The way forward - Beyond the cd vs. lp argument

[similost]

This, gentlemen, seems to be the correct answer.:thmbsp: It may also be the correct answer when it comes to software, movies, and newspapers. Now whether it's the "right" answer for those of us who still enjoy playing vinyl on thirty year old turntables/electronics remains to be seen.:headscrat

My issue with this is, the internet won't be anything as we know it today in 20 years. May be completely different technology with a completely different delivery method.. TCP/IP may be as ancient as the abacus.

 

[thisOne]

... what will be the audiophile format of choice in 20 years?

Considering that the OP's questions was "audiophile format of choice in 20 years" it will clearly be vinyl because...

1. It's the original popular format for the delivery of hi fidelity music
2. Its collector factor in 20 years will be greater
3. It's nearly indestructible if properly cared for
4. It is housed in a nice package with pretty artwork on it
5. It can be displayed stating "I'm an Audiophool" (tell me how you do that with a high res digital file or stream?)
6. It will always have it's "cool" factor.

For the rest of the public who will never read this post, the music format of choice will be whatever the latest gimmick is, which makes money for the distributor of the music and whatever is pushed-out to the holiday buying public by Wal-Mart (or it's future equivalent)

 

[Ghoulardi]

obviously it would be digital files. the problem with digital files is theres no way to easily tell if you have the best quality of that file that's available.

for example, with records and cd's you know you have an original pressing in hand and are thus assured of the quality at hand. with digital files you might have a file that was upsampled from a lower bitrate file and other than your ears, there's no way to track the "pedigree" if you will of said sound file.

thats what im afraid of. the uncontrolled downward spiral of the quality of digital files. even record companies can be guilty of this.

Ah...but with the super killer(always on always connected)technology,your storage unit would be programmed to sample what you have against every
similar file(song)that it comes across. You would be notified that a better quality file had been found. You could choose to change the files on your command or to automatically change out the files. Always looking,always searching for the ultimate version.

 

[sfox52]

Gridlife! What happened to all of that lovely hippy ****!!

 

[AngelRa]

In 20years the mp3 kids will be the adults and must of us in nursing homes
so I guess the LP will be in museums along with CDs
the music will be either streaming or solid state stored

 

[rushfan]

I also predict that most of society will move from owning a file to buying into a streaming network, so they can hear whatever they want, whenever they want without ever actually owning any of it. Like YouTube for high res music.

My thoughts exactly. Internet bandwidth is just going to keep increasing to the point where streaming 24/96 audio will be ho-hum. You will probably be able to purchase subscriptions from major music providers in several simultneous formats - lossy files for your portable, streaming digital for your car stereo (a la satellite radio) and a super high-res stream for your home audio rig. Your library would be persistent and ready at the touch of a button. No need to own media if you don't want it. Liner notes could be made into multimedia streams - lyrics, cover art etc and broadcast in a format appropriate to the playback device.

I also believe that CDs and even LPs will be available in 35 - 50 years. Those formats are proven performers and the hardware to support them will hang around for a long, long time - as least as long as AK survives! Arcane as those formats will be, there will be consumers who will want to keep them live.

 

[mrt2]

Considering that the OP's questions was "audiophile format of choice in 20 years" it will clearly be vinyl because...

1. It's the original popular format for the delivery of hi fidelity music
2. Its collector factor in 20 years will be greater
3. It's nearly indestructible if properly cared for
4. It is housed in a nice package with pretty artwork on it
5. It can be displayed stating "I'm an Audiophool" (tell me how you do that with a high res digital file or stream?)
6. It will always have it's "cool" factor.

)

I wouldn't count on it, but hey, anything is possible. Here are a few things that are pretty certain. In 2030 we will have 20 more years of music, at least 99% of which will not be on lp. That means that the lp will be even more of a niche market for the youth of 2030, with 99% or more of all the music released in the previous 45 years having never been pressed lp. Unless, of course, someone starts building new cutting lathes and the like and greatly increases production of lps, since most of the existing lathes and associated manufacturing equipment will be 65 to 75 years old in 2030.

Will the collector factor be greater, or less in 20 years? Collectibles can go up, and they can go down. Look at comic books. Look at baseball cards. As the boomers age,retire, and pass on who will want to buy their classic rock, their modern jazz, their classical collections on vinyl? That is an open question.

The lp, indestructible? OK, if properly cared for. Though the lp revival is kind of sowing the seeds of its own destruction with hundreds of thousands of newbies who do not know how to care for their lps buying them up and wrecking on on cheap tables or old, worn out carts.

