Jud Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Studio Quality (HD) Downloads available now! - Presto Classical One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature. Link to comment
manisandher Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Haha... they're based in the town where I live. It's a physical store - well worth a visit if you happen to be in the area. Mani. Main: SOtM sMS-200 -> Okto dac8PRO -> 6x Neurochrome 286 mono amps -> Tune Audio Anima horns + 2x Rotel RB-1590 amps -> 4 subs Home Office: SOtM sMS-200 -> MOTU UltraLite-mk5 -> 6x Neurochrome 286 mono amps -> Impulse H2 speakers Vinyl: Technics SP10 / London (Decca) Reference -> Trafomatic Luna -> RME ADI-2 Pro Link to comment
Musicophile Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Nice. Presto is actually a really good site and has rather decent prices for CDs. More competition is good! Check out my blog at musicophilesblog.com - From Keith Jarrett to Johannes Brahms Link to comment
Jud Posted August 19, 2014 Author Share Posted August 19, 2014 Nice. Presto is actually a really good site and has rather decent prices for CDs. More competition is good! Yes, I've found in many cases that they are less with shipping from the UK than other sources, e.g., Amazon, are from here in the US with free shipping. They've previously had downloads available of many of their CDs, but at a maximum 16/44.1 resolution, so this is a welcome development. I've already got my eye on the Weilerstein performance of the Dvorak Cello Concerto. One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature. Link to comment
Musicophile Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Yes, I've found in many cases that they are less with shipping from the UK than other sources, e.g., Amazon, are from here in the US with free shipping. They've previously had downloads available of many of their CDs, but at a maximum 16/44.1 resolution, so this is a welcome development. I've already got my eye on the Weilerstein performance of the Dvorak Cello Concerto. Before you get the Weilerstein, check out Isserlis/Harding on Hyperion. Both are really good, but my preference would be for the latter. A bit more nuanced. DvoYák: Cello Concertos - CDA67917 - Antonín DvoYák (1841-1904) - Hyperion Records - MP3 and Lossless downloads Back to topic: Presto by the way is also an excellent source for getting reviews on pretty much every album they have, plus if you click on the hyperlink of a certain oevre, it will give you recommendations from Gramophone, Penguin, BBC etc. Check out my blog at musicophilesblog.com - From Keith Jarrett to Johannes Brahms Link to comment
Musicophile Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Looks like so far their studio masters are limited to Universal, e.g. DG, Decca, etc. Check out my blog at musicophilesblog.com - From Keith Jarrett to Johannes Brahms Link to comment
Bob Stern Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Dvorak Cello Concerto Before you get the Weilerstein, check out Isserlis/Harding on Hyperion. Both are really good, but my preference would be for the latter. A bit more nuanced. To continue the OT digression, I have to admit I haven't heard those two, but a fantastic performance is by Jacqueline Du Pre with Celibidache conducting the Swedish Radio Sym. Both cellist and conductor play with romantic passion, yet are more lively and rhythmically alert than in the later recording with husband Barenboim as conductor. (Don't be dissuaded by the slow, spiritual conductor Celibidache became later.) HQPlayer (on 3.8 GHz 8-core i7 iMac 2020) > NAA (on 2012 Mac Mini i7) > RME ADI-2 v2 > Benchmark AHB-2 > Thiel 3.7 Link to comment
The Sound Guy Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Are these authentic hi rez files? I was looking at some DG albums and wondered if they are original 96/24 resolution. Do other websites also sell the same downloads or are these exclusive to Presto Classical? Link to comment
Musicophile Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Are these authentic hi rez files? I was looking at some DG albums and wondered if they are original 96/24 resolution. Do other websites also sell the same downloads or are these exclusive to Presto Classical? I know that many historic recordings by DG were transferred in a major archiving effort to 24/96 digital, I believe in the early 2000s. The downloads that Presto are selling are mainly recent recordings that have been available at other sites in 24/96 already; e.g I bought the recent Cosi fan Tutte and Schumann symphony cycle by Nezet Seguin on DG as 24/96 from Qobuz. I never questioned whether those are true highres, but could run a quick scan with Audacity when I get back home. Do you have any reason to doubt that these are legit? Check out my blog at musicophilesblog.com - From Keith Jarrett to Johannes Brahms Link to comment
monteverdi Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 An interesting site with good info about music but I get that with Universal titles: (Sorry, download not available in your country) Link to comment
Jud Posted August 20, 2014 Author Share Posted August 20, 2014 An interesting site with good info about music but I get that with Universal titles: (Sorry, download not available in your country) Which country? (I have a sinking feeling it could be the US.) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature. Link to comment
flatmap Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Which country? (I have a sinking feeling it could be the US.) Right, the downloads not available in US. At least for the ones I checked. But seems like a very nice site. 2013 MacBook Pro Retina -> {Pure Music | Audirvana} -> {Dragonfly Red v.1} -> AKG K-702 or Sennheiser HD650 headphones. Link to comment
bmoura Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Right, the downloads not available in US. At least for the ones I checked. But seems like a very nice site. That happens with most of the third party sites. The good news is the ones connected to or run by the record labels themselves (like Native DSD and Pentatone) have no geographic restrictions so anyone in the world can buy all of the classical music titles listed on those sites. Link to comment
Musicophile Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 Are these authentic hi rez files? I was looking at some DG albums and wondered if they are original 96/24 resolution. Do other websites also sell the same downloads or are these exclusive to Presto Classical? Here's the spectrum from the overture of Cosi fan tutte with Nezet-Seguin, downloaded from Qobuz in 24/96, and probably identical to this one: Presto Classical - Mozart: Così fan tutte, K588 - DG: 4790641 (CD or download) - Buy online Looks like true highres to me. By the way, DR13. Check out my blog at musicophilesblog.com - From Keith Jarrett to Johannes Brahms Link to comment
The Sound Guy Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 Thanks for the graphic. I purchased Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 17 in D major, D850 and Mozart : Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major, K459, both 96/24. The Schubert Piano Sonata has no useful information above 12kHz probably because it is solo piano but the Mozart Piano Concerto has information up to 30kHz. Link to comment
Alpina_Lux Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 Thanks for the graphic. I purchased Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 17 in D major, D850 and Mozart : Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major, K459, both 96/24. The Schubert Piano Sonata has no useful information above 12kHz probably because it is solo piano but the Mozart Piano Concerto has information up to 30kHz. And are the performances any good? I must admit that I'm not a big fan of late Barenboim (technically challenged) or Uchida. Link to comment
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