Do you remember the days when one reclined in a chair, head back, blown away by music from a high-fidelity sound system. The fact is that despite claims that two channel sound is coming back demand for digital music is growing faster.
With their ability to store vast libraries of music in your pocket, sleek digital music players have replaced bulky home stereo systems as the music gear of choice. But the sound quality of the digital audio files they play is noticeably inferior to that of compact discs and even vinyl.
Are these the final days of hi-fi sound? Judging by the 2 billion songs downloaded from Apple Inc.'s iTunes service, the ubiquity of white iPod "ear buds," and the hundreds of thousands of people file-sharing for free, the answer is yes.
"In many ways, good enough (sound quality) is fine," said Paul Connolly, an art installation specialist and longtime audiophile who is now in the process of digitizing his 2,400 CD collection in Apple's lossless digital audio format.
