HI Rez Question

[witchdoctor]

I am just getting into hirez. I downloaded dome 96/24 flac files and was not impressed. I have my sound card set to upsample to 192/24 PCM and feel whats the point if I already use upsampling. I noticed a slight degradation from the native version compared to my upsampled one. Am I missing something here?

[jazz01]

you may take into consideration: on the one hand some tunes are simply bad mastered and whoever offers them is trying to make more money without investigating in proper remastering - and on the other hand even when they are well mastered you will need good/the right equipment to enjoy any difference. For me, hires music sounds often more engaging; however, if for any reason you don't hear a difference - and some people simply don't - I would not invest any further money but maybe give it a try sometimes in the future again

[witchdoctor]

you may take into consideration: on the one hand some tunes are simply bad mastered and whoever offers them is trying to make more money without investigating in proper remastering - and on the other hand even when they are well mastered you will need good/the right equipment to enjoy any difference. For me, hires music sounds often more engaging; however, if for any reason you don't hear a difference - and some people simply don't - I would not invest any further money but maybe give it a try sometimes in the future again

 

Thanks, maybe I;ll try some DSD tracks next

[rayooo]

Your experience is exactly what I've experienced...although I my case I've been trying for several years now.

I must say that yes, in a few cases I've found amazingly fantastic hirez recordings... but to this day, the majority of hirez recordings I purchase are just OK, some are terrible.

 

As I suspect many did, I'd hoped for more... Clearly a poorly created recording is poor no matter what the delivery format is.

Yea, I knew this then and now, but hope springs...

Unfortunately today pretty much like it's always been, great recordings seem few and far between. ...at least in my opinion.

[witchdoctor]

Your experience is exactly what I've experienced...although I my case I've been trying for several years now.

I must say that yes, in a few cases I've found amazingly fantastic hirez recordings... but to this day, the majority of hirez recordings I purchase are just OK, some are terrible.

 

As I suspect many did, I'd hoped for more... Clearly a poorly created recording is poor no matter what the delivery format is.

Yea, I knew this then and now, but hope springs...

Unfortunately today pretty much like it's always been, great recordings seem few and far between. ...at least in my opinion.

 

Thanks for posting this, let's me know it isn't just my experience. My soundcard upsamples to 192/24 so things already sound good to my ears with even redbook files after upsampling.

[mansr]

Your experience is exactly what I've experienced...although I my case I've been trying for several years now.

I must say that yes, in a few cases I've found amazingly fantastic hirez recordings... but to this day, the majority of hirez recordings I purchase are just OK, some are terrible.

 

As I suspect many did, I'd hoped for more... Clearly a poorly created recording is poor no matter what the delivery format is.

Yea, I knew this then and now, but hope springs...

Unfortunately today pretty much like it's always been, great recordings seem few and far between. ...at least in my opinion.

I have many great recordings. Some of them are hi-res.

[sphinxsix]

Upsampling 16-44 to 24bit won't make it sound like 24bit. Upsampling makes sense (I use 24-384 upsampling DAC myself) but this is not how things work. I've written already on CA why I love hi-res sound ('What's the best upgrade path' post if I remember correctly) and I won't repeat myself but I know that some people don't appreciate sound characteristics of hi-res audio and may even prefer harsh, thin sound of 16-44 'cause that's what they are used to

[witchdoctor]

Upsampling 16-44 to 24bit won't make it sound like 24bit. Upsampling makes sense (I use 24-384 upsampling DAC myself) but this is not how things work. I've written already on CA why I love hi-res sound ('What's the best upgrade path' post if I remember correctly) and I won't repeat myself but I know that some people don't appreciate sound characteristics of hi-res audio and may even prefer harsh, thin sound of 16-44 'cause that's what they are used to

 

This is very helpful, can you send a link of something I can buy via download to try?

[kumakuma]

This is very helpful, can you send a link of something I can buy via download to try?

 

Here are two great sources:

 

Blue Coast Records | Exceptional Acoustic Recordings

 

Sound Liaison Music Shop

 

 

I also like Chesky's Binaural recordings a lot:

 

Binaural+ | HDtracks - The World's Greatest-Sounding Music Downloads

[kumakuma]

I have many great recordings. Some of them are hi-res.

 

+1

 

The recording/remastering of the source material is much more important than the resolution in my experience.

[sphinxsix]

This is very helpful, can you send a link of something I can buy via download to try?

