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Upsamplers, DACs, jitter, shakes and analogue withdrawals, this is it.

it's true, there are many ways to skin a cat...

but it seems to me, big industry's main focus is not always the best sound, but cost cutting. In that context, perhaps 1 bit systems are simpler and cheaper, for them, but they can make a profit claiming that it's also better.

As far as I can tell, though, Sony is never really profitable in consumer electronics because it is too busy changing the goalposts and can't concentrate on a core business. But loss leading enterprises can be interesting for other reasons. They seem to be making more money on licensing and royalties. Sony can only dream of Apple's success! and perhaps that's where the industry is going: less hardware, more software.

The fact is, I don't need some technical discussion to tell me what I already hear: that DSD sounds homogenized, phasey, and boring, if smoother and more 'pleasant' than PCM. But I was happy with HDCD and XRD, (and good analog) and lots of companies are making outstanding sounding digital products that use multibit architechture (and still, turntables!!).

I am not saying there are no drawbacks to PCM or analog. And of course, all these products are huge engineering challenges, not to mention the challenge of selling them at a profit.

But in general, it would be better for the consumer if the industry would agree on a format and optimize it. Or, for that matter, it would be better if we just didn't blindly accept marketing half truths about 'better sound' and actually decided for ourselves what was better.
If we did that, we might not even have adopted CDs! But we were floored by the loud, aggressive sound when CDs first came out, and said, wow, this must be better.

Ironically, analog technology has since made big strides. Perhaps, if we're lucky, PCM will stay and triumph, but I think it's on its way out, too, as a legacy. After all, we do still have our 1000s of Rebbook CDs around. I just don't share any enthusiasm for ripping them and converting to DSD!!



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  • it's true, there are many ways to skin a cat... - Tom Schuman 02:53:48 01/29/15 (0)

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