Are you ready for high resolution?

DVD-Audio is meant for high resolution. SACD is meant for high resolution.

Many mediums today are meant for high resolution. Blu-ray and HD-DVD are the home theater counterparts for high resolution medium.

But we are not discussing on the pros and cons of those mediums, we are not even talking about the hardware playing them. Nope, none of the discussions that would try to impart the author’s priorities on your buying decisions.

Today, we are just going to stick to CD as the main medium of discussion. Yes, a compromised medium in terms of resolution, but even then, are you ready for even CD-resolution reproduction?

I have been on the audio autobahn for the past 3 years, listening and trying things that I could dream of 13 years ago when I first got started. As we stay along the course of our hobby, or any hobby for that matter, leading us to just squeeze that last ounce from our wallet for that ‘last’ upgrade, many a time, we lend our fate to the hands of manufacturers and reviewers.

I for one failed to see the pitfall on upgrading and started trying and testing reputable gears and accessories. I failed to see the balance, the room, the rigs and the electricity that feed my rigs. And certainly, I failed to see my poor skills in getting that balance.

My hunger for resolution and high fidelity has pushed myself ever so close to the brink of giving up. Listening to those SOTA (state of the art) gears does elevate my listening skills and push my criticality level when listening. But to achieve SOTA sound, it is not a single dimension quest like chucking in loads of money.

Great sound is not warranted by the owners’ fat wallet, but is actually a cumulating of the owners’ years of musical quest and system building experience. Yes, I have heard big brands with poor sound. But that is just the mere reflection on the owners’ poor skills rather than horrendous pricing practice of the ill-intending-blood-sucking-manufacturers.

I have, single dimensionally, traveled fast in this audio hobby. Bringing myself up from nothing to something worthy of a glimpse. Yet, one could only travel this way thus far before realizing the big sound one could easily swallow.

I got a silly smack in the face finally to realize this is not merely an upgrade game. Great resolution has enabled me great musical enjoyment. Yet, the greed within pushed me overboard and I kept on upgrading. As I reap the benefits of high resolution, sound wise rather than bits wise, I failed to see the other ugly face of high resolution.

High resolution reveals the deepest musical contents. However, it too, reveals the dirtiest effects of less-than-acceptable-weak-links within the chain. Since the realization of this, I have slowed down considerably in upgrading and started looking inwards. Looking at what’s my main problem, rather than looking outwards for the next big upgrade.

So, do you deserve higher resolution?