The coup is done and Mp3 and its other compressed cousins are already ruling !I...
Not only more popular, it is going to take over. I have no idea how long it will take (CDs will remain relevant to a lot of CD-playing people, long past the day on which the last one is sold) but it will take over as the main digital source, if it hasn't already, very soon.
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the rulers are the portable devices and other than them all getting consolidated to the "one device to rule them all" we may not see much happening in that area. Computers themselves are getting embedded to to other devices and most of us may not have a dedicated computer and will move into a Smart TV which does everything. and mostly streaming Mp3 audio from mobility devices.
There is going to be that set of folks who have dedicated HTPC but would be a minority as compared to the above
All this my view obviously..who knows what else is going be Disruptively Innovative ... Underwear which can sing perhaps (And not kidding we already have wearable tech infused into clothes)
its good see folks investing in higher end headphones and this is really great to hear. space might make a stereo rig infeasible but a good headphone rig is a great way to be in the hobbyI met a new 21 year old colleague who has just joined my company. I noticed he was listening to music on grado headphones so I asked him about it. He was super thrilled that I even asked him about his headphones and insisted that I at least listen to flac or high bitrate mp3 if I borrow his headphones.
My nephew is in college in the US and just bought a pair of decent sennheishers and an amp. Roughly 1 out of 5 young programmers in my office have decent headphones that I would consider as entry level high fidelity.
Not sure if the hobby and pursuit of high fidelity audio is dying. Probably changing form significantly. And at their price point - headphones just walk all over a regular setup. Their only drawback is that headphones are not for social listening or for creating an atmosphere.
And as far as quality recording is concerned, I do see that even among the really young crowd. BUT, only among those who have already taken the pains to research and buy a decent quality headphone setup.
That is indeed heartening to hear... there are young folks who still love music and are willing to spend on it.
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Ah... at least I hope I will teach my kids better. Probably not, but hopefully yes.
Amen to that ! although this will also be a Niche area with a small %
The same is happening with books which is moving on from a physical storage to a digital storage.
Spot on..while i do have a large collection of books..have moved on exclusively to my kindle+ ipad for books/Mags.