Hi, Trelja. You and I often seem to share the same set of experiences. Fortunately there are few true audiophiles where I work (several serious tube addicts), as well as guy who used to do a jazz radio show on the Univ of Washington campus station (we swap CD's a lot). The article from the Seattle Times is interesting on several levels, not just for the implications about adoption of better recording and playback technology. The store which was mentioned in the article, Definitive Audio, was the oldest genuine high-end audio store in Seattle for many years, but it has now converted its business almost exclusively to home theater. (Too bad -- I liked it better before.) Definitive was always my favorite "toy" store out here in the remote Northwest -- I spent many hours drooling over the Wilson, Audio Research, Mark Levinson, Klyne, etc., stuff.
Audio Formats Battle It Out Article
Several days ago, Trelja started a thread (New Formats - Same Old Story?) that garnered a number of responses. There is an article in today's Seattle Times newspaper that raises similar questions about the viability of the SACD and DVD-A formats. The article is part of the Sunday edition's regular feature column, Personal Technology. Bear in mind that the article is clearly aimed at the technologically unsophisticated (read: audio illiterate), but despite the writer's simplistic approach, I think the article speaks volumes about the forces driving new audio/video gear, and the demands (or lack thereof) of the majority of consumers. I have included a link to the article, and would be interested in hearing the reaction of others.
Link: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/134299683_ptaudio27.html
Link: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/134299683_ptaudio27.html