The cool factor. Now this is a wild card. 20 years ago, cds were pretty cool. Where are they now? 20 years from now, the lp may seem as old fashioned and archaic to the 20 somethings of tomorrow as the wax cylinder. For all we know, in 20 years the cd may be the retro cool thing to have.

 

[ecandle]

Reading through this post, I had a very similar thought...as it is with any interest, there will be the majority involved, and sub niches within the interest.

Although there will always be companies to cater to these smaller, dedicated interests, the reason they can and do is generally because no one else is.

I could see fidelity taking a backseat to convenience and instantaneous purchasing, and those who pursue "fidelity" viewed as anachronistic.

Best,

John

"I could see fidelity taking a backseat to convenience and instantaneous purchasing, and those who pursue "fidelity" viewed as anachronistic."

It already has , its called itunes....:tears:

 

[mrt2]

"I could see fidelity taking a backseat to convenience and instantaneous purchasing, and those who pursue "fidelity" viewed as anachronistic."

It already has , its called itunes....:tears:

That is where we are today. But these things go in cycles. Once we get to the point where they are giving away multi terrabyte portables instantly connected to the internet, they will have to come up with something, and better sound quality is always a possibility as a selling point, particularly as the millenial generation gets older and starts to make money.

 

[JohnVF]

That is where we are today. But these things go in cycles. Once we get to the point where they are giving away multi terrabyte portables instantly connected to the internet, they will have to come up with something, and better sound quality is always a possibility as a selling point, particularly as the millenial generation gets older and starts to make money.

Exactly...we''re getting to a point where it'll be just a cheap to have good sound quality. Storage is becoming a non-issue.

 

[fastbike]

Already happened. The Pro Tools releases have already squeezed the dynamics out of the tunes.

Besides folks, predictions of the future are almost always wrong. No flying cars here.

At some point, do the studios quit producing at a quality level that folks HERE would want?

)

 

[jn229]

Analogue and digital will die off, as a new medium will be invented. Music and video will also change as this new medium takes hold throughout the world.

Audio imagining will be a duplicate of the actual artists standing in your room. Movies will be 360 degrees with you the viewer in the middle of the action. Your feelings, and predictions controlled by the medium.

Lets not talk politics in this medium?

P.S.

Only a select few will enjoy this entertainment, do to automation the rest of us will be laid off and to poor to afford or know about it.

 

[merrylander]

Thanks but I will stick with what I have right now. If everyone were to get their music by streaming downloads it will be interesting to watch, after all there is just so much bandwidth between DC and green light.

 

[Vintage_Hi-F]

As far a digital goes I say Wave and Flac would be the "Hi-rez" digital media of the future, despite the fact that they've been around for about a decade and lets not get on this doom and gloom "Oh young people don't care about audio quality stuff" that I've been seeing on here lately especially because I'll wager that a nice chunk of the population on this forum is between the ages of 18-35.

 

[sidbartos]

I have a feeling compression technologies are going to improve to a point where we will be able to have lossless digital music without it having a huge file size. This will allow the purists to finally accept digital music and iPods as a standard.

 

[Vintage_Hi-F]

I have a feeling compression technologies are going to improve to a point where we will be able to have lossless digital music without it having a huge file size. This will allow the purists to finally accept digital music and iPods as a standard.

Well that's partially true, the ipod/mp3 player will still be viewed as a piece (as far as fidelity goes) unless the amp and DA converter are of a significantly higher quality.

 

[JohnVF]

I have a feeling compression technologies are going to improve to a point where we will be able to have lossless digital music without it having a huge file size. This will allow the purists to finally accept digital music and iPods as a standard.

Memory is expanding exponentially. Sampling rates,etc, can and will be whatever they need to be. It's already going in that direction.

 

[mrt2]

Well that's partially true, the ipod/mp3 player will still be viewed as a piece (as far as fidelity goes) unless the amp and DA converter are of a significantly higher quality.

Imagine though a home system built around a DAC/preamp device. This would communicate with a storage device and would be connected to the internet.

 

[mrt2]

Here's a question to ponder. As many young people have basically grown up with ipods, does anyone think the future for high end will be headphone based, or maybe utilize powered speakers?

I am thinking in terms of a Preamp DAC device that connects wirelessly with powered speakers.

 

[blackfly]

Sorry to point this out: it may be as good as it gets right now. So enjoy it. It could very well be that the interest "generally" is such high res never makes it and the best we get from computers is CD level.

If I am wrong, I think the high res format will not only be downloadable but also of some medium. History has shown there always has to be a "product" to sell at a profit. Downloads are too easy to steal for free and no one works such.