “still” better than vinyl?

Although it has dropped in popularity, the CD still has advantages over vinyl.

First, to listen to an entire album, vinyl users must flip the record after listening to half of it. Comparatively, CDs have data on only one side, so there is no such hassle.

Second, the price range of vinyls is expensive: usually ranging from $30 to $50. Meanwhile, CDs are relatively inexpensive, from $10 to $20, making it a more accessible purchase.

Finally, since data on a CD is read by a laser, it has the advantage of having a relatively lower risk of breakage as compared to a vinyl, whose data is physically read directly along engravings with a needle.

Vivia aims to apply the analog features of the vinyl turntable to CDs so the charms of the CD could appeal to consumers.

TONE ARM & VOLUME KNOB

The tone arm automatically calculates the overall running time of the CD and moves slowly from the outside to the center of the CD like a turntable, matching the length of the album. Listeners can adjust the playback time of the music by moving the tone arm directly.

TRACK SELECTOR

Listeners can switch the tracks of the CD by pressing the Track Selector left and right, just as DJs spin records on a turntable. After a track is switched, the tone arm automatically moves to the right position.