future of 2 channel CD sound

I'm extremely happy with the capability of my Redbook setup for the most part. The problem as I see it is the old "garbage in = garbage out" adage. If the studios keep turning out a POOR product it won’t matter how resolved the output is.

I have remastered Redbook CD's that are nothing short of incredible and SACD's that I am less than impressed with. The more I read about what compression and the "Loudness War" the more I wonder if the whole industry isn’t going the other way. Please check out the "Turn Me Up" link at the bottom of the Agon home page for more info. Lots of good info out there but the bottom line seems to be that most of the recording engineers are being pushed into turning out product geared for iPods and low quality MP3 downloads. Make it louder and the kids will buy it. The cost is dynamics, range and in essence – fidelity. I have been looking for a book that rates the sonic quality of CD recordings; some kind of roadmap that will tell me if it’s going to have that “special sound” or if it’s going to be another waste of $16. So far – nothing. I think we are a dying breed …

The future of high resolution 2 channel sound, for most audiophiles, will come in the form of internet downloads to a music server. And perhaps via a memory stick device that you can transfer files to that server. BTW, people here are interested in the SACD format; it's the rest of society that isn't - that's why it is fading. That being said, long live a high resolution format that has been around for decades!

I doubt it. We had our chance with SACD and DVD-A and didn't have the numbers to (or just plain didn't) make those formats a success. Why would a manufacturer waste further time and money trying to mine a market already found to be unresponsive?

We have it! It is called SACD.

There may be a new high definition audio format on the horizon, but I doubt the software will be sold in stores. I see no future in a high definition silver disc, that already was tried and failed (commercially). A high definition music server, as Seasoned mentions, is a much higher probability, IMHO.

Cheers,
John