Vote

High-rez should be phased out in deference to reasonably priced, great sounding analog.

High-rez audio? What a joke. There's no product available, and unless you buy "good" equipment, the average joe won't hear any difference. I was an early adopter, but I have totally given up on SACD & DVD-A. Since I was never given the option to use the music the way that I wanted to in the first place (digitally), I considered both formats to be "cripple-ware." What good is my SSP/D-A convertor if I can't even use it? I'm sticking to CD's, non-copy protected, of course. High-rez downloads? Might be the way to go, if the music and electronics/PC industries stick to a single format (very unlikely in the current economic situation).

Although I would like to see SACD support, I would like to see mew material on at least one high-rez format. I doubt that this will happen because the music industry is about money, not quality.

They should support high-rez downloads and develop something new that would be backward compatible with mp3. Good luck! On a good player, CD actually sounds pretty good. It's like analog. If it's a great recording, it comes through. If it is tinny or boomy, that comes through also. We should pay for downloads, but not at the 99¢ model. You would be better off buying the CD at that price.

They should try a little honesty. None of the so-called high-resolution formats were created for the high end market. They were created to frustrate music theives. If the industry really wants to address the high-end market, they need to begin with some decent market research aimed both at music buyers and equipment manufacturers and then respond to what they hear. That will probably call for something new.

It is crazy to focus on multiformats. Separate, the concept of video from audio, and focus on quality. How many really watch a music DVD over and over!!! In the end the mass format of choice is quality 2 channel music.

I don't believe that the "industry," other than the small specialists, gives two hoots about high-rez audio. All they care about is high profits. I think our best hope for true high-rez, whether two-channel or multichannel, is for the small independent music labels to band together in support of one or the other format. And realistically, I think DVD-Audio has a better chance of surviving alone than SACD, mainly because its linear PCM technology is compatible with existing hardware in studio's and mastering facilities all over the world.

On more vinyl, what else?

All parties involved (including consumers) should get together and figure out a single high-rez format. That way, one technology can be explained to consumers and that technology can flourish, otherwise too many choices leads to lack of consumer interest, hence no sales and everyone looses.

They should develop something new, backward compatible with Red Book CD, that is stereo and works without being connected to the TV. SACD was nearly there, and still could be if only they had kept it stereo and remastered everything to its full high-rez pottential.

A new war is ahaid: Blue-Ray v/s HD-DVD. So... 1. Companies, please the new format beforehand. 2. Just use it's high-quality uncompressed audio option as a hi-res carrier.

They should ram SACD down consumer's throats kind of in the same way as we're ramming freedom down the throats of those a-rabs.

After the first few seconds, I just listen to the music.

With the exception of this Dualdisc, I wish SACD and DVD-Audio would be supported. High-rez downloads should also be supported (and will be) since the public is obviously embracing mp3, wma, ogg, and flac.

Step 1. They should focus one standard only I don not care which really. Step 2. Ensure that standard is backward compatible with existing playback equipment. Step 3. Release some titles. Step 4. Pay attention to the mix. Most of my reservations about upgrading to High Rez technologies are the horrible Multi-channel mixed tripe found on a lot of it. If you are going to exploit Multi-channel keep the soundstage where it should be.

SACD seems to have the jump on the rest. It offers two- and multichannel, as well as hybrid, without any complications. The DVD-A camp seems to think we want to look at pictures while listening to music. If that's the case we can watch the Discovery Channel with the sound off—and just listen to music as we always have.

SACD Hybrid should be the only discs manufactured. DVD-A and DualDisc are junk that I'll never buy. I'll not buy downloadable music of any sort or quality. I want an object with a book/liner notes—not something I have to read on a monitor/computer/TV. If it comes down to that, I'll only buy the "old" formats, vinyl and CD, and enjoy what I've already collected. Stubbornly yours!

Vinyl!!!!!

