Interesting and surprising article

PS Alex, I would say SACD & DVD-A failed spectactularly due to their pushing of 5.1 music, as a result the assembled stereo hifi fans said "yeah right your arving a larf intcha ?". Shame though as if they had pushed the stereo angle, more people would have adopted them, including myself a lot earlier than I did.

It certainly made my mind up.........five point bleedi' one. Oh let me quickly sum that one up.....thats five Neat Ultimatum MF7s (which you normally buy in pairs, so one would be used to keep the door open) and five Naim 135 mono blocks and then a high end 5 channel pre amp with off board power supply and then all those cables :eek:

But, heck, never mind the cost what about trying to arrange a room around that lot.......not much WAF, well actually not much HAF :rolleyes: and then to top it all.......

It took me around 2 months to carefully move the speakers and sitting position and took several attempts to build various acoustic absorbers and reflectors...........so five speakers :suicide:

So what is being offered is a chance to re-buy all my CDs that were recorded in stereo and have been digitally altered to give 5 channels and its going to cost more, oh yes and your not sure which format if any is actually going to be around in few years time..........do me a favour.

Better quality.........thats vinyl is that !
 
oh yes and your not sure which format if any is actually going to be around in few years time..........do me a favour.

Better quality.........thats vinyl is that !

Karl, I have never been surer that it will be a STEREO carrier, be that :

CD, Vinyl, DVD-V (trust me), Radio be that Digital Freeview, DAB or FM, oh and dont forget MP3 or any other PC based stereo carrier. Before I forget and having just watched Jools Hollands Hogmany bash on Freeview PVR through my stereo system on digital TV.

Stereo. (full stop). (been saying it for years). (full stop) :rotfl: :smashin:
 
The new amps are meant to be pretty good all told but I have yet to hear one. Bristol perhaps :).
However, they said that about the A400, and that was the most overrated lump of all time! ;)

Wouldn't argue Ed, that articles like that are 'doomy', in particular, as those who work(ed) in the trade know, seperates have never been 'big' when compared to the market as a whole.

Karkus30 said:
Better quality.........thats vinyl is that !
Totally agree on that one!:smashin:
 
Karl, I have never been surer that it will be a STEREO carrier, be that :

CD, Vinyl, DVD-V (trust me), Radio be that Digital Freeview, DAB or FM, oh and dont forget MP3 or any other PC based stereo carrier. Before I forget and having just watched Jools Hollands Hogmany bash on Freeview PVR through my stereo system on digital TV.

Stereo. (full stop). (been saying it for years). (full stop) :rotfl: :smashin:
The only thing that baffles me CJ, is the people who still rave on about 5.1 discs and re-masters as if they are the best thing ever, and go all, 'we are not worthy' whenever one of their fave bands is re-issued on them. :confused: Is my hearing going, am I going batchy (don't answer that!)? As I listen to these discs, and think, yes........and?
 
However, they said that about the A400, and that was the most overrated lump of all time! ;)

There is only one contender for me in that catagory- the Audiolab 8000A :).

Wouldn't argue Ed, that articles like that are 'doomy', in particular, as those who work(ed) in the trade know, seperates have never been 'big' when compared to the market as a whole.

Don't get me wrong, this is no golden age but all things considered, the market is reasonable. I am of the firm belief that portable and compressed music systems represent an opportunity to bring people into the fold not a sign that they are leaving it behind.
 
There is only one contender for me in that catagory- the Audiolab 8000A :).



Don't get me wrong, this is no golden age but all things considered, the market is reasonable. I am of the firm belief that portable and compressed music systems represent an opportunity to bring people into the fold not a sign that they are leaving it behind.
One among many Ed, one among many!:D I must admit I never understood how such a 'middle of the road' amp as the 8000A got such rave reviews?

I knew what happened with the A400 as I was working in the trade at the time, and sadly, after talking to some reps who predicted correctly what the reviews were going to say (and why) I was sorely disillusioned with the whole reviewing process as a result. And not just the A400 reviews, I hasten to add.

I would hope you are right, but I know many young people (through work) at the age we would like to see them getting into hifi, and who are into the whole 'portable' thing. However, I would say none of them are in anyway interested in moving to true hifi. :( As these are undergraduates, one of the traditional 'take up' groups for seperates, this is a little worrying for the future. At least in our area..........
 
The only thing that baffles me CJ, is the people who still rave on about 5.1 discs and re-masters as if they are the best thing ever, and go all, 'we are not worthy' whenever one of their fave bands is re-issued on them. :confused: Is my hearing going, am I going batchy (don't answer that!)? As I listen to these discs, and think, yes........and?

I'd say they have probably not heard a good stereo system (note not always expensive) doing a presentation of decent stereo material. And no your not going deaf, far from it. I reckon hype puts things into peoples heads (IMHO).
 
Funny old world audiophilia Newman, Ive found 2 that sound perfectly acceptabel to my ears. :smashin:

PS Alex, I would say SACD & DVD-A failed spectactularly due to their pushing of 5.1 music, as a result the assembled stereo hifi fans said "yeah right your arving a larf intcha ?". Shame though as if they had pushed the stereo angle, more people would have adopted them, including myself a lot earlier than I did.

True. I have heared an Arcam DVD player which was a perfecly acceptable CD players, but it about the same as Arcams £400 player...The DVD player's price was about twice this). I also would never go as far as stating that "There are DVD players that make CD players sound pathetic" as per John Bamford's quote. :)
 
True. I have heared an Arcam DVD player which was a perfecly acceptable CD players, but it about the same as Arcams £400 player...The DVD player's price was about twice this). I also would never go as far as stating that "There are DVD players that make CD players sound pathetic" as per John Bamford's quote. :)
No. Neither would I. Although my DVD player is perfectly adequate as a CD player, no way would it worry my Primare CD. ;)
 
Strikes me that what we're really talking about is the middle ground area, where people might have bought a cheap and nasty midi-system, or a not much better set of seperates. In a way, it's a good thing that this area really has been wiped out, as it leaves low end stereo kit with no significant opposition.
As for the "death of seperates", I can't remember ever seeing so many high end products as are now being released. Just look at Naim, who've recently brought out their CD555. Who cares whether it's any good, they clearly believe that there's a market for it, meaning that things are far from dead.

As for 5.1. You can keep it. I've never been to a concert and had a band member playing from behind me before, and don't expect to ever have that, so why people believe there's a requirement to re-create that, or the ability to make me think that someone has stuffed my head INTO the grand piano, I'll never know.
 
Wow...this article really has stirred up a hornets nest of activity :D. Interesting thoughts and opinions definitely food for thought
 
Personally, i think with the advent of the internet, and forums such as these, I reckon theres more of a market for gear with good sound quality than ever before.

Even if some of the big players do pull out, there will always be the smaller players who will step in and take their place. These are people who are passionate about sound quality and it is their hobby and not just a profit making exercise. We will see more cottage industry companies producing good value, excellent sounding hifi kit, rather than just being all out for profit. I think this can only be a good thing.

I will not swap my seperates for some crappy 5.1 dvd player with little cube speakers and a boomy subwoofer, even if it is more convenient to use and looks prettier. The fact is, while I might not enjoy surround sound with my setup, in all other respects, it makes some of these "package" systems sound somewhat embarassing by comparison.

My stereo amp recently developed a fault. Rather than get rid of it, i thought it was worth fixing. A 20 year old amplifier that, when it worked, made some of the new stuff sound utter crap. Long live 2-channel hifi, and long may it continue.
 

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