New formats, same old story?


OK, we continue to be inundated by advice to upgrade to a new digital format. Most say SACD, the rest tell us that DVD-A will be the ticket. My thing is that I would be ready to buy if things were sorted out. They are not yet. It doesn't look any clearer to me than it did a year ago today. Am I blind? Neither has taken precedence. More importantly, neither has had the major influx of software we have been waiting for. A major determinant as to which one wins out in the end. Yes, SOFTWARE. Where is it? Sure, there are some titles out there(how many currently???), but new albums are still more often than not released CD only. The people at the record stores still have not heard of either of the new formats. Yes, I know Sony keeps dangling the influx of new players(even cheap ones) at us, but I am still in the same mindset I was last year. That I don't want to invest in a new player that won't be a REAL step up in terms of CD playback(which would make it worth it) until one of the formats emerges as the future path. And, once the players come, will they be obsoleted by a new twist a couple of years later? As in multichannel - which I am not interested in, or by offering a digital output of the new format's signal. Are my feelings correct, or do I need the way I see things corrected? Thank you.
trelja
Take note..that very good people, like Audio Research, Conrad Johnson, VAC,..etc. have gotten out of the "source" business.
Name a great pre-amp....there are many.
Name a great amp........again, there are many.
Name a great speaker or cable...same story.
This source thing has had us in limbo for a long, long, time.
This is why there so many of us that still hold on to vinyl so dearly. To repeat myself..
Name a great tuner...there are a few.
Name a great turntable..there are a few.
Name a great digital source....my god, what a mess.
I couldn't agree more, read my post above called

"Digital formats and obsolesence"
Yes formats may change but isn't this what progress is all about? Personally I think dvd audio will come out on top for the forseeable future because dvd technology is so popular and will continue to be. Consequently the software will be supported with more choice and new recordings by mainstream music makers. I am very happy with my "midfi"
denon 5700, toshiba sd9200 dvd audio and paradigm 80v 2
speakers. Surroundsound in the high resolution format sounds wonderful to my ears. I am frustrated by the slow release of good music on this format but it is coming. Joni Mithchell "Both Sides Now" and Steely Dan "Two Against Nature" dvd-a are two examples of excellent music that sound wonderful in this new format. When compared with the redbook versions the differences are clear.