will the day come when?

No. Two trends are colliding: better hard copy formats like DVD-Audio, SACD, Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, and vinyl versus low res downloadable formats, like MP3. The low res formats will win popular volume, effectively beaching the hi res formats with fewer and fewer buyers. CD's will be considered amongst the high quality versions of performances for the more discerning audiophile. (Note that well done CDs are already there, like XRCD and HDCD.) They will become collecter's items for high end hard copy aficiondos.

I agree with Jameswei.We audiophiles are a minority.All the young people are beeing raised on computers and mp3.My twenty six year old nephew paid me a visit the other day.He has a small system and has always been interested in my sytems over the years.I ask him if he had bought any new equipment lately,he replied he had not touched it or his cd collection in months.He told me it was easier to download songs off the net by computer to his mp3 player,then listen through head phones or play it through an adapter through his car or home system.I don't see any of todays youth buying real home audio systems much at all unless it is low-fi surround systems.In fact none of my sons and daughters friends that are in their twentys and thirtys are buying serious audio systems at all.It's just cheaper and easier to go the pc/mp3/with in ear headphones.I think one day cds will be collecters items.Why the audio manufactures can't see the light and decide on one type of cd or digital format is beyond me.Seems they are cutting their own throats with the red book/sacd/hdcd/blueray war.What do the rest of you guys think?

If you look at the fact that good old RB cd sales have stood up to over 20 years of other formats coming and going (eg. DCC, minidisc, and even mp3 and the recent stalling popularity of HDCD/SACD/DVD-A), there's your answer.

Given the size of the CD back catalog & individual CD collections, plus the backward compatability of DVD players and the simplicity of use, I can't see CD's being made redundant in my lifetime.

Just look at what happened to vinyl! haha