The future of Audio for Music Lovers?

[JimPullan]

Many audiophiles who truly enjoy music have weathered through, enjoying, even today their LP's, then enjoying SA-CD and DVD-Audio. Now, with the advent of Blu-ray Disc technology, what can we expect? True PCM Uncompressed multi-channel Music and Concerts? The Player is here and the technology to reproduce a rich, live experience. What do you see on the horizon? or hope for? [Jim]

[Beta Man]

You can make a 12.1 system for all I care...... but I'm still gonna build a 2 channel system for my music listening desires......

[JimPullan]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

You can make a 12.1 system for all I care...... but I'm still gonna build a 2 channel system for my music listening desires......

Care to answer the question? I too enjoy my 2 channel set-up. In fact, I have a laser turntable, which never touches the vinyl. No more clicks and pops, just pure music. [Jim]

[richteer]

Originally Posted by JimPullan

Care to answer the question? I too enjoy my 2 channel set-up. In fact, I have a laser turntable, which never touches the vinyl. No more clicks and pops, just pure music. [Jim]

So you're the guy who bought a Finial turntable!

No ticks and pops here either, on my Forsell Air Force One Signature. But then I am extremely careful with my vinyl!

[JimPullan]

Originally Posted by richteer

So you're the guy who bought a Finial turntable!

No ticks and pops here either, on my Forsell Air Force One Signature. But then I am extremely careful with my vinyl!

That's me !!! Their now known as ELP and are still currently available here for a mere $ 10,000.00 or so. Here the link to their site:

http://www.elpj.com/main.html

Jim

[dobyblue]

That's really cool. How do you find the playback on that so far Jim?

[jdc115]

Originally Posted by JimPullan

That's me !!! Their now known as ELP and are still currently available here for a mere $ 10,000.00 or so. Here the link to their site:

http://www.elpj.com/main.html

Jim

hmm, just 10K huh? I'll take 2

That is actually pretty cool, what happens playing warped or scratch records? Does audio fall out if there is a big scratch or does it replicate the sound?

[showcasehome]

For Jim,

My Musical Fidelity M1 turntable suits me just fine for now. I don't understand how you mentioned that you don't get clicks and pops if the laser reads a scratch or click or pop then it's going to be reproduced. Kinda confusing there, as far as multichannel audio is concerned, a properly executed 2 channel system will produce all the ambiance of the live performance without the need for multiple speakers muddying the performance.

[RBFC]

IMO, SACD hasn't flown due to the complexity of setup with multiple analog cables and dedicated players. Mass consumers just weren't ready to re-tool their systems just to play another format.

With BD, the player install base will already be there. 7.1 24/96 recordings can easily be accommodated on a BD, with additional room for video titling, etc. (or medium bitrate video). It's possible that multi-channel hi-res music could live on as concert videos and album remasters with video supplements.

As to turntables, I was the first guy that Bruce Thigpen (now known for the Thigpen Rotary SubWoofer) provided a tight-tolerance air bearing manifold for my Eminent Technology ET2 tonearm. I was using an oilless air compressor in my basement to drive the tonearm on a SOTA Star Sapphire turntable. The arm ran at 40 psi, rather than the stock 3.5 psi. Ah, the old days with 2-channel analog.........

Lee

[welwynnick]

Sounds like there are many people who haven't forgotten the joys of good anallogue stereo reproduction.

I have a 5.1 these days of course, but I still wonder if it sounds better in stereo. Does anyone else think that the centre speaker has little benefit when stereo is working properly?

Nick

[HDJK]

Originally Posted by JimPullan

My audiophiles who truly enjoy music have weathered through, enjoying, even today their LP's, then enjoying SA-CD and DVD-Audio. Now, with the advent of Blu-ray Disc technology, what can we expect? True PCM Uncompressed multi-channel Music and Concerts? The Player is here and the technology to reproduce a rich, live experience. What do you see on the horizon? or hope for? [Jim]

We already have that: DVD Audio

Unfortunately it's never really caught on (mainly due to an unresolved fromat war with SACD).

But if Hi-Rez MCH can really take off with BD Audio that's all I need.

Originally Posted by Beta Man

You can make a 12.1 system for all I care...... but I'm still gonna build a 2 channel system for my music listening desires......

Not surprising for somebody who's ashamed to display his BD collection
* just teasing you *

[Blaumann]

Yes, i have really high hopes that Blu-ray might at last bring us some widespread highresolution digital music. SACD&DVD-A imo showed, that there is probably no significant market for an high resolution audio only format, as both formats have died a horrible death. I was a vinyl enthusiast for a long time, but never got into these two formats simply because of the lack of titles i would be interested in.

But since we are seeing the highresoltion audio tracks on concert Blu-rays, i am hoping that Blu-ray can bring us that through the back-door, so to speak. Maybe with Blu-ray bringing awareness of the qualtiy of highres music into many homes, we could even see a good number of audio only BD titles outside the audiophile realm. Isn't there even a special "profile" for that, 3.0?

Well, here's hoping.....

[HDJK]

Originally Posted by Blaumann

...Isn't there even a special "profile" for that, 3.0?
...

