Should Sound Quality of Computer Audio be improved

Strongly disagree- Theebout. Your description not so clear. You leave out several important facts. Coronal Mass ejections are created by the Suns Magnetic Field and super heated plasma. When it is ejected it carries its own magnetic field from the Sun. This envelopes the earths own magnetic field (Halfways between the Earth and Moon- are you kidding?). It has its own polarity and interacts with the Earths magnetic polarity. Same polarity as Earth (+ and +) it is relatively repelled. Opposite Polarity attract
(+ and -) with Earths magnetic field means a real bad day for us! You ignore Polarity, the Suns magnetic strength that goes into a Coronal Mass Ejection, and the proximity of this event to the Earth itself. These Ejections are created by the uneven rotation of the Sun. Part of the Sun rotates faster than other, which causes Suns magnetic lines of flux to twist. Super heated plasma follows these lines of flux. When these lines of flux twist so tightly that the ends of the loops actually cross, the loop is ejected from the Sun with tremendous speed and force. Sun goes through a 7 year period where magnetic lines are twisted ever so tightly before either snapping back into place, or ejected. What you are referring to is called a super dense Neutron Star (Not Neuron). Again, you don't need to "Erase" a Hard Drive to corrupt it. All that you would need to do is to fragment the files. They naturally fragment over time because magnetic flux bleeds, just like a magnet gets weaker over time with numerous usage. Just like the magnetic flux bleeds from one layer of a cassette to another layer on top, or below. Audible ghost Music can be heard from one track overlayed on top of another. The issue is that CDs have absolutely none of these problems, or are certainly NOT within question. Temporary is what temporary does as Music File on a Hard Drive- they weren't made to last. If they were meant to last they wouldn't be
T-E-M-P-O-R-A-R-Y, fragile, fragmenting, malware/spyware susceptible, magnetically redundant, disposable trash! Do you know how many Hard Drives are disposed of every year?
Flying shards of metal, what are you smoking? Now please explain just how small these magnetic particles really are on that Hard Drive. We are not talking metal shards, we are talking magnetic flux. Bang a magnet, and you can reverse its polarity. Polarity is kind of important, don't you think? It kind of determines an attractive, or repelling force. How can you talk about magnetic force, and completely leave out the all important thing- the direction or polarity of that force? Maybe a 180 degrees out of phase from "Full of Clarity"? That's more than just a little off! More like half truths, and inconvenient truth severely edited. No more half baked arguements please, it's getting really boring. Talk about Magnetism, and leave out Polarity? Go back to grade school where you can play with magnets again. Can you figure out why some magnets attract while others repell? I am sure that you can figure it out! I will bring a thirty pound magnet and set it next to your Hard Drive and a pile of CDs. We will leave it there for three days. My money will be on the CDs still working- sure bet! Now why would I instead risk that same money on a Virus ridden Hard Drive, and trash the CDs? Nope, I'm greedy- and not a gambler. I insist on having both Aces up my sleeve. That is about as clear as it gets. Let your fancy talk convince me to settle for just one Ace being better than two? I can add you know.
You just prey on the poor S.O.B's who can't- for shame!

Mapman: Sound Quality minus Music Selection equals High Quality Silence. Sound Quality, and Music Selection are both part of the equation. Take one, or the other out of the equation- and you end up with what? An Audio Format ready to replace all others? You seem to want to isolate Music Selection as an objection. My point is that if Music Selection is the first domino to fall, second will be Sound Quality, third will be Computer Audio Download Format AS only Format of last resort. So you are eating up my CD Selection, and pushing Download Selection further towards the edge of a cliff. Continue slow growth of Download Music Selection, and an ever accelerating increase in the elimination of CD Music Selection. Some will lose Music Selection in total. I already have! Many more will fall victim to this acceleration curve. Total elimination of CD Selection (Without Download alternative) may very well create a wave of victims. This could create a backlash, and end up costing us both Formats. I'm left with what??? This is your experiment, switching Audio Formats in this manner. Never been done this way before. We are in unexplored territory now, with the preservation of our Music (Old and New) hanging in the balance. I say our Music is more important to us, and not worth the risk. The Music Selection simply isn't there as a foundation to support Format switchover. In fact the foundation is dangerously eroded for both Formats. Collapse is inevitable, in fact one collapse could instigate the collapse of the other. Of course it isn't clear, neither was the collapse of the housing bubble. It also wasn't clear how housing collapse could bring the entire Economy of the U.S. to its knees. Until this actually happened people ignored the warning signs there too! Keep on investing in property. Housing bubble hasn't burst for decades, and it will never burst for the forseeable future. Economic Bubbles burst based on the deficit of something becoming too large. Your Formats Bubble is based on the deficit of Music Selection. A deficit that can only enlarge when any alternative selection (CD) is rapidly yanked. If your Format cannot fill this- POP!!! This is what you propose with "Soon all New Music will only be available as Music Downloads". Your Format is years, if not decades away from being able to fill that selection vacuum. You are disregarding this, and forcing the acceleration of something that is not ready- POP! I go down with you, with my Music, when Computer Audio Download bubble bursts. This is NOT a favor to me!!! You are taking extreme risks with my Music that I never signed up for. You are writing checks that your Download Format cannot cash, and I don't want to be the one ending up paying the difference! Try a one on one (One advance selection in Download equals one elimination of CD selection). You can do this at any speed you want so long as you are actually really replacing in volume (Download) what you are eliminating (CD). Me thinks that you just want to eliminate "ALL" Music Selection to force everyone to come crawling to Download Format, even if it means having to sacrifice some (If not all) Music Selection. You are being the Monkey playing with a loaded gun, if this is your intention. It goes off, and shoots someone else in the head. I DON'T WANT IT TO BE ME! You object to this, and are extremely offended. You personally attack in response with a dog-pile. You do this to bring down your prey with numbers. Isn't that rich? New Music, Old Music, ALL Music for everyone. Grow up, and face it. Your Format cannot do that, and you have no plans on making it so. You expect it to happen in a vacuum of Music Selection, and make false promises of "Soon To Be" Download Selection (Smoke and Mirrors)- POP!!! We lose ALL Music Selection, and BOTH Formats. Your dangerous game is way too rich for my blood. I think that I will hold onto my blood! Wish that I could hold onto my Music, instead of letting you gamble with it. Me thinks that you are just going to gamble it away on the "CRAP" Tables of Convenience- S-O-O S-A-D!!!

