It has been argued that compressed digital audio files are creating a generation that has no taste for high fidelity.
And yet, the resurgence of vinyl among music lovers young and old indicates that listeners still have an appetite for quality sound, presumably beyond the nostalgic appeal of record collecting.
This is encouraging, because it suggests that today’s discerning homeowners have an underlying desire for good audio that’s just waiting to be tapped. Newer high-resolution audio formats could be the ticket.
High-resolution audio digs us out of the MP3 mud and gets us closer to CD quality, with 24-bit and 96kHz files (even 192kHz in some cases). With evangelists like music legend Neil Young, who is said to be “spearheading” a cloud-based high-resolution audio system, we could see this appreciation grow a new crop of audiophiles.
Of course, high-res audio files aren’t lightweights when it comes to file size, and all this data has to be stored somewhere – and it has to be pumped through speakers. New kinds of hardware like asynchronous USB DACs and NAS hard drive storage will present new engineering challenges.
But the opportunity is clear: Hi-res audio will give enterprising electronic systems contractors the opportunity to make their clients fall in love with music all over again. By mastering the new challenges presented by hi-res audio, you can deliver systems that make the most of these sources, from multi-channel music and concerts on Blu-ray to hi-res music downloads.
How do you get there?
You can get started with next month’s CEDIA webinar covering everything you need to know about adding high-res audio to your business’s offerings. Join Rich Green for Success with High-Resolution Audio Sources: From Bits to DACS to Dollars on May 18 at 1 p.m. EDT / 10 a.m. PDT. This free one-hour webinar will give you a jumping-off point for creating revenue from projects that feature high-res audio.
