Over on our sister site, Mark Waldrep of AIX Records fame (and author of the excellent Music and Audio: A User Guide to Better Sound), just posted a new editorial called The Truth About High-Resolution Audio: Facts, Fiction and Findings that all Home Theater Review readers should also check out.

Even a casual review of the usual audiophile websites, trade magazines, consumer electronic equipment ads, professional organizations (think: NARAS or the CTA), or content providers like HDTracks, Qobuz or the new Amazon Music HD streaming services reveals a substantial level of interest in hi-res audio, hi-res music or HD-Audio. No matter what you call it, high-resolution audio is being aggressively promoted as the next major advance in music listening.

I was there at the introduction of this "new and improved" audio technology back in 2000. In fact, my specialty audio label, AIX Records, is responsible for some of the very first albums recorded and released using 96 kHz/24-bit PCM on the newest incarnation of the DVD format - DVD-Audio discs.

Since that time, I've watched as the music and consumer electronics industries have embraced and promoted hi-res audio. I've been a strong and vocal advocate for real high-resolution recordings, given keynote addresses, served for five years on the high-end audio board at the CTA, wrote a comprehensive, 880-page book called Music and Audio: A User Guide to Better Sound, and participated on numerous panels focused on better fidelity and hi-res. And I've also been a sharp and vocal critic of the numerous false representations made by organizations, services, and industry types anxious to profit off of hi-res audio and music. It's way past time for a reality check of what is and what isn't high-resolution AND if it actually matters to audiophiles.

To read the rest, head on over to Audiophile Review.