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The way forward - Beyond the cd vs. lp argument

mrt2

mrt2

Super Member
OK folks. I am asking you to get out your crystal balls and imagine the high rez format of the future.

I think the constant arguing over the merits of cd vs. lp miss the point. Both of these are technologies of the past. Given advancements in streaming technology, hi rez digital, even turntables and electronics, what will be the audiophile format of choice in 20 years?
 
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Well we had 78s, LPs, CDs. Less than successful SACD, DVD-A, etc.

The music download seems to be the most viable.

It looks like there is still room for improvement in quality in files and hardware.

What I would like is to be able to go the full music server route. Kind if an audio Kindle.
 
We'll all get our music direct from the artist through telepathy, who will then in turn read our minds and acquire the account number to take a set fee for us listening to his tune at a pre-set pay per listen rate..
 
well vinyl sales are up 35% and cd sales dropped this year. the lp format will never die... not just for the purist but the younger generation. i feel the i pod will lose its glamour...
 
RLED's. Recordable Light Emitting Diodes.:scratch2: OK, I just made that up, but they're everywhere else...
 
vinylisfinal said:
well vinyl sales are up 35% and cd sales dropped this year. the lp format will never die... not just for the purist but the younger generation. i feel the i pod will lose its glamour...
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OK, so you imagine a turntable in every household in 20 years? Seriously?
 
mrt2 said:
OK folks. I am asking you to get out your crystal balls and imagine the high rez format of the future. ...
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I'm not at all sure there will be one. Young people who would have been audio hobbyists had they been born 30 years earlier are spending their time and dollars on computers, game systems and home theater instead of high-performance audio. Mp3 offers convenience and good enough sound quality for this mass market, so there's limited incentive for the industry to develop, launch and promote a high-resolution audio format to sell to a dwindling pool of audio enthusiasts. The dismal reception that DVD-A and SACD got in the marketplace will be taken as an object lesson by the MBAs that run the electronics and recording companies, leaving them reluctant to spend money on another new audio format.
 
I'd say the future lies in the ability to access music anywhere, anytime maybe more than a specific format. I think while the format will continually evolve just as it always has, it's this possible instantaneous access to music that may become more of a driving force

Earlier this year, I was in Starbucks, heard music I liked, and was able to locate and download it to my iphone right there at the store--not super audio quality, but super cool nonetheless.

I'd think the majority of consumers of music would be more excited about this than overall audio quality, and being the majority and driving sales, would move things in this direction over absolute fidelity.

Just a thought,

Best,

John
 
Dr Tinear said:
I'm not at all sure there will be one. Young people who would have been audio hobbyists had they been born 30 years earlier are spending their time and dollars on computers, game systems and home theater instead of high-performance audio. Mp3 offers convenience and good enough sound quality for this mass market, so there's limited incentive for the industry to develop, launch and promote a high-resolution audio format to sell to a dwindling pool of audio enthusiasts. The dismal reception that DVD-A and SACD got in the marketplace will be taken as an object lesson by the MBAs that run the electronics and recording companies, leaving them reluctant to spend money on another new audio format.
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Yes, but young people have enjoyed access to vast libraries of music, often having collections of music as large as something only a dedicated music collector would have had 25 or 30 years ago. When I was in college, the music nuts might have 100 or maybe 200 lps, maybe another couple of hundred cassettes. Non music people? Maybe 20 or 25 cassettes was enough for most. Most kids today have many hundreds, if not thousands of songs on their computers/ipods. Music is still important, at least to some people.

I agree with you that many people will be fine with "good enough" sound, but some percentage may want something better. I don't think it would necessarily cost that much more to have hi rez downloads as opposed to the lossy ones we have today.
 
heekma said:
I'd say the future lies in the ability to access music anywhere, anytime maybe more than a specific format. I think while the format will continually evolve just as it always has, it's this possible instantaneous access to music that may become more of a driving force


Best,

John
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But why not offer a format that features both instant access and killer sound? Maybe while they are at it enhanced content including video and perhaps essays by the artists, producers, or critics of the time? And maybe links to other recordings/artists?
 
Music will be played of Flash drives, in very high bit rate recorded formats, that do not even exist today. No moving parts, less room for error.

Someday you will be able to buy fine'ly recorded music grouped by the decade, that requires something the size of a stamp to store it on.
 
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Seriously, I'm thinking of holographic audiovisual "recordings" in some sort of holographically recorded briquetes.
 
SaSi said:
Seriously, I'm thinking of holographic audiovisual "recordings" in some sort of holographically recorded briquetes.
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It would suck to have to listen to that while driving your hydrogen powered electrolysis car/hovercraft.
 
mrt2 said:
But why not offer a format that features both instant access and killer sound? Maybe while they are at it enhanced content including video and perhaps essays by the artists, producers, or critics of the time? And maybe links to other recordings/artists?
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I agree that would be fantastic to have along with the ability to purchase music anwhere, anytime. In that vein, maybe the format of the future would be a hybrid audio/video type of format offering both.

Although cover art is often available with downloads, it would be amazing to have the other content you mention as well. I feel the technology to do something like this isn't far away, practically here now--just a matter of interest driving innovation, but it would be cool if a hybrid like the example above became the common format rather than just a simple audio download.

The way things seem to be evolving though, I think even though there will always be those of us who want great fidelity, if the majority wants 99.5% fidelity--but with all the associated content above added, that may well be the format of the future instead.

Best,

John
 
Funny you should ask. NY Times today has this article relating to the question:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/technology/internet/16tune.html

Essentially: Cloud/virtual subscription library with "always on" Internet. But . . . but . . . what kind of reproduction quality?

My own local library is just now touting that they afford us use of Naxos which offers access to "50,000 tracks and 30 labels."
http://www.naxos.com/

I'm pretty sure it WON'T be Slot Radio. Mighty misbegotten from what I can ascertain.

I'll still be buying CDs and ripping 'em lossless for the forseeable future. But I was "lucky" enough to have all my LPs burn in a housefire so I never had to make a decision on switching media.
 
I think we're seeing now that a variety of formats and media can co-exist. In the digital domain, the dissociation between format (redbook, MP3, various high-resolution formats) and media (optical discs, SS storage, hard drives, whatever's next) will continue. But I predict that optical discs such as CD will be around for the rest of my life (I'm 53).
 
Knowing the way that society and the music industry have been "evolving" it'll most likely be via acoustically-coupled butt-plugs. :nono:

-D
 
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