Am I the only one sick of the ipod ? This little device is ruining the future of “High End” audio. I went into Circuit City and Best Buy the other day mainly to browse the DVD-A and SACD sections they have only to find they don’t have them anymore!!! Now I have no place to buy these Hi Rez formats accept on line. Of course as I looked around the rest of the store I couldn’t help but notice more room has been made for ipod junk!!! Don’t get me wrong, I think the ipod is a great little device for music on the go but I can’t believe how easily people will give up quality for convenience. There is even a thread going right now over at AVS with some guy asking if there are any A/V Receivers that are designed to work with his ipod. IMHO MP3s sounds as thin as the ipods that play them and to hook them to any piece of equiptment that you can’t shove in your ears is an insult to all that we hold dear. I hope I haven’t insulted any ipod owners but sometimes I just have to rant.

Lasher

Mass storage is nice, but I like my quality too.

Sorry for your loss, lasher. My pod serves a purpose that hi res audio can't fulfill, so I'll have to disagree - to a point. You can rip files in iTunes at a quality level that doesn't compromise from CD quality, which for me is a boon when I'm at work or traveling (and DVD-audio is not an option).

On the flip side, there are those who think the pod is the pinnacle of audio quality and technology, but hey, there's still people who'll buy speakers out of the back of a truck, too. But that's also the fault of those in control of the industry: the ipod is all about convenience, whereas hi res audio is anything but convenient ("So, I've also got to buy 12 more cables and a bass management unit? How much for that little iPod over there?").

Those of us who know the value will put up with the extra burden, but those who dont? They just go for the one that doesn't make their eyes cross explaining it.

.

Wayne

There is much truth in what you've said. I don't own an iPod although I use my laptop as one (on airplanes with a Boze II headset). As I look around I see iPoders smiling and enjoying the music. I find myself enjoying BOZE headsets (my car stereo is a Boze too and it's awful). You are really on target. There are people who just enjoy having some pleasant music and then there are those in quest of an unattainable goal--perfect reproduction. I'm not ready to buy an iPod but I will probably stay with my 990 rather than buy an Anthem Statement D1 because I have begun to focus on good sound rather than perfect sound. So let's not knock some else's enjoyment. Perhaps audiophiles should search their souls for the missing joy....

i think,if there would have been an iPod available when there was only a walkman 20+ years ago,we probably would have been on them like flies on .... .i've never heard one,never want to.have no use for one.but gotta admit,they are pretty cool.

You know I have to admit it’s not really the ipod that’s ticking me off. That is just the tip of a much larger iceberg. It’s this whole smaller is better attitude that everyone has lately. I over heard one guy bragging to another the other day (talking about their cell phones) He said proudly “mines smaller than yours”……….lol. I almost made a comment that would have gotten me into trouble Fortunately age has improved my judgment as well as my musical taste. Look at what this attitude has done to speakers. If you want full range tower speakers these days you better be very well off $$$$$ wise. This trend is what has made Bose one of the biggest selling speaker companies ever. Yet no one seems to care that they sound like crap!!! Small is cute so lets by those!!! The latest HDTVs are getting so thin that speaker manufacturers are shrinking and thinning their lineups more each year to better match them. Before long all you will have is a Midrange, a Tweeter, and a Subwoofer. Maby I’m just getting older but I never thought I’d see the day that I was dreading the newest release in the A/V industry. Just my .02

Lasher

oh,i dig what u r sayin' Lasher.i was always,like,bigger is better(d-9's),louder is better,but age has also played a role here.seems like everything i deal with NOW is quality not quanity.but i agree with Audiobear on good(i prefer great ) sound instead of perfect sound!

and when will bose have 5.1 surround sound from a single point source driver?

As soon as they can figure out how to convince the public it's worth $1800.