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Re: MP3's, iPod, iTunes etc. may eventually lead to further casualties beyond Atma-Sphere

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>people that buy iPods would never buy a high-end amp..

Um, I have to take issue with that. First and foremost, the iPod is a music source.. much like conventional cd players and turntables. I've witnessed more people using an iPod to drive a car stereo or small home system, than walking around with the buds in their ears. Sure, the iPod of today is somewhat limited, in terms of the formats it will play (lossy formats, mostly MP3 and AAC) and the output options offered, but this will surely change - sooner, rather than later. As small hard drives increase in capacity, it will become more and more practical to use the lossless codecs such as FLAC and SHN to compress music. And while the current iPod offers only a basic headphone output, there is nothing preventing future versions from having not only this, but line, and coax/optical digital outputs. Gosh sake, my new $69.99 DVD player has these output options. And those who know (and care) will use these new features. Take a look at the Rio Karma, if you want to see a forward-looking portable music player.

The day is not far off (months, or several years) where you will own a piece of electronics, the size of your current CD player, which will contain terrabytes of both lossy and lossless compressed music, of multiple formats, all available at the touch of a remote button. The music will be played out from the unit's internal DAC and line amp, or streamed flawlessly to the off-board DAC of your choice, through the transport medium of your choice. Take it as simple fact, this is how things are going to go; no, vinyl will never die.

But I'd like to address one more point. There are a plethora of MP3 players on the market today, and the iPod is perhaps the most expensive (and featureful) of the lot. Your iPod customer is your classic botique buyer - and the potential hi-end buyer of the future. No company that hopes to survive for the next decade can afford to write off this group as a ship of fools.

There, I've said my piece.

Dr. L
(who can neither teach a class nor cut off a leg)


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