Is there a future for Redbook players?

I've always maintained that it only takes ONE superb
redbook recording to prove that the CD format is not
the problem....and there are many. Listen to some
recordings from Mapleshade, XRCD, Mobile Fidelity,
Telarc and others to demonstrate excellence in clarity,
dynamics, soundstaging and ambience. Jazz at the Pawnshop,
though criticized by some for it's performance, is
still a benchmark in live recording.

The MASTERING of many recordings is sadly inferior. There
are thousands of mediocre (or worse) vinyl recordings,
just as there are redbook CD's, SACD's and DVD-Audio's.
Unless and until there is a major effort to produce
superb masterings of recordings, the format will not matter
much.

Certainly, and "all in one" Redbook CDPs are gaining more popularity I guess since jitter could be more an issue once you do separates. I have just purchase a Rotel RCD 1070 (my old cdp just died) and had it mod with the Superclock II (yes, you might consider doing your existing CDP too instead of a new CDP altogether??) and I now have a brand new collection of 1000+ cds......... I do not think I will be moving to SACD/DVD-A format in a hurry till the "race" between the two formats is being sorted out, remember Sony's Beta vs VHS????
Good Luck

Since there's about a million times more music available on
CD than SACD or DVD-A, I think the future for good Redbook players is pretty solid.

It will take a year or two for the lastest DSD tech to find it's way down stream and I don't think the 24/192
DVD-A camp has fired it's last shot.

I beg to disagree. There is NO future planned (i.e. in the corporate business /marketing plans) for redbook ONLY players.

As to players ALSO playing redbook, no doubt. And they'll be getting better & better, and cheaper & cheaper.

So, if financial considerations prime, think of what a modded Sony or Phillips or whatever (SACD/DVD-V/cd) player might do for you.

DVD-A and SACD will not be the death of redbook. These formats are only appriciated by a small community. It's going to take a format that is embraced by the mainstream buyer to kill redbook. If it were not for the legal crackdown, MP3 would be the most likely candidate. Redbook will die when the record companies come up with a secure compressed format that can be downloaded via internet, or over the air (XM, cell phone, etc). Within 10 yrs your entire music collection will be on a credit card sized device that you will carry with you in your wallet. Something like that would kill redbook.

But then again what do I know....