I already am very excited about SACD, which becomes more economically viable and esthetically satisfying with every new release of software, in single, stereo hybrid, multi-channel single, whatever format, and every new piece of hardware, no matter how many different layers it plays. Your premise, that dedicated systems always sound better, is drawn from a single example and some very outdated thinking. Your points of reference are all cumbersome analog machines and electronics. We're not talking about gluing a 45 onto a 33-1/3 LP here. And a multi-format player has more in common with a computer than a turntable with a cassette player. Is your computer less functional because it contains a hard drive, a CD player, a CD burner, and a DVD drive? Digital decoding becomes more efficient as it becomes more compact, and stacking layers of information on top of one another, as well as the detection devices, just makes it more efficient for the manufacturer and the consumer. If they can cram 12 different players into one box, why not offer that to the consumer? If a disc can carry 17 different programs, why limit it to one? Your conclusions are poorly drawn from a flawed experiment, and you call it "common sense". I call it bias, based on a failure to understand a new system. There is no question that a manufacturer must cut corners to offer a player at lower price levels, but that's true of any audio equipment, or automobile. If you must drive a Porsche to the hardware store, okay. Don't criticize the sports sedan with fold-down back seats that the rest of us drive. My Passat is a much better car than anything I could afford before, and my combo SACD player kicks the butt of any other digital source I have ever heard.
