Arny Krueger wrote:

"Nexus 6"

Speaking of MP3's, I'm more than a little disturbed by how
good they can sound, even with all of that information
missing.


No matter what Atkinsin and the other golden-eared science-haters and
abusers say, psychoacoustics works.

Sort of.

MP3's still have a lot of weaknesses, even when using good
encoders at high bitrates.


Ironically my latest audio acquisition of note was a portable device that is
best known as a MP3 player, but in my case it's 100% loaded with .wav files.

All of mine reside on my computer, though many have been
converted to CD.



****ing freaky ****, if you ask me. I know you
didn't, but I don't give a damn. MP3's are especially scary
in that SACD and DVD-A are failing miserably, and will
probably disappear from the market unless a vanishing breed
of audiophiles can keep it alive.


High end audio was always mostly a boomer thing. Younger folks, with a few
exceptions, are into mobile audio and HT.

I disagree. High end started too early to really be only a
boomer thing. I think it started as a music lover thing,
where, as Stewart's sig line says, art and engineering met.

It has evolved into something like a boomer pursuit, but not
completely, as evidenced by the many non-boomers I used to
sell gear to.


Time marches on and most boomers are getting old enough that their hearing
is going the way of the Mohicans. With a few exceptions that means that
audio will mean less and less to them.

I disagree.

High end is a habit, and a fun one. Boomers will keep at it
because they enjoy it.


Combo SACD-DVD-A players from first tier manufacturers are now out with SRPs
that have slipped below $200. All that is needed is for Apex to come out
with a mini model for $39.95... Stick a fork in 'em, they're close to being
done.

Software is still really fare behind, and it is always the
final determinant in the format wars. Besides, so many
consumers have been trained to view CD as the ultimate in
sound quality, with other formats being a close second. To
them, the "super formats" seem like a waste of time and money.

snip

This means that CD will/has become the defacto archival standard, a
frightening prospect.

The only thing that CD has ever seriously frightened is the vinyl bigots.

I haven't owned a turntable in close to ten years, so I
don't fall under the rubric of "vinyl bigot," whatever the
hell that is, and I still think CD is not, and never has
been, "perfect sound."

Nexus 6