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On 31/01/2012, Richard L. Hess wrote: > Hello, Louis, > > These are certainly perceptive comments and I know only two people who > currently admit to sitting down with a good stereo system and > listening to music. Not surprisingly, one is the music director at our > church, and the other is my recording mentor and good friend, Don > Ososke. I remember when I first visited Don at his home, I came with a > CD case and we spent most of the night playing music for each other, > although we sometimes would not finish a track as our brains spiked on > something in that track that led us to another...and another...and > another. Sadly, although it's probably good for my health--I need my > sleep--Don and I have never lived geographically close to each other > <smile>. > There must be some people listening, because the hi-fi magazines are fat and healthy, even in the middle of a long recession. I certainly listen. > What I think I notice, however, about the younger generation is that > they appear to need visual stimulation in order to fully enjoy the > experience. If they don't have something to watch as well as listen, > it appears that they do not enjoy it as much. > I think this may account for the great popularity of opera and ballet in the 19C, and musical films in the mid 20C. > I think we may be seeing a parallel to this change in audio > consumption in still imaging consumption, however since George Eastman > created his cash cow (which apparently has or will soon receive some > flavour of bankruptcy protection), photography has been more about the > individual capturing the image than sound/music ever was, despite > bootleg concert taping. > > i- and Android phones seem to be changing and mixing up this space yet > again. > > Cheers, > > Richard > > On 2012-01-31 8:31 AM, Louis Hone wrote: >> I'm a SACD owner and I love the format, especially the multi-channel >> mixes. I love to remove all the channels except the center one and >> listen to the singer. Elton John, Billy Joel and Karen Carpenter are >> favorites. It's like you are in the control room while they are doing >> their vocal tracks, and you are soloing their mic. You almost hear >> their heartbeats. I think one of the problems with SACD, is that you >> have to sit in the sweet spot and do nothing else but allow the music >> to engulf you. I remember as a teenager, when a good album would come >> out, we would sit down and listen to it. Just listen - nothing else. >> Think back to Sgt Pepper. Nowadays, few people have the luxury of >> taking the time to sit down and do nothing else but listen. We listen >> to music in our cars while driving, in our homes while preparing >> supper, on our Walkman while walking, jogging, reading, riding the >> subway, etc. but we rarely have the time to sit down and focus on the >> music being played, on the recording itself. And apart from easy file >> downloads and exchange, the MP3 format has become a background music >> generator while we do other things. Q sound was also a format the >> demanded that you sit motionless in the exact sweet spot to enjoy the >> 3D effect. No wonder it never caught on. Time is a luxury today and >> not too many people want to "waste" it listening to music only. Our >> world has changed, unfortunately. We have become multitask human >> beings with not enough hours in a day to do it all. >> >> Louis >> >> Regards -- Don Cox [log in to unmask]