Post by Marpow October 2, 2014 (21 of 41)
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Astral said:
Embrace change and you will find whole new vistas open to you. Discard entrenched thinking and you will find that music is not a zero sum game.
You are just getting started and at no time in history has there been anywhere near as much music available, physical or virtual, all at your fingertips. Jump right in. It will never be a better time.
My A/V store suggested this as a good storage for downloads.
Supported File Formats
MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, WMA-L, FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF . I am not sure if all Flac sizes and looks like no DSD files?
http://www.bluesound.com/products/vault/
Also the McIntosh MX121 has built in DAC.
So my understanding is I have an account at HD Tracks (pay as I go) where I can stream as much as that is available. Or RDIO pay monthly and stream as much as I want.
I can view my Vault via an Ipad app. Also with Amazon account that I have my auto rips can go direct into the Vault.
They also told me that you can not download a regular CD into any machine in this case, the Bluesound Vault and have it come out better than what it is recorded at on the particular disc.
I am getting there but all this is a little mind bending.
They agree with Astral in that times are a changing and both the physical LP's although having a little resurgence right now and discs of any kind will both be gone in near time.
I am embracing change but it is hard.
I am sure many of you can fill in my holes.
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Marpow said:
Supported File Formats
MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, WMA-L, FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF . I am not sure if all Flac sizes and looks like no DSD files?
http://www.bluesound.com/products/vault/
FLAC at up to 24/192. No DSD.
I prefer storage with no constraints.
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Astral said:
Good business going on? Most of the true high end manufacturers these days are hard pressed to sell 50 units of old style big chassis components a year.
But more of an indicator is that those still buying have a lot of grey hair (f they still have hair at all).
The under 55 segment is elsewhere. Those are the people who drive developments in the market.
Maybe high end audio is like watches, in the 70's with the advent of quartz
movements everybody predicted the death of the mechanical watch.
40 years later expansive mechanical watches sells well, some of them at astronomical prices. They will always be people that support quality.
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There are millions & millions of discs in existence LP & CD ,far less BD & SACD but more arriving every day , people like collecting physical items and having control they will never be gone in near time.
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Disbeliever said:
There are millions & millions of discs in existence LP & CD ,far less BD & SACD but more arriving every day , people like collecting physical items and having control they will never be gone in near time.
As if the quality of downloads and streaming isn't as variable, positive/negative, as the quality of physical discs they seek to replace.
Only time will tell.
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Post by Solo man October 3, 2014 (26 of 41)
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I am starting to build my SACD collection and like you prefer the physical media. I am particularly interested in the SHM SACD releases. It's great to see here the enthusiasm towards IMO a great format.
Although,, I do purchase high res downloads of DSD and others that are not offered in SACD format. Some of the stuff on HD tracks you have to do some research on the Internet of the mastering before pulling the trigger. I have some doubles in DSD to some of the SACD's to make my own comparisons.
Also, I didn't want to purchase "Thriller" on SACD at the current market value so I purchased the DSD download. Also, want to get the DSD for "Footloose" and "Top Gun" but still not available in Canada.
IMO, the Dac technology moves very quick and always researching the new dacs coming out.
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Record labels would like to see us all stop buying discs if for no other reason than purchasing downloads means you cannot resell them. If 100 people want an album, by offering downloads only, those 100 people have to purchase 100 downloads. However in the case of disc based media, perhaps only 50 will buy the disc new, the other 50 purchasing second hand. This of course means the record company only gets 50 sales. I genuinely do not think people are put off by disc based media, quite the opposite but its clear that if disc based media vanishes over the next few years ( so we can only obtain music and movies via download) then the only people who will benefit will be the record companies themselves.
OK its " more convenient " to have a single solid state device which contains all of our music and movies, but really...have we all reached the point where simply placing a disc into a transport is such an effort? By all means I see the benefit when it comes to portable media, listening in the car or when on the move, portable storage is fine for those applications but when I sit down to relax and watch a movie or listen to some music through my home system I don't see it as any great effort to go get a disc and put it in my player.
