agentsmith Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Yes Magnatune is a "not evil" where independent artists are paid 50% of the revenue, and customers are free to set their own price. They also sell membership for unlimited downloads. Good music available in FLAC and MP3. Also have free streaming to Squeezeboxes and iPhone. Very highly recommended. Good Classical. DG also has a very nice download site with lossless downloads. The best part is unlike other labels, their downloads are for once cheaper than the physical CDs, which is the way it should be. Macbook Pro/MacMini/dCS Debussy/Cambridge 650BD[br]Vitus Audio SS-010/Living Voice OBX-R2 Speakers/Ultrasone Edition 8 phones[br]Airport Express/Meridian AD88[br] Link to comment
agentsmith Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Chris, Actually DG does sell FLAC files. Just do a search on their web site and may of the files there are FLAC based. In fact, the entire 111 anniversary 55 disc boxset in FLAC is available at a bargain price Macbook Pro/MacMini/dCS Debussy/Cambridge 650BD[br]Vitus Audio SS-010/Living Voice OBX-R2 Speakers/Ultrasone Edition 8 phones[br]Airport Express/Meridian AD88[br] Link to comment
Audio_ELF Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I don't think anyone has mentioned that Naim Records do High Resolution downloads. Eloise Eloise --- ...in my opinion / experience... While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing. And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism. keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out. Link to comment
The Teller Light Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 The catalogue is very limited, but Burning Shed has some FLAC downloads available for some of its artists. They just recently added several full Porcupine Tree albums for FLAC download. They're a great Brit prog rock outfit, so that may be worth checking out for some of you. http://www.burningshed.com/ For classical fans, I didn't see the Philly Orchestra's Online Store mentioned above (may have missed it). They also make FLACs available of many past concerts. http://www.thephiladelphiaorchestra.com/ The sound quality from files from both sites are excellent. iTunes (iMac)/CDs --> (software) Decibel/Fidelia --> (sources) Apogee Duet /NAD C541i --> (amplification) Audio Outlaw RR2150/Headroom Micro --> (speakers/headphones) Paradigm Monitor 7 v.3, Paradigm PDR-10 v.3/AKG K701[br]Cables: (Interconnects) Straightwire Musicable, Kimber Heros; (Speaker) DiMarzio M-path, Blue Jeans Cable subwoofer cable. Link to comment
bottlerocket Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 I checked out www.naimlabel.com and found Phantom Limb. Wow! A new fan here. Link to comment
Encore Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Good news, especially for us here in Denmark. Danish Dacapo Records have just offered their entire catalogue as download, with some hirez material, and more to come. Dacapo is devoted to Danish classical music, but their web site is in English. Although not an audiophile label, their SQ tends to be really good. They're offering a free download of the day (http://www.dacapo-records.dk/news-free-download-of-the-day.aspx). Should you find something to your liking, they're offering a 50 % discount on all downloads through December. Use promotion code: DOWNLOADS-50-OFF. I can recommend this album (unfortunately not available in hirez): http://www.dacapo-records.dk/recording-requiem.aspx. "It's getting better all the time!" All best, Jens i5 Macbook Pro running Roon -> Uptone Etherregen -> custom-built Win10 PC serving as endpoint, with separate LPUs for mobo and a filtering digiboard (DIY) -> Audio Note DAC 5ish (a heavily modded 3.1X Bal) -> AN Kit One, heavily modded with silver wiring and Black Gates -> AN E-SPx Alnico on Townshend speaker bars. Vicoustic and GIK treatment. Link to comment
silverarrows Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Beatport has been mentioned but I find Juno has an excellent selection and good prices. Plus it's easier to navigate than other sites. They allow downloads in WAV of FLAC. http://www.junodownload.com/ Link to comment
pj Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Boomkat is also worth a look as it has a reasonable selection of material available in FLAC format hidden amongst cd, vinyl and mp3 releases. http://boomkat.com/downloads An honourable mention goes to Sofaspace which has a small selection of downloads in FLAC format. The main attraction for me is that most of the releases are from the French "panoramic" ambient electronica label Ultimae (http://www.ultimae.com) http://www.sofaspace.net/store/downloads-c-47.html An interesting looking site that has some hidden gems in FLAC format; http://www.musiczeit.com/ Link to comment
ericuco Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 The Linn site has a 3 for 2 sale going on until Dec. 14th. Use promotion code 3FOR2. That's the good news. The bad news is that their download speed (to US at least) is painfully slow. So far, 3 songs (24/88 FLAC) out of the 3 albums purchased have downloaded in about 4 hours (20kb/s on average). I have DSL which is usually decent on downloads so I doubt it is my DSL causing the issue. I checked their help section that they acknowledged a slow download issue outside of Europe. Hopefully, I will be able to enjoy my 3 new albums by the end of 2009. Eric www.beresford-dac.com Eric Audio System Link to comment
