Ken C. Pohlmann

Home audio is poised for a comeback and voice interaction is leading the way.

Perhaps you remember the story from two weeks ago. A woman (pictured) wearing headphones on a plane was burned when the headphones exploded and caught fire. The woman was relatively okay, but it's never good when a piece of gear catches fire, especially when it's on a plane and especially if it's near your face. With the rise of battery-powered headphones, are in-ear explosions yet another thing to worry about?

I remember it like it was only yesterday, but in reality it was probably more like 30 years ago. I walked into my favorite hi-fi store—the one on Dixie Highway. The owner greeted me by name. He was very active as a recording engineer for classical-music groups, and a trusted name in audio. His inventory was pretty high-end and a little spendy for a lowly college professor like me, but we had done some critical listening together and I greatly respected his opinions.

Suppose you had a perfectly fine bucket. As you poured water into your bucket, you marveled at the way it perfectly held the water. Then one day a miscreant drilled a hole in your bucket, and put his own bucket under yours. No matter how fast you pour water into your bucket, it inevitably streams out the bottom. To make it even more frustrating, the hole just keeps getting bigger and bigger. All of which brings us to sales of DVD and Blu-ray.