Having had my head spun around by digital, both in the positive and negative sense since first having heard it, I'm ready to agree with the presumptive nature of the question, 'Are we at the 'End of Days' with regard to High End Digital...meaning I suppose, pricing beyond a certain dollar figure is about to come to an end quickly, as the ROI is so shaded toward the lower end of product given the level of quality now available.
In the old days, early on in digital, the inadequicies manifested themselves as 'thin and reedy' and annoying to the ear, (for me). Turntables simply 'trounced all commers' into the world of music reproduction.
Now, almost 30 years later, we're seeing the 'limitations' as a simple 'lack of resolution', but, to my ear, not nearly as grating--if one can separate dissappointment from fidelity, or lack thereof.
In experimenting with a friend who just purchased an IMAC, and is building a music library, we did a fun experiment.
Using the 'Great Winston Ma's' recordings as a sample of what a 'truly great recording' should sound like....we recorded a piece using the 'minimum/for maximum transportability' that Mac recommends. The file took up about 14.5MB. Then, we recorded the same, using the true maximum res, least loss, and compared a (minimum) to b (maximum) to the original, while being played through a piece that I consider to be a wonderful player, the Oppo conversion piece by Exemplar.
A was 'adequate' and other than dissappointing, not annoying. B was much, more resolving (and took up 75MB by comparison), and C was of course, the best, by far.
We've come a long way in digital--and to answer the question that this site/post asks...YES, I do believe we've reached the point of no return on mega buck players.
First of all, most people lack the hardware to appreciate the differences--convenience has to be a factor in some regard and at a certain point for most of us, AND with a player like the Oppo/Exemplar, which costs $2500--why spend much more?
Best, as always,
Larry
In the old days, early on in digital, the inadequicies manifested themselves as 'thin and reedy' and annoying to the ear, (for me). Turntables simply 'trounced all commers' into the world of music reproduction.
Now, almost 30 years later, we're seeing the 'limitations' as a simple 'lack of resolution', but, to my ear, not nearly as grating--if one can separate dissappointment from fidelity, or lack thereof.
In experimenting with a friend who just purchased an IMAC, and is building a music library, we did a fun experiment.
Using the 'Great Winston Ma's' recordings as a sample of what a 'truly great recording' should sound like....we recorded a piece using the 'minimum/for maximum transportability' that Mac recommends. The file took up about 14.5MB. Then, we recorded the same, using the true maximum res, least loss, and compared a (minimum) to b (maximum) to the original, while being played through a piece that I consider to be a wonderful player, the Oppo conversion piece by Exemplar.
A was 'adequate' and other than dissappointing, not annoying. B was much, more resolving (and took up 75MB by comparison), and C was of course, the best, by far.
We've come a long way in digital--and to answer the question that this site/post asks...YES, I do believe we've reached the point of no return on mega buck players.
First of all, most people lack the hardware to appreciate the differences--convenience has to be a factor in some regard and at a certain point for most of us, AND with a player like the Oppo/Exemplar, which costs $2500--why spend much more?
Best, as always,
Larry