Coping in an Age of Uncertainty

If I want the best sound, I'll put on an LP. It trumps dvda sacd or whatever four letters you want to come up with. For the titles not available on vinyl I have a wonderful CD player (Redbook) (Cary 308T) - why in the world would I want a 3rd format? I enjoy music and why would I want to screw that up.

I think most people get angst because they feel they are going to miss the boat. Well the boat is moving very slowly. How many years have these new formats been out? And look at the dismal selection. I don't know if there is more than a couple of releases I'd even want to listen to; so there is no reason to worry. And who's to say another "new" format won't come out soon that is better than SACD and DVD-A, I know for a fact engineers are working on it as I type!

Vinyl is alive and the last CES show had more new analog components than it ever had before for the gentleman who said analog is on its way out. Analog is what digital is trying to approach, how can it be on its way out?

If you like, keep stressing over what is compatible with what. I'll be sitting back in my stereo room lost in my music just enjoying the beauty of it...

Enjoyed reading this string - several years long at this point ! Well, I bought a Sony SCD 777 ES a few years ago on demo/closeout and I really loved it. Thought it was definitely an improvement over redbook cd. But now my ears are aging rapidly (56 years old) and suddenly my Pioneer Elite CD burner (model PDR W37) sounds MUCH better than the Sony when playing CDs and, I think, better playing CD versus the Sony playing SACD ! Blasphemy !, I know. Now, I have to add that I have not used the Sony for one year and only recently put it back in the system and it is possible there is something wrong with it. But it never did have much presence playing normal CDs. At first I thought it was fun - to have that 'dark' presentation of CD discs. But, lately, I would call it not only dark but dull, sort of lifeless, maybe even 'gummy'. So, as my hearing gets worse I am able to still enjoy music but now on second-rate compnents !
Who'd a thought of that ?!

How about that! Cornfedboy is gone and here at the same time!

Im sticking with good old red book,newer cd player of late have outstanding sound,I not even going to get into sacd etc.Forget it I am way done.I mean five different copies of this 2 of that one ,no thanks.Just stick with the brands that have been there for a while,they have had good sound in the past and will do so in the future.Oh thats right after records first came out what did they sound like say 20 or 30 years after their intro,last time I checked they are still getting better and so is digital ,including red book,Al

Coffeey, were you speaking to yourself or us? ; )

Anyway, fine. *If* and only if you like Classical and classic rock and jazz, SACD is a pretty safe bet now. Word on the street is that it has established itself as the prefered audiophile format. If you're an Emimem kinda dude, (nothing wrong with that), stay with your redbook. Dual disc is coming, was coming, which got the DVDA crowd all excited, yet producers can use the real estate on the disc any way they want, and DVDA may be pushed to the wayside. The CD side can only hold 58 minutes.

The problem with what you say is that "redbook" is getting better. It *cannot* get better, as its information is limited. Recording machines have gotten better and better over the last 20 years, yet the improvements can only barely be reflected in the good 'ole redbook CD. Ironically, the better your system, the more it's going to reveal the deficiencies of the 16bit. In any case, as much as my SACD player leaves me beyond criticism, I'm still keeping an eye out for mid-fi redbook only player next year--850 of them are collecting dust in the closet.