...like everyone else, I rushed out and bought a home theatre system to listen to surround sound audio...I want more titles

I think they're wasting time and energy trying to improve on the same thing. SACD and DVD-Audio are simply better CDs. Time for something totally disruptive and revolutionary. When are they going to develop a real functioning holodeck?

I listen to classical (about 75%) and jazz/blues (the rest). This, of course, colors my thinking. Vinyl has always been the best "high-rez" format at its best; at its worst, vinyl is as bad as anything else. Red Book CDs seem to have improved over the past 10 years and may still be evolving for the better. SACDs are occasionally better than Red Book, but not often enough to justify paying the premium. Maybe the industry should forget about some "new" format and continue bettering what is already out there. The media (ie Stereophile, etc) pans the bad and praises the good, no matter what the format, and has done a great job of creating an atmosphere for improving existing technologies by noting superior miking, venue choices, etc, and should continue being an effective gadfly for the further improvement of existing technologies. I simply can't believe there is a "miracle cure" in some new high-rez technique. Let's keep evolving what we now have.

Hi rez audio is a necessity of we audiophiles are ever going to get better sound than what we've got today. SACD is clearly the best of the high-rez formats and they should all get behind that - the last thing we need at this point is yet another format or something else new that supposedly solves a problem we don't even know exists - and while there are competing formats none will take off!

For some time now, we have seen a steadily increasing number of truly reference-grade CD players from makers such as Simaudio, Spectral, and many others. In addition, many recently introduced but lower priced CD players (eg, Arcam, Rega) have also become quite formidable high-end performers. For those of us who prefer Red Book CDs, these highly refined CD players offer extraordinary sonic performance, particularly when playing reference quality/audiophile-grade CDs from recording labels (and musical artists) who actually care deeply about the sound quality of their CD recordings. In my opinion, the solutions to the problems of the recording industry's biggest labels have perhaps been right under their noses all along: (1) Stop mass-producing poorly recorded, highly compressed, and over-processed crap aimed only at Clear Channel radio stations and tone-deaf adolescents; (2) Spend more time and effort on finding, attracting, and accomodating real musical talent—you know, just like many of the small, independent labels are doing; (3) Throw out all of the lousy recording equipment, techniques, and engineers currently being employed, and re-learn the art of making pristine CD recordings—look to audiophile labels like ECM and Harmonia Mundi to learn how audiophile-grade digital recordings are really made; (4) Don't overcharge for these CDs, don't even think about making us buy Hybrid discs, and stop including out-takes and other material that should have been left on the cutting room floor.Red Book CDs already possess "high resolution" capabilities, and the recording industry would do well to refine the Red Book CD, rather than wasting most everyone's time and money on dead-end products and half-baked technologies.

I just want to be able to buy the music I want in high-resolution. Period. I am an audiophile for the music and i don't like being leaving perfectly good DVD-As on the shelf because my player isn't compatible.

The new high-rez formats clearly are better sounding. ch

Not only was CD sound "Perfect Sound Forever", when it was first introduced, but it's gotten much better over the years. Improvements in recording technology, bit mapping, and dither have given us no reason to want for more. If I had to "root" for one of the new high-rez formats, I'd probably choose SACD which maintains backward compatibility with the CD. But, quite frankly, I see no reason to move beyond 16 bit/44.1kHz PCM for our playback medium.

It's time to move on - everybody support SACD and we'll make it a better world!

High-rez audio is dead, long live High-rez audio. Let's support the original high-rez audio: vinyl. Oh, and if you don

Maybe they could have just wrangled an extension on the intellectual property protections on Red Book (like Disney creepily did for its stuff.) The continuing stream of royalties, which became imperiled, could have saved consumers a couple of dead formats. Oh well, tough luck, suckers.

Like the idea or not, it looks like downloads to hard drives is fast becoming the wave of the future. I believe this is where we need to be nagging the companies to release high-rez stuff. Fine and dandy, so long as they never stop printing vinyl