Two free high-resolution samplers from HDtracks

[Teresa]

Two free samplers from HDtracks demonstrate what I like and dislike with current high-resolution digital downloads.
        
HDtracks 2017 Hi-Res Sampler, most were 24/96 a couple 24/88 and 24/44.1
        

1. Jimmie - Diana Krall [Stepping Out] - Justin Time Records
2. Light this Party Up - Rick Springfield - Frontiers Records
3. Can’t You See (I’m Falling In Love) - Susan Wong - EvoSound 
4. Down By The Riverside - Noah Wall [Down Home Blues] - Chesky Records
5. Liar - Kasia Lins [Take My Tears] - EvoSound
6. Secrets (Cellar Door) - Radical Face [The Family Tree: The Leaves] - Nettwork Records
7. Nothing More To Say - The Frightnrs [Nothing More To Say] - Daptone Records
8. A Thousand Faces - Boy & Bear [Limit Of Love] - Nettwork Records
9. Vertigo Flowers - Nothing [Tired Of Tomorrow] - Relapse Records
10. A.H.B. - S U R V I V E [RR7349] - Relapse Records
11. Around The Globe - Jerry Cortez [From The Ground Up] - EvoSound
12. Kiss Me Darling - Fiona Boyes [Professin' The Blues] - Reference Recordings
13. Danny Boy - Three's Company [Three's Company] - Chesky Records
14. Feux Follets - Minoru Nojima [Nojima Plays Liszt] - Reference Recordings
15. Dancing For The Oceans - Julienne Taylor [When We Are One] - EvoSound        

I only thought tracks 4, 12, 13 and 14 sounded like well recorded high resolution music. I somewhat liked these four tracks but not enough to keep. No surprise these were from Chesky and Reference Recordings.
        
Track 1 is Diana Krall, one plus for me is she doesn’t sing she just plays the piano with bass player and drummer. Well, I still I didn’t like it.
        
Tracks 2 and 9 sound very compressed, have gross overload distortion, and were much louder than the other tracks. Track 11 was also compressed and a little less distorted. 
        
Tracks 3, 5, 8 and 15 are OK but don’t sound like high resolution to me.
        
Tracks 6, 7, 11 sound like low quality low-res
        
Track 10 sounded like a low rate MP3, it even has what sounds like tape stretching at the end like bad analog wow and flutter. Was this on purpose?
                       
HDtracks presents The Sound of the Future, all are 24/96

 

1. Full Moon in Paris (Amber Rubarth)
2. Ain't We Got Fun (Alexis Cole)
3. Wayfaring Stranger (The New Appalachians) 
4. Check Point Charlie (Jazz In The New Harmonic) 
5. Indian Summer (Kenny Barron & Mark Sherman) 

This sampler is short but very sweet. These excellently recorded tracks from Chesky reveal the benefits of high resolution and Chesky’s Binaural + Series. Great music with great sonics, I love this sampler.

Here is Chesky’s description from the PDF program notes:
        
Part of the Chesky Binaural + Series, all recorded with a single microphone, the band appears right before you with this spacious, lush and multi-dimensional recording. Now headphone users will hear the same three-dimensional sound and imaging as audiophiles have for the past 25 years with Chesky Recordings. Also these new Binaural+ Series albums capture even more spatial realism for the home audiophile market, bringing you one step closer to the actual event. You will hear some of the most natural and pure music ever recorded.

 

So what is your opinion of these two free samplers from HDtracks?

 

 

 

 

[Daudio]

2 hours ago, Teresa said:

Two free samplers from HDtracks

 

Teresa,

 

Nice post ! Thanks !  Downloading now...

 

(I'm such a sucker for free hi-res d/l's

 

[blue2]

Thanks Teresa for the link and thanks to HDtracks for the free stuff.

 

From "HDtracks 2017 Hi-Res Sampler" I kept

5. Liar - Kasia Lins [Take My Tears] - EvoSound

and put it with "Go Away" from the 2014 sampler, which IMHO is a much better musical selection and better reason to spend £££ on high res. Kasia Lins is a young Polish jazz singer and the only artist whose albums I followed up. She has a CD/High Res download "Take My Tears" from 2013 and a 2017 EP. There are more interesting tracks in those sets but I don't think I'll buy the CD.

 

I also kept for further listening (musically OK or SQ good):

6. Secrets (Cellar Door) - Radical Face [The Family Tree: The Leaves] - Nettwork Records
7. Nothing More To Say - The Frightnrs [Nothing More To Say] - Daptone Records
8. A Thousand Faces - Boy & Bear [Limit Of Love] - Nettwork Records
9. Vertigo Flowers - Nothing [Tired Of Tomorrow] - Relapse Records
11. Around The Globe - Jerry Cortez [From The Ground Up] - EvoSound
12. Kiss Me Darling - Fiona Boyes [Professin' The Blues] - Reference Recordings
14. Feux Follets - Minoru Nojima [Nojima Plays Liszt] - Reference Recordings 

 and from "HDtracks presents The Sound of the Future" (binaural)
1. Full Moon in Paris (Amber Rubarth)

The binaural tracks sounded good on headphones but had an 'artificial' soundstage on speakers. Track 11 had the best SQ, 9 sounded compressed.

[Teresa]

Blue2 thanks for your comments. I have now listened to both samplers three times though both headphones and speakers. 

I deleted the HDtracks 2017 Hi-Res Sampler , while the Chesky and Reference Recordings selections were excellent sounding, I didn't care for the music. And I didn't like the sound of the other 11 selections. I am shocked that HDTracks would put so many bad sounding high-resolution songs on their multi-label sampler, surely there were better songs released in high resolution in the past year?

 

However, I loved all five of the selections on HDtracks presents The Sound of the Future 

I've now listened to these Chesky’s Binaural + recordings on both headphones and speakers, and they sounded excellent with my system on both. With speakers I didn't find the soundstage artificial, it was wide and deep with lots of ambiance and very realistic. Could it be a difference is speakers and/or speaker placement? This one is definitely a keeper, love it! 

[orchardaudio]

There is also now the 2020 sampler:

https://www.hdtracks.com/#/album/5e3a2cddf16d7d09b9855526

 

 

 

[mr. Fancypants]

On 7/11/2021 at 1:15 PM, ascendtotheorchard said:

There is also now the 2020 sampler:

https://www.hdtracks.com/#/album/5e3a2cddf16d7d09b9855526

 

 

 

Thanks for the heads up.  This music sounds amazing on my NS-1000M speakers.

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Hello. I had the HD Tracks 2013 sampler, but lost it. I can no longer find it anywhere. Does anyone have it? Please.