The CD player is dead.......

Kijanki, I still don't know why I am NOT getting through! I am NOT afraid that someone is going to take away my CD's. That is NOT it at all! I want the SAME scrutiny applied to Music Storage that was applied to the CD Format when it first came out, the same scrutiny that should be applied to ANY new Format to replace an old Format. It was only after years of scrutiny, after Manufacturers were finally convinced that existing CD's weren't perfect sound forever, that any progress was even attempted to improve on that Format. Of course this cuts into Corporate Profits, and we can't have that! Ditto for the Computer Industry and Music Storage. You think that I assume that server based system has to sound inferior, it doesn't! The limiting factor on how good a server based system sounds comes from the Computer Industry itself, not me! The Industry has an attitude of, "Hey Pal, it's just what you see"! It is the same attitude another Industry had when CD was first released with, "Perfect Sound Forever". I see how we as consumers dealt with that attitude in the past. Why give the Computer Industry a free pass? We behaved like Audiophiles scrutinizing the new Format of CD when first released. No-one said, hey, if you don't like CD's
,don't buy them. Otherwise, you don't have a right to complain. Why the double standard whenever anyone tries to scrutinize Music Storage? I KNOW that the Computer Industry can do better, and you do as well. There exists NO motivation for the Computer Industry to improve on Music Storage, unless ALL Industries fear that most Consumers will hold on to their CD's no matter what new Format is created. Isn't THAT what most Consumers did with SACD, and DVD Audio? I believe the reason was that SACD/DVD-Audio only SOUNDED slightly better than CD, NOT that SACD/DVD-Audio was only more or less CONVENIENT than CD! So don't tell me that Consumers don't make value judgements about Sound Quality! Well, that is EXACTLY what the Computer Industry is saying. These are the people who you are going to trust to replace the CD? Someone has to say, "NOT GOOD ENOUGH, KEEP WORKING ON IT"! Not, "WELL...IF IT IS JUST WHAT I SEE, I GUESS THAT I HAVE TO JUST TAKE IT"! Lets make sure that we hammer anyone who complains about any lack of Sound Quality. Something the Industry should have done when the first CD came out, instead of allowing Public perception drive us to improve severely cutting into our profits! Can't allow that to happen again!

"Kijanki, I still don't know why I am NOT getting through!"

I'm still not sure what you want to improve in "Music Storage". The only parameter that counts is the jitter and it can be suppressed many different ways. My storage to DAC transimission ends-up with respectable 250ps word clock jitter that is further suppressed by asynchronous upsampling of Benchmark DAC1.

"Why the double standard whenever anyone tries to scrutinize Music Storage?" - What is wrong with music storage - say it. I'm begging you.

SACD sounds much better, according to professional reviews, (equivalent of 20/96) but only if recording measures-up. SACD died because of greed. They charged at the beginning over $30 per CD while their production cost was pretty much the same (and you cannot make backup or store on HD) and lost momentum. It is very difficult to establish new standard and make people buy new equipment - unless you make media (SACD) initially less expensive. Iomega had perfect ZIP drive but wanted too much for disks and licensing fees - ended up with fiasco. It is also case of Sony Mini-Disk that could be perfect solution for portable music (car, Boom box etc). Remember Beta VCRs? Quality has nothing to do with it.

"So don't tell me that Consumers don't make value judgements about Sound Quality!" - No they don't. Most of customers are not audiophiles and care only about music. Basic quality of MP3 is more than enough for them. Have you ever seen CD being not on the top of the charts because of the sound quality?

Am I getting through to you?

Pettyofficer ..Lay off the "cap lock",no need to shout or pound you opinions on this site.IMO,most dont really care.If you dont like whats going on/or not going on in the download world,dont get involved..Simple enough,next problem!

Almarg

A well designed cd player will have jitter issues that lie somewhere between minimal and none,

A well designed dac will not have jitter issues either.

And this thing continues on forever. A couple points, Kijanki. You give me Technobabble which is completely meaningless unless you take into account the attitude of the Industry that is producing the Technology. I have already covered the Industries attitude that first produced CD, the same attitude that the current Computer Industry embraces, the same attitude that you embrace. Most Customers are not Audiophiles and only care about (sic) Music, MP3 is good enough. Alright Mr. Technobabble, then remind me again what qualifies an Computer Industry with an MP3 Technological Attitude to replace the CD? Thank God we aren't exactly hiring overachievers to accomplish this task! If you were an Employer, would you seriously hire these people? Isn't that exactly what you are doing tasking them to replace the CD? I'm sorry, but these people aren't simply qualified to do the job, not with their MP3 attitude. I would love to see them do your Taxes with their barely good enough attitude, you would end up in jail for a very long time.
The fact that a majority of consumers still listen to CD's as opposed to SACD/DVD-Audio was a value judgement based on a comparison of the Sound Quality of all three Formats. The slight increase in Sound Quality of SACD/DVD-Audio over CD didn't justify the huge increase in additional costs. Sounds like a value judgement based on Sound Quality comparison to me! It is the 800 pound gorilla
in the room, how can you possibly not see it?
People (or Computer Industry) who believe that basic quality of MP3 is more than enough, are simply not qualified to replace the CD on technical grounds, as well as on so many other levels! What qualifies them? Would you hire a 2 year old Child to be your Lawyer? Well your going to lose! Performance will always count for something, even if most consumers could give a farthing about it! That is certainly NOTHING to be proud of, certainly nothing to be shoving down the throats of others! I am just completely baffled how viraciously everyone argues against higher performance versus MP3, and still call themselves Audiophiles. They seek the destruction of Higher Performance Formats to eliminate the competition to their Lower Performance sacred cow. We have seen this before (ad nausium) with LP and CD. This is nothing new! You aren't fooling anyone. We know want you want to do with eliminating the CD Format! I don't think that you can be more transparent!