On this StudioNerds Podcast episode, I asked the uncomfortable question I’ve been thinking about for real: has audio technology hit a plateau… or are we just measuring “progress” the wrong way? Because when I look at converters, interfaces, and straight-up fidelity, it’s like… we’re basically done. We can already reproduce full spectrum, we’ve got converters that are damn near perfect (and they’re cheap now), and we’re literally recording at sample rates that are beyond what humans can even hear. At a certain point, “more hi-fi” stops meaning anything. Where the conversation gets interesting is what actually forces innovation. We talked about how big inventions (printing press, steam engine, electricity, internet/computer) create ripple effects, and why the last 50 years moved so violently fast that it was destined to slow down. To me, the next “boom” isn’t another EQ with a new GUI—it’s experience: monitoring, headphone evolution, room/adaptive playback for consumers, and creator workflows getting smarter. I also think mic modeling, studio modeling, noise reduction, and AI are real progress—but the hype cycle makes it hard to tell what’s useful vs. just “future” marketing. My takeaway: fidelity is capped, but the way we create and listen still has a lot of runway.