An amazing sounding stuff, you can check out one of their samplers for instance

 

Stockfisch-Records: Gitarrenmusik + Pauler Acoustics: Masteringstudio

 

I'm also a big fan of Analogue Productions remasters (but these are mainly SACDs and DSD files - make sure your software plays them before ordering)

 

http://store.acousticsounds.com/index.cfm?get=results&searchtext=Analogue+Productions/

 

 

 

[sphinxsix]

Ps. Sorry, I forgot (I love SACD/DSD) - Stockfisch is also SACD (DSD) format. The biggest choice of 24bit files, I believe:

 

Homepage | HDtracks - The World's Greatest-Sounding Music Downloads

 

Or check out the music/downloads threads on CA..

[mansr]

I also like Chesky's Binaural recordings a lot:

 

Binaural+ | HDtracks - The World's Greatest-Sounding Music Downloads

 

Anything from Chesky is usually a safe bet if you like style of music. Doesn't have to be binaural. Their recordings of Christy Baron and Marta Gomez are among my favourites.

[kumakuma]

Anything from Chesky is usually a safe bet if you like style of music. Doesn't have to be binaural. Their recordings of Christy Baron and Marta Gomez are among my favourites.

 

Great choices!

 

I also like the albums that Clark Terry, Jimmy Cobb, Rebecca Pidgeon, and Valerie Joyce did for Chesky. Not much of a fan of David Chesky's own music though.

[witchdoctor]

An amazing sounding stuff, you can check out one of their samplers for instance

 

Stockfisch-Records: Gitarrenmusik + Pauler Acoustics: Masteringstudio

 

I'm also a big fan of Analogue Productions remasters (but these are mainly SACDs and DSD files - make sure your software plays them before ordering)

 

http://store.acousticsounds.com/index.cfm?get=results&searchtext=Analogue+Productions/

 

 

 

 

I am going to check out this week-end, thanks very much for posting.

[witchdoctor]

Here are two great sources:

 

Blue Coast Records | Exceptional Acoustic Recordings

 

Sound Liaison Music Shop

 

 

I also like Chesky's Binaural recordings a lot:

 

Binaural+ | HDtracks - The World's Greatest-Sounding Music Downloads

 

Great, I look forward to checking it out.

[sphinxsix]

I am going to check out this week-end, thanks very much for posting.

You are welcome!

[bmoura]

Thanks, maybe I'll try some DSD tracks next

 

You can find a number of Free DSD Music Files to try out - up to DSD 256 Multichannel in some cases - at these web sites:

 

NativeDSD Music

https://members.nativedsd.com/

https://members.nativedsd.com/albums/just-listen-1-compilation

https://justlisten.nativedsd.com/albums/mendelssohn-session

 

DSD File - Opus 3 Records

DSD File | Free DSD Download

 

Blue Coast Music

Free Downloads | Blue Coast Music Group

[mansr]

Some free sample tracks in various formats are available at http://www.2l.no/hires/index.html

[witchdoctor]

You can find a number of Free DSD Music Files to try out - up to DSD 256 Multichannel in some cases - at these web sites:

 

NativeDSD Music

https://members.nativedsd.com/

https://members.nativedsd.com/albums/just-listen-1-compilation

https://justlisten.nativedsd.com/albums/mendelssohn-session

 

DSD File - Opus 3 Records

DSD File | Free DSD Download

 

Blue Coast Music

Free Downloads | Blue Coast Music Group

 

Great, I'll post feedback as soon as I check them out, thanks

[Pat Case]

I often check intended purchases against the database at the following link. Particularly in relation to lossless and hi res recordings, the information here can help you sort out the good from the bad.

 

Depending on what you are into, I find that these classical music sites (and others) are all good; Monteverdi, Hyperion, Presto Classical, Pentatone, Deutsche Grammophon, Linn, Reference Recordings, HIGHRESAUDIO, Analogue Productions, Harmonia Mundi etc.

 

i don't want to get into any fights about it but, personally, I find that because their recording and mastering techniques are just so impeccable, CD recordings from Linn, Pentatone, Harmonia Mundi are indistinguishable from their downloadable hi res versions.

 

Here's the link to the database where you can check the dynamic range of various albums. I think that dynamic range is only one criterion among others - including, of course, ones own ears.

 

<http://dr.loudness-war.info/>

[bmoura]

I often check intended purchases against the database at the following link.

<http://dr.loudness-war.info/>

 

Don't forget the NativeDSD Database that has web links to 33 web sites that offer DSD Music

http://nativedsd.com/database

[witchdoctor]

Don't forget the NativeDSD Database that has web links to 33 web sites that offer DSD Music

http://nativedsd.com/database

 

Do you know how native DSD compared to upsampled DSD via HQPlayer?

[firedog]

Albums at Native DSD recorded in DSD tend to be smallish ensembles recorded live.

 

The sound is much better than other material upsampled to DSD, but that is mostly do to the recording quality, and not the format. If you convert them with HQP to PCM, they still sound fantastic.