I'm going to be the negative nelly and say that SACD and DVD-A are going to become extinct or very expensive (in comparison) in the near future. :sigh:
I mean the average idiot is out there buying music in mp3 format only, regular cd's are themselves in danger not to mention the exotic formats like SACD and DVD-A (both of which I have).
Mp3 players are very convient and sexy with their ability to store photos and videos (although why someone would want to watch anything, much less a movie on anything smaller than a 20" - 30" screen is beyond me) to view on a flashy screen and that's what matters to the average consumer: a portable, sexy, multi-media device. Convience is what matters, sound and picture quality be damned.
Case in point: My sister is a big Rush fan like me, and I of course went out and bought the new album on cd (and have preordered the MVI DVD version as well) and she simply borrowed it and ripped it to her computer Itunes so she could play it on her Ipod despite my protests that she just buy the cd for a whole freakin $10 and have superior sound and the fantastic artwork and lyrics as well in a whole package. Nope, that's not convient and it's not free: she doesn't care about higher fidelity sound and she and my brother in law both listen to music in the mp3 format through their Ipods or their computer with cheap portable headphones or silly little Ipod or computer "stereo" tiny portable speakers. They have burned all of their cd's to their computer and haven't bought any in years: if they want new music they buy from Itunes or rip a cd from a friend (or me!).
This is all despite the fact that they have a vintage perfect condition Technics SA 5370 receiver and Sony cd player and decent Advent bookshelf speakers hooked up to it. They hardly ever use this small but at least real stereo system to play music and it collects dust while they "listen" to music through mp3's on their Ipods or computer. (This aggravates me to no end: I've listened to their Technics with my stereo and it sounds just as good or better than my Pioneer SX-650 and Kenwood KR-7600. And they got it for free from my brother in laws dad who had it stored in the basement unused for years, it's in mint condition and would go for about $200, but they won't sell it too me even though I don't see them every really using or appreciating it
).
And why don't they use their superior sounding conventional stereo? Because it is more trouble to load up a single cd than to shuffle and pick from hundreds or thousands of songs that are stored on a computer or mp3 player at a few clicks of a mouse or Ipod screen scroller. It's that simple. They nor the average consumer don't care about the fidelity they are missing by using the mp3 format and bad sounding source devices like a stock computer sound card, Ipod, cheap headphones, or computer "stereo" speakers (in comparison to their conventional stereo components, I'm not saying that some mp3 players, headphones, computer sound cards, and computer stereos don't sound good, just that they are expensive relative to the same quality or higher that can be attained from conventional stereos, and that theirs are definitely cheap and low quality compared to their Technics/Sony/Advent stereo system).
Accessibility and convenice will win out over superior sound for the average consumer anyday, much to the detriment of those who prefer the highest quality audio they can attain in a given price range. :sigh:
PS: Signed.