pj Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Crammed Disc appears to have most of their catalog available for download in FLAC format. http://crammed.greedbag.com a couple of possible entry points into the crammed catalog: http://www.6moons.com/musicreviews/2009_march/zazou.html http://www.crammed.be/index.php?id=37&rel_id=195 cheers pj Link to comment
The Sound Guy Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 David, I am subscribed to chandos' mailing list and I alway got only MP3s. How do you mange to get lossless file? Link to comment
church_mouse Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Sound Guy, I just have the usual newsletter with the free and special price offerings from Chandos. My newsletter of 1 or 2 quarters ago had an offer which, when I clicked to investigate, was available in the lossless format. That said, it was not something I was interested in, so I did not bother with the download - in hindsight, it is quite possible that, had I done so, I may have discovered the free version to have been limited to the mp3 format. Apologies if I have erred. Even more profound apologies if I caused you to think that somehow I was getting a more generous newsletter than you. David MacMini, Mytek Manhattan I DAC, Avantone The Abbey Monitors, Roon Link to comment
The Sound Guy Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 David, thanks for the clarification, the free versions are limited to MP3 AFAIK. Link to comment
beetlemania Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Will you please compile an up to date list of download sites and make it prominent on your site? I recently learned of two new ones: 2L and Hodie. It would be very helpful to have all these in a handy spot and regularly updated by you without having to sift thru all the comments. Thanks. Roon ROCK (Roon 1.7; NUC7i3) > Ayre QB-9 Twenty > Ayre AX-5 Twenty > Thiel CS2.4SE (crossovers rebuilt with Clarity CSA and Multicap RTX caps, Mills MRA-12 resistors; ERSE and Jantzen coils; Cardas binding posts and hookup wire); Cardas and OEM power cables, interconnects, and speaker cables Link to comment
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bikemig Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 There might have been some changes on DG's website since you can now download CDs either at FLAC lossless (for a somewhat higher price) or 320 kbps mp3 files. Miguel Macmini (as server)-> AE Express/SB Touch-> Dacmagic plus -> Outlaw RR2150 -> PSB Image T6 (dedicated 2 channel audio system) Macmini (via toslink)-> NAD T747 -> PSB Imagine B/SVS SB2000 subwoofer (home theater) Macbook Pro-> Peachtree idecco->PSB Imagine Minis, Energy ESW-M8 subwoofer, Beyerdynamic DT880 (home office) IMac->audioengine D1 dac->airmotiv 4 (work system) Link to comment
psjofors Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I like this. Appears to be very true. I've downloaded both from Linn and HD Tracks and found the artistic qualities to be in reversed correlation with the quality of the recording. One except is the Norwegian label 2L who sells HiRez tracks from their website (or cheaper from HD Tracks). Link to comment
tresaino Posted September 11, 2010 Share Posted September 11, 2010 this thread was started a couple of years ago with genuine enthusiasm, however it seems to me that the list of interesting sites is still rather thin. are we sure high definition downloads are the future and will expand to a point where we can find tens of thousands of 24/96 or higher resolution downloads? I don't think so any more. Link to comment
watchnerd Posted September 11, 2010 Share Posted September 11, 2010 I feel pretty lucky when I find stuff I want in 'regular' lossless. True hi rez is so rare I've more or less given up on looking for it. MacBook Pro -> AppleTV ->Rotel RSP-1570 -> Martin Logan Electromotion[br]MacBook Pro -> Icon HDP -> AKG K701[br]Apple Lossless all the way Link to comment
Encore Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 Actually, I have the opposite experience--I feel that more and more hirez albums become available. But, OK, it's mainly classical ... All best, Jens i5 Macbook Pro running Roon -> Uptone Etherregen -> custom-built Win10 PC serving as endpoint, with separate LPUs for mobo and a filtering digiboard (DIY) -> Audio Note DAC 5ish (a heavily modded 3.1X Bal) -> AN Kit One, heavily modded with silver wiring and Black Gates -> AN E-SPx Alnico on Townshend speaker bars. Vicoustic and GIK treatment. Link to comment
audiozorro Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 with a more current list of audiophile quality music download sites and associated links. Or you could just upgrade the Music section under the CASH List. Link to comment
Dennis Graves Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 I have yet to find a classical music download site. Such a site would have to have FLAC or WAV downloads (not MP3)and have a good selection of up to date classical pieces. By good selection, I mean AT LEAST 100 different pieces. Naxos says it is streaming only, which I understand to mean that you cannot buy downloads. Pristine has a good selection of OLD label or "classic" recordings, but has very little or nothing recorded after 1950. The best recordings should generally be after 1980. Any sites meeting these criteria would be appreciated. Link to comment
psjofors Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 I buy from hdtracks.com Link to comment
CharlyD Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 Passionato (http://www.passionato.com/) offers many classical labels with a very large selection. All are redbook resolution. I've had spotty success with their downloