The Demise of the CD: Part II The Solution

Despite all signs pointing to the immediate and unquestionable death of this format it does not have to be that way. CD's today clearly aren't offering the public enough incentive to actually be purchased as can be seen with the Internet music revolution. However, there are CD's out there that offer superior quality and a completely new listening experience, an experience that the Internet doesn't have a hold of. There are two formats that are very similar and are known as Super Audio CD's and DVD- Audio's. These formats offer a true surround sound listening experience, if you have the proper equipment which is a player which is compatible with the two formats (Many DVD players play DVD-Audio) and 5.1 Surround Surround sound speakers. I finally invested into these two dying formats and was so pleased to have done so. Hearing "Dark Side of the Moon" in 5.1 surround made me wonder how I could ever listen to it on stereo ever again. Subtleties like the footsteps in the song "On the Run" swirling around my head make it such a treat to listen to. Right now as I write this I am listening to Beck's "Sea Change" SACD and I must say from what I have heard thus far it is the most impressive 5.1 CD I have ever heard. Instruments are revolving around my head and sounds are being designated to separate speakers in a way which gives music listening a third dimension. Even when listening to The Who's "Tommy" it felt as if Keith Moon was playing in the middle of the room, I was afraid if I moved too much I would have knocked over his drum kit (Not that it really matters, I'm sure he would have blown it up after the show anyway.)

The most depressing thing about these formats is that they, like regular stereo CD's, are being left to dry by the music industry while they focus on suing twelve year old girls downloading the newest song from Beyonce and the seventy year old Grandma who's grandson was illegally downloading Green Day's "American Idiot." It is hard enough to find SACD and DVD-Audio players compatible with at least one (Mainly SACD is the hard one) of the formats and nearly impossible to find a player that plays both. Not only is it hard to find players but it is difficult to find the CD's themselves, if you want a copy of ELP's "Brain Salad Surgery" on DVD-A you might find yourself shelling out $80 to someone on Ebay.

It is really sad because these formats offer a completely new dynamic with different sounds coming at you from all directions. On top of that the sound quality is even better which is something that appeals on a high level to any audiophile. Some may say it is too expensive to actually get the equipment but the same could be said for when the CD was first introduced.

These formats are regrettably not the answer to this large problem, but they could be a step in the right direction if the industry was to try to promote them on a greater level and if companies were to produce players which could play both formats which I'm sure isn't that difficult. The answer to this issue of the CD dying lies solely in the fact that CD's now and days aren't giving us enough bang for our buck, nobody seems to care about a fancy package and actually being able to hold the music they are listening to. The industry can focus on encrypting CD's so they can't be ripped and suing people to bring fear on a population that feels invisible, but their focus will be futile, and despite the obvious signs of their failure they continue to make that the center of their focus.

I unfortunately see the CD as a dying breed because of the sheer lack of focus by the industry, one day I may have to bear the unfortunate responsibility of telling my children what it was like when music was a material object, when it was something that you could hold and smell, it wasn't just a fragment of memory on my computer or IPod.