AFAIK there is no special profile needed. It's just a matter of how you author the disc. I actually asked Paidgeek in one of the insiders threads about the ability to use existing tools to author a BD Audio disc just like a DVD Audio, that would start right away but has some pics (or with that amount of space on a BD even video) displayed.

His answer was very promising, something like if it can't be done now they will make it work. Let me see if I can dig it up...

edit: link

His answer is 5 posts down.

[jdc115]

Originally Posted by HDJK

AFAIK there is no special profile needed. It's just a matter of how you author the disc. I actually asked Paidgeek in one of the insiders threads about the ability to use existing tools to author a BD Audio disc just like a DVD Audio, that would start right away but has some pics (or with that amount of space on a BD even video) displayed.

His answer was very promising, something like if it can't be done now they will make it work. Let me see if I can dig it up...

edit: link

His answer is 5 posts down.

I believe I also read that Paid mentioned that Profile 3 was a audio only player that wouldn't require to be connected to a monitor to function. But that doesn't mean it will come to market, just that it was planned if there was a market for it.

If anybody can remember maybe you can find otherwise I will look tomorrow (its late here).

[Blaumann]

Originally Posted by HDJK

AFAIK there is no special profile needed. It's just a matter of how you author the disc. I actually asked Paidgeek in one of the insiders threads about the ability to use existing tools to author a BD Audio disc just like a DVD Audio, that would start right away but has some pics (or with that amount of space on a BD even video) displayed.

His answer was very promising, something like if it can't be done now they will make it work. Let me see if I can dig it up...

edit: link

His answer is 5 posts down.

Thank you for the link, very interesting. For now, i am very pleased to see concert Blu-rays with highres audio. It's a start. If we will see normal "studio albums" in a highres version later on, i guess we'll just have to wait how the market develops. I know i would be interested. And as it has been said, there are more and more HTiB systems out there now and imo you don't even need to have a "high end" audio system to hear and appreciate the advantages.

[Beta Man]

I think my SACD is "good enough" it's getting to the point where I won't be able to tell the difference anyways. I could always upgrade my equipment, but then again, I could buy that new vehicle my wife won't let me have........ both are things that just aren't gonna happen!!!!! I haven't maxed out the potential of what I have.... new listening room, better accoustical treatments etc.... so much more to do.

[jdc115]

Originally Posted by HDJK

We already have that: DVD Audio

Unfortunately it's never really caught on (mainly due to an unresolved fromat war with SACD).

Format war or not with SACD, I don't think it really mattered. For audio, most people do not have the system to really notice the difference or care. Free MP3s seemed good enough for mass adoption and I just don't think DVD-A or SACD would ever have been more then a niche even on their own. IMO...

[HDJK]

Originally Posted by jdc115

Format war or not with SACD, I don't think it really mattered. For audio, most people do not have the system to really notice the difference or care. Free MP3s seemed good enough for mass adoption and I just don't think DVD-A or SACD would ever have been more then a niche even on their own. IMO...

True for stereo. But HTiBs were starting to be sold everywhere at cheap prices and I'm sure a lot of people would have caught on to the MCH discs, even if their ears or systems didn't care about Hi-Rez. But since surround is much more widespread now there is a chance for it now on BD.

[kingofgrills]

Originally Posted by jdc115

Format war or not with SACD, I don't think it really mattered. For audio, most people do not have the system to really notice the difference or care. Free MP3s seemed good enough for mass adoption and I just don't think DVD-A or SACD would ever have been more then a niche even on their own. IMO...

It's that same consumer apathy that keeps Blu-rays at risk for being widely adopted by the masses over DVDs. A friend of mine has hundreds of SACDs, totally eclipsing my SACD collection, and sonically his system is awe inspiring. Most of my other friends still don't get that there are formats that are better than CDs. They also don't think their compressed music download files have been compromised sonically at all.

I would love the music industry to step up and work with the BDA to utilize Blu-ray as a standardized HD audio format. As much as I love SACDs, they never widely caught on, at least beyond jazz and classical music. a Blu-ray-A disc could offer multi-channel and stereo concert videos, as well as audio only multi-channel and 2 channel stereo tracks. That could be a heck of a package to compete with $1 downloads.

I'd probably listen to the 2 channel audio tracks mostly.

[Baseball3]

Originally Posted by kingofgrills

It's that same consumer apathy that keeps Blu-rays at risk for being widely adopted by the masses over DVDs. A friend of mine has hundreds of SACDs, totally eclipsing my SACD collection, and sonically his system is awe inspiring. Most of my other friends still don't get that there are formats that are better than CDs. They also don't think their compressed music download files have been compromised sonically at all.

I would love the music industry to step up and work with the BDA to utilize Blu-ray as a standardized HD audio format. As much as I love SACDs, they never widely caught on, at least beyond jazz and classical music. a Blu-ray-A disc could offer multi-channel and stereo concert videos, as well as audio only multi-channel and 2 channel stereo tracks. That could be a heck of a package to compete with $1 downloads.

I'd probably listen to the 2 channel audio tracks mostly.

and have just a few all together but I have seen quite a few that are not jazz or classical though those may have a great share of the market. I am impressed with my two Allman Brothers SACDs, my David Elias SACD, and Aerosmith Toys in the Attic. I saw we welcome the rebirth of SACD brought about by the PS3.