I've watched this development with interest as well. The initial CD players were beyond horrible and took many years of refinement and hard work for the better audio manufacturers (re. niche) to make them listenable. Still not analog, but tolerable. The inital CDP's were Philips and Sony, the two culprits behind the Red Book spec. Read through the spec, it was outdated on it's intitial release. To go buy a SACD or DVD-A player at a high price now from the mass-market guys may leave you wondering why you spent the cash today, when over the next few years some truly high quality players will emerge and justify the price. Having spent $1000 on a first-generation CDP to play both CD's available on the market at the time, I consider patience a necessary virtue today. In the meantime, cue up some good vinyl and enjoy watching the format wars! Jeff
Coping in an Age of Uncertainty
there have been numerous threads here, i know, about sacd v. dvd-a, upsampling, oversampling, etc. a number of these threads have included discussions of which, if any, new digital format will replace what we now call “redbook” cd’s. i don’t wish to rehash these discussions. rather, i’d like to hear from others how they are coping with the “age of uncertainty” in the realm of digital audio. is it better to “roll the dice” and invest in sacd or dvd a? ignore the contenders for the new and get the best possible out of redbook cd’s? buy with upgradeability firmly in mind? follow another path? i don’t post this query out of mere curiosity. i really haven’t figured out what course i should follow. i’d appreciate your giving me a hand. -kelly