I saw a picture of one of these systems before with either Muhammad Ali or Elvis loading an LP - can’t remember which fellow it was. 
My BMW rips from its built in CD optical drive to its hard disk drive. Once can also transfer files from USB drive.
My guess is CD drives will be gone in cars in five years or so.
Just as you gave the example…try to order the new BMW 5 with a disc drive for the main front system 
I guess this one is just the first and from now it will be gone for BMW. And I think BMW, and Daimler are more conservative there than most other manufacturers …to be honest, I expected they are the last to drop disc drives.
But I’m sure you still can order a Blue ray player for video in the back.
I wish they gave the option of being able to swap out the hard drive in these cars. Mine came up with a 20gb hard drive that is nowhere sufficient. The usb input saved the day as I have a 128 gb usb thumb drive plugged in. Enough to have my entire music collection (it is modest). I love the convenience.
My BMW also plays video DVDs.
Options will continue to evolve.
Of course, many people will simply continue to listen to FM and satellite radio, which is now standard on many cars.
You can plug an external CD drive into an Apple computer, they even sell one. I don’t own a CD drive.
My business (legal) is document-heavy. We used to send data CDs around, then usb drives, for the last 3 or 4 years documents are provided by secure server access.
With regard to DSD, I’ve just read about Gus Skinas here. http://marqueemag.com/2008/07/industry-profile-digital-audio-pioneer-gus-skinas-fights-for-the-chance-to-do-it-right/
I note he has been promoting SACD/DSD for many years, and says in his view DSD is right and PCM is wrong. He says:
“And the Sonoma System gives you that emotional connection again. It’s probably a point that is very subtle, when somebody like a record company executive says that the difference isn’t that big. They both sound good, but this sounds a little better. But to me, one is right and one is wrong. The right one is the one you get the emotion from and the wrong one is the one that kind of pushes you away, which is what I feel digital does.”
Respectfully, I disagree. I still think 16/44 can be superb if engineered well. It is an interesting profile and he says at the end:
“That if I don’t pull this off, we’re going to go backwards, or go to the status quo and instead of quality getting better and better it’s going to get worse. The problem is that I don’t think that quality is an issue to record company management, except for the labels that make a living on it, like Telarc. The big labels make more money from ringtones and Guitar Hero than they do with pressed discs. This technology is a golden opportunity to actually make some money with something of better quality. It’s not a matter of business for me, it’s a matter of losing an opportunity to do it the right way and fix what we broke.”
I think he’s proven to be right and wrong. mp3 has become the standard for consumer audio. We have flicked from Spotify to 16/44 on my system and the difference is easy to hear. However, digital audio for classical and jazz has seemed to settle at 24/96 with some at 24/192 (including all of Linn and Naim studio masters). A lot else is at 24/48.
The only source I know for DSD is highresaudio and they list only 507 DSD titles, compared to 11,400 at 24/96. It seems that SACD was more successful commercially than DSD streaming. To me it seems the streaming battle, if there ever was one, has already been won by PCM. I took this view 4 years ago and it seems ever more obvious.
I appreciate this disc is released in PCM as well as DSD, but I’m starting to understand what is behind it. I have quite a few Alia Vox dual layer CD/SACD, which are ripped, but are available on Qobuz in 24/88.2 and some are in available in 5.1 6-channel.
I will probably buy this recording when available by download, but the piano is a huge instrument and it really does depend more on how it is recorded, where the microphones are placed and the size of the recording venue.
I don’t know if my Nissan Pulsar has a CD player. I don’t think so. It has bluetooth and I can stream from my phone, but I listen to the radio.
My wife’s Nissan Leaf has a clever system that emulates her phone. She drives a lot and mostly streams podcasts in the car. It has a 7-speaker Bose system. She loves it.
Yes, Apple and Android phones have an app which will connect and mirror to cars with the appropriate hardware/software. The car’s screen then looks and acts like the phone. It works very well for those who are phonecentric.
You can listen to the posted sample now. They are sufficient quality to judge the recording. The piano is close mic’d, excellent mic placement. The sound is warm and intimate which suits the music (laid back jazz). There is some room sound, but the emphasis is on hearing the piano as if you are standing in the saddle.
Elk I’m not familair with the term “standing in the saddle”
“hearing the piano as if you are standing in the saddle.” how do I picture this?
Just so when I receive my copy…and listen I can have a better understanding
of what you meant…I did see the picture on the album’s information site.
I have some rough ideas but really am clueless as to what you were trying to convey
Help me please…
Thanks
Is there any chance to download a snippet to play on the stereo?
You’ve not heard of NativeDSD out of Amsterdam? I’m shocked! Here’s what they have “Offering 1,825 albums with 24,408 tracks from 73 labels in Direct Stream Digital (DSD)”.
Not heard of them as my interest in DSD was a week or two and I bought from highresaudio.com
This is from the Qobuz store: 604,329 high res albums in the following formats:
- HI-RES QUALITY
- 24 bits / 44.1 kHz - Stereo(417906)
- 24 bits / 48 kHz - Stereo (133051)
- 24 bits / 96 kHz - Stereo (45554)
- 24 bits / 88.2 kHz - Stereo (6176)
- 24 bits / 192 kHz - Stereo (1536)
- 24 bits / 176.4 kHz - Stereo (94)
- 24 bits / 88.2 kHz - Multichannel 5.1 (5)
- 24 bits / 48 kHz - Multichannel 5.1(3)
- 24 bits / 96 kHz - Multichannel 5.1
DSD really does seem to be a limited format in terms of releases. The reason is of course because so few studios have DSD recording equipment.
A grand piano has a bend in the middle of one side. The recording sounds as if you are standing in this bend. It is not a perspective one normally hears.
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Not always a particularly pleasant perspective either, though this may be a matter of taste…
Thanks Elk…now when my album arrives I will better be able comprehend the
acoustical image as the music plays…
I saw the pics of the how the piano was miked and imagined that was what you were trying to convey earlier…
So now it is the waiting game for album to arrive…
Thanks again Elk
It will be an interesting perspective for sure Joma…
but am sure it will be a delight either way
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Received my copy today! Fantastic sound playing the dsf file thru the DirectStream dac. Please let this become a trend including the high resolution files on a separate disc with the SACD! Bravo!!!
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You mean it’s one of those recordings where the piano is everywhere like an out of phase signal? Probably an interesting effect but then only tonality seems to be comparable to the real thing…strange to do that.
No, it is not out of phase, but the image is wide. One hears one side of the piano out of one speaker; the other side, out of the other speaker.
I am interested in learning what others hear and what they think of the presentation.
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Would love to play a snippet but I see no way to play the examples as they are no separate files and I am too lazy to install an extraction tool.
Anyway that width seems strange…as you say like sitting in the piano.