But Petty, how does all of your overtly longish posts support or address your actual subject title; "Should the sound quality of computer audio be improved"?

Your responses have been completely centered around how you feel computer audio will most likely hurt our future music selection, potential quality and the unproven robustness of the medium's data storage techniques?

So, why did you choose to label the subject title "should the quality be improved..." when you aren't really addressing your own chosen subject title's question?

An increase in the number of Music Selection of Higher Sound Quality for a particular Format, IS an increase in that Formats overall Sound Quality. What is the point of only having one, or two selections available of higher sound quality in any particular format. One, or two LPs!
One, or two CDs! One, or two downloaded Music Files! If any of these were the case (And the rest of the selection was trash for Sound Quality) then would it be a stretch of the truth to say that the particular Format is a "LITTLE" short on Sound Quality? Does only one selection of high sound quality elevate ANY Format to high sound quality status, despite the rest of the selection sounding like trash (hypothetically)? This is only an extreme result for example purposes only. Same applies to a lesser degree.
You cannot download DXD, 32 Bit, MLP-24/96-24/192, Multi-Channel MLP-24/96-24/192, XRCD, Multi-Channel SACD, HRx, H2 N2...etc. Tossing the Silver Disks (As many have demanded) means we toss the option of selection in these disks. Argue the Sound Quality of these Disks (I get mixed results) all that you want. We lose the option of ever improving on these Disks, or increasing their selection. For many Recordings, it will be a step down to adopt to Downloading as a Format of last/ only resort. Give me DXD, 32 Bit, MLP, Muli-Channel, XRCD...etc, as available as Download so that we atleast have the option of trying to improve. The point is we don't know where any of these might eventually lead us in Sound Quality if modified/ updated in application. We slam the door shut on any opportunity to find out if we go Download of last/ only resort. I see many Music Servers being capable of storing 32 Bit Recordings. I am hard pressed to find any downloadable 32 Bit Music Files. Yet, everyone is just iching to burn all 32 Bit Silver Disks, or eliminate their selection. Premature is, what premature does! No safety net here, that is my issue. Silver Disks would make a convenient (I dare say) Safety Net for Music Files. Professional Mastering Studio's would certainly do better than some rank amature burning a disk in his garage (Contrary to popular Myth, what a fantasy. Leap tall buildings in a single bound with your spare time?). Suprised to find us coming full circle back to 1980- near the dawn of CD. Right back to argueing "Bits are Bits" with Music Files, as was misrepresented with CD. As if the research into Digital Recording, for the last 32 years never even happened! Can you say, D-E-J-A-V-U? Arguing the same crap, over, and over again ad-nauseum. Finding out we were wrong again, all over again. Well, lets re-invent the wheel 10,000 times more. THIS we call PROGRESS??? We are just re-inventing the same mistakes that we have made for the last 32 years. Slap it on a lunch box, and "SELL IT"!
"SELL IT"! "SELL IT"! In this turmoil of experimenting with our Audio Formats, a safety net (CD) would be prudent.
Nahh! They would rather see us standing naked, like Charleston Heston in "Planet Of The Apes, clinging to a few threads of download Music Selection. Pleases them, to no end, to rip the last threads of CD Music Selection from our bodies. Last fig leaf of self-respect! "Get your filthy paws off of my CDs, you damn dirty ape"! (Joke). Still seems like a bunch of Apes on the steering committee of this thing. Just hope we don't get driven...OOPS!...off of the road. Do we all just pound our chests in salute to Download Music Files, our only/ last Format of resort (The Law Giver)? "BOW YOUR HEAD, HUMAN. Downloading is your MASTER now"! I have to admit that I am a little rebelious here. Can't help it, it is in my Genes. There are certainly alternatives to "THIS"! Why in the world would you want to close ALL of those doors, and go without a safety net? Easier ways to kill yourself, kill ALL Audio Formats, and kill off your valuable Music.

I can add you know. You just prey on the poor S.O.B's who can't- for shame!

I don't feel any shame in bringing numbers and analysis to the discussion, rather than more "common sense" oversimplifications. Einstein said that common sense was the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen. Was there anything out there to play a .Wav file when you were 18, PettyOfficer?

So long as my employer continues to store TS-SCI information -- national security secrets -- on magnetic drives, I'm comfortable storing my DSD discs and 24/192 vinyl rips there.