Steve Deckert
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Great article, and I say wonderful!!! I've always hated CD's and in the 1981 to today experience of it, I've learned the digital format for recording and mastering works, and is not a problem. The consumer playback mechanism - crude plastic disk that degenerates over time with cheap transport = jitter so while casually the sound was clean and convenient, for the audiophile it was like someone pissed in the cool-aid and no one could figure out who did it.
When it takes 30 grand to make a transport and dac good enough to remove these handicaps the price itself becomes a handicap... I mean when a $1500.00 vinyl rig can blow the snot off a $8000.00 CD player you have to wonder how successful was it. Successful to who?
Interestingly enough the format could have been easily replaced by memory cards which would eliminate the transport and subsequent jitter almost entirely if not entirely. Cost to manufacture = same. Problem is, medium too small. Not enough room to print on.
While streaming is great you never own the music. There is no tangible connection. If your power goes out or the internet goes down in that greatest time of stress where some music would be most appreciated there will be none.
I always hoped that the format would move to SD cards with DSD quality recordings of each track. No more 16/44, everything 24/192 or higher, it makes a big difference and eliminating the transport makes about a 20,000.00 difference in sound quality potential because all jitter can be eliminated.
Then for the holy grail my fantasy was to be able to purchase the same album on the same SD card in the same DSD resolution but with all 24 tracks. This way the tracks can be fed into a mixer that you own, and mixed to your perfection in your room for your speakers and taste. That would be worth the 275.00 that a single reel of master tape can bring, because once you have it mixed for your own liking it will sound like 275.00 was a real bargain. This would be a natural progression if the focus was about sound quality. The focus is about marketing. It's so unfair to both the musicians and the listeners... and the manufactures of fine audio gear who get to hear so many disappointing CDs make their gear sound like junk.
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