[BEAR]

FiveDotOne wrote:
snip

.. there is something to write about for the audio magazines (if all
properly designed amplifiers would sound the same, Atkinson would not
have anything to write about)
.. small European and Chinese manufacturers have niche market for their
products.

PS2. sometimes it even seems to me that "High End" is about worshiping
all sorts of audio anomalies ...

Although this sort of post seems like a 'troll', it does raise an
interesting point or two.

There are two factors that have kept "multichannel" audio only releases
from the marketplace.

1. Lack of any standard or playback gear.

- I'd have preferred higher sample rate, greater bit depth in the first
place (over "redbook"), and then I would have had no problem dealing
with 'not so compact disc' if they were say 7" or gasp the same size
as a standard LP!! This to accomodate the extra data. Afterall, 4
channels burned onto a CD means effectively 2 CDs worth of data. 8
channels (wouldn't that be nice?) implies 4 CDs worth of data, add in
the extra bits and samples, and we've got a wee bit bigger format disc.
Unless, of course, you go double layer and "blu-ray" (only recent
developments compared to "redbook").

2. Lack of any commercial impetus.

- no matter how much any of us would drool over the prospect of a direct
copy of multi-channel masters from the past, or new ones yet to be made,
in a world where /cassette/ was the most popular medium and then CD, and
now MP3(effectively noiseless cassette) by a /wide margin/, there is no
commercial reason to try to pack in more data, information or variables
for the user.

3. Oh yes, Artists.

- Only when artists/producers/record companies stop being control
freaks, and let their "creations" fly will it be even possible to
release multi-track recordings. The only possibility that seems to fit
the bill would be "surround" recordings where the mix is effectivley
fixed and not user variable. The idea that users might "remix" an
artists recording positively freaks out the entire recording industry.

_-_-bear