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Post by steviev October 3, 2014 (28 of 41)
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Yoropiko1 said:
Record labels would like to see us all stop buying discs if for no other reason than purchasing downloads means you cannot resell them. ...
OK its " more convenient " to have a single solid state device which contains all of our music and movies, but really...have we all reached the point where simply placing a disc into a transport is such an effort?
Sure, there's no market right now for reselling downloads, but there sure is a huge blackmarket for restealing them, QED.
And I disagree that downloads are more convenient than discs. I spend way more time managing downloaded stuff, organizing it, backing it up, joining tracks, etc., than I do managing my physical discs. The only management required for discs is finding a place to store them all.
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Post by Marpow October 3, 2014 (29 of 41)
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Yoropiko1 said:
but really...have we all reached the point where simply placing a disc into a transport is such an effort? By all means I see the benefit when it comes to portable media, listening in the car or when on the move, portable storage is fine for those applications but when I sit down to relax and watch a movie or listen to some music through my home system I don't see it as any great effort to go get a disc and put it in my player.
Right on brother. I think I have things figured out where I want to be at present.
I have talked to a lot of people who know more than me this week and this what I believe to be true.
Vinyl, MP3, Flac, DSD,etc, CD's all kinds, and Streaming all kinds, all have there niche market at present, the industry is clearly changing which is a good thing as they where stagnant for some time, myself included.
Nobody in the business thinks any particular form at moment is on it's way out just changing and the newest change is downloadable hi resolution audio. It actually is so new at moment, except for the audiophile magazine experts, that the non experts, like me, are trying to figure how this is going to fit into all are current equipment and ways of doing things.
For me: If there is an SHM SACD out there I like that will always be my first choice. I am going to purchase the Bluesound Vault even though it doesn't accept DSD. I believe that all the other features that comes with it and for the price it is a good trade off. I certainly don't have the same equipment I had 20 years ago and if the streaming audio market becomes off the hook great then in a few years, well I didn't spend that much. I like being a little confused and on cutting edge turf, reminds me when I bought my first little 5.1 speakers and Panasonic laser disc player, I was the first one on the block.
In closing many of us agree that if you have a puff of smoke or a glass of spirt, all music sounds great in whatever format, that's the point. Numbers are good for some, but I have no doubt I will be happy. Right now I am at work listening to Miles Davis on two little speakers via ITunes MP3, I like it.
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Post by Astral October 3, 2014 (30 of 41)
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Yoropiko1 said:
Record labels would like to see us all stop buying discs if for no other reason than purchasing downloads means you cannot resell them. If 100 people want an album, by offering downloads only, those 100 people have to purchase 100 downloads. However in the case of disc based media, perhaps only 50 will buy the disc new, the other 50 purchasing second hand. This of course means the record company only gets 50 sales. I genuinely do not think people are put off by disc based media, quite the opposite but its clear that if disc based media vanishes over the next few years ( so we can only obtain music and movies via download) then the only people who will benefit will be the record companies themselves.
OK its " more convenient " to have a single solid state device which contains all of our music and movies, but really...have we all reached the point where simply placing a disc into a transport is such an effort?
Exactly wrong. Industry data is that at minimum for every download sold at least 4 copies on average are distributed from that single download file. The industry BY FAR wants to hang on to the physical disc model.
If 100 people want a download, 25 might buy it, 25 will get it from a friend, 50 will steal it off an illegal download site. That is just the fact.
Yes, the majority of buyers ARE put off by a physical disc. What are they going to do with a physical disc? They want their music on their iPod, their phone, their tablet, their computer. It's only over 555 guys who are not put off by discs (well, most of them).
And by the way, placing a disc into transport is no trouble at all. It's just that the ripped file always sounds better, taking the transport out of the picture.
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