When I submitted my <I>Records 2 Die 4</I> selections this past winter, it seemed inevitable that I include a web radio station. Not only had I enjoyed listening to <A HREF="http://www.techwebsound.com">www.techwebsound.com</A> more than anything else last year, but it had exposed me to more new music and led to more music purchases than any other source—by a wide margin.
I admit to being a little surprised at the results of our <A HREF="http://cgi.stereophile.com/cgi-bin/showvote.cgi?403">Discs or Downloads poll</A> a couple of weeks ago. More of you (65%) see a future for downloads as a viable music medium than I would have expected. As reader Mike Garner put it, "As bandwidth and storage continue to become cheaper, audiophile quality music downloads are inevitable." "Downloads save you trips to the shop or having to wait for shipping when you shop online. We'll soon be loading the data into a music server anyway," adds reader Ola Roll.
When we <A HREF="http://stereophile.com/news/011705dorian/">last left them</A>, a troubled Dorian Group had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In mid-January, the company issued a statement indicating that it would liquidate its assets and begin requesting bids for the purchase of the company in a sealed bidding process authorized by the US Bankruptcy Court, Northern New York District.
There's a basic rule that explains the audiophile's role in the audio food chain: The mass market accepts and <I>then</I> audiophiles perfect. Try to reverse that rule with something like, say, SACD or DVD-Audio, attempting to have sound quality drive mass-market adoption, and you get . . . the DualDisc.
Audio equipment manufacturers want as few restrictions as possible when designing new products. Audio content providers, on the other hand, seem hell-bent on locking down any music you buy tighter than Fort Knox.
Audiophiles know there is no better reason to travel abroad than to attend a hi fi show in a foreign city. I'm only half kidding. With dozens of shows, most open to the public and scattered across every continent, what better way to see the world?
Will the future of audio distribution be dominated by discs or downloads? Will we always have both?
Depending on who you talk to, so far in the US, DualDisc has either been a success (according to the record labels) or a stumble (according to the press and manufacturers). Now Europe gets a chance to see what the fuss is all about.
Music buyers will find a new report issued by <A HREF="http://www.parksassociates.com">Parks Associates</A> both interesting and disturbing. Interesting in what it purports to reveal about consumers, and, as we shall see, disturbing in how the music industry is being urged to interpret the data.
One of the hot items audiophiles were able to score at last month's 2005 CES was a hybrid SACD that Ray Kimber was handing out. Labelled <I>IsoMike Tests 2005A</I>, the disc is beautifully packaged and sports dozens of recorded snippets of vocal music, string quartet, piano, marching band, orchestra, blank pistol, and a local janitor.