Plambeck's article is a great read, and it just adds to what audiophiles have been saying for years.  Convenience and portability are going up, but audio quality is on the decline.  It's not just in file compression either; it's in component quality too.

One such example in the article is 22 year old Thomas Pinales, who listens to his iPod through a pair of cheap earbud headphones.  "My ears aren’t fine tuned," he said, explaining why he doesn't feel the need to upgrade his earbuds.  "I don’t know if I could really tell the difference."

The reason, according to Michael Fremer of Music Angle, is that people just aren't listening to music on its own.  "People used to sit and listen to music," said Fremer, "It was an activity. It is no longer consumed as an event that you pay attention to."