The past meets the future

There are some interesting responses above that made me think of other areas in audio that might suffer the same fate - the first was loudspeakers and, if they become a thing of the past won’t large mono-block amplifiiers suffer the same fate?

With the advent of Atmos, even small speaker systems can sound "very effective", and by "effective" I do not necessarily mean good.

• Atmos wow’s people, but it does not replicate the recorded sound verbatum.
• So are the large expensive speakers the next dinosaur?
• and once large speakers become extinct, won’t the large Mono-blocks be next?

From my own personal experience, I downsized my home theatre system to a Bluesound Sound bar + subwoofer

• gone are all the additional speakers and associated cables
• gone is the Blueray player that streaming made redundent

As @ghdprentice noted

when a good looses its performance edge… it’s appeal becomes all nostalgic…

And as new devices, supported by the convenience that "Alexa:" provides, come to the market, then is that the demise of high end audio altogether?

I think we now live in a era of "convenience"

• streaming - we no longer need to buy music/movies, we just rent it
• voice control - much easier to say "Alexa, next track please"
• size - the new speakers may not have the same abilities as the big towers, but they are getting better with every year that passes.
  • and they do not require cables or a lot of space

Two channel systems started a revolution way back in time when it was realized that it added dimension to the music.

Will Atmos (and other forms of sound manipulation approaches) see the end of stereo recordings?

I think that high-end systems will be around for the next little while, but perhaps more as "Audio Bling".

But the move to those invisible home automation systems that incorporates audio reproduction will probably see the end of the magnificent two channel systems that adorn our homes today - not just the humble turntable.

But that brings me to the opening scene of "I, Robot",

• where Will Smith gets out of bed, picks up a remote and activates an old CD player,
• which springs into life playing "Superstition" by SteveiWonder
• pure nostalgia !

I Robot - Première Scène - Bing video

Something to think about 😎

Regards - Steve

I think the 296 GTB is the prettiest Ferrari in decades. 

All good comments above. especially williewonka's recitation of Ghdprentice's statement of a good losing it's performance edge. In looking back on my own situation over the last few years, every single bit of attention and upgrades have been  totally committed to streaming side. As a result streaming sound advantage has in fact commended the vinyl side to a purely nostalgic medium, it just sits there folornly unused, very sad. Even more sad is, I'm just beginning to acknowledge that regardless of how much I upgraded vinyl side it would rarely be used. I'm so immersed in the complexity of streaming, the sound quality is wonderful, the convenience is undeniable, whats not to like. I'm very afraid my listening prerogatives may have changed to the point I may not be able to go back to old ways of listening. My new way of listening is pretty much stream of consciousness, with a few taps on my tablet I can instantly go wherever my mind takes me, totally addictive for me!

I'm feeling very sad at the moment for my vinyl, all the effort to obtain present setup, 3500+ albums, and all it is is a memory piece. I'm really in a difficult place right now as to whether to sell it all off, or see it languish. The hoarder in me wants to keep, but whats the point if I only rarely or never use it.

I know from other posts all over the interwebs others have been at this same juncture and sold everything off, now I'm here. Is this how vinyl will die?

Being one of the people who gets royally screwed by streaming.....I will never do it.

Streaming is another Method to create a replay of a music recording.

In terms of the Technology, it is the latest and most relevant, and interfaces quite satisfactorily into general methods used in a household today.

There are those who use downloaded content only, and some others are using Hard Media that is stored as a file in conjunction with downloaded content.

When it comes to the individuals who have chose to use Hard Media and create a stored file, these Hard Media Items were at one time a sale item that was supplying a performer/performers and their support, a reasonable remuneration for their work.

A New Act with a growing fan base could quite easily develop their act, as the monies were available to get to this level. Nearly all Hard Media owned by myself in the past, especially my earliest days has been purchased as new items.

Today I know how my purchase along with many others purchases benefitted a Performer or Group.

Today with the knowledge of how beneficial Hard Media Merchandise is to a New Act, I deliberately buy the material, my most recent being a Crowd Fund for a Group I have almost Zero Knowledge of.

If I were to go down the streaming route, my purchase of New Acts Material would be meniscal as a remuneration and the chances of the New Act to survive is severely at risk, when revenues from streaming are the only method for receiving a payment for the work.

Resorting to a Live Performance will help with remuneration, but again, the turnaround of Performers and Bands is becoming vast, and very few are not able to develop their full potential, as monies are quite starved.

I don't look forward to the time the only option is,  to attempt to enjoy music replayed as a streamed content in the home, from an endless roll over of short lived acts that produce almost identical content, very similar to how a TV music channel works . I also enjoy seeing a Act that has a longevity, one that develops their skills and ultimately become one that is more than worth seeing live and is able to be present for a long period of time, this is where the best memories are to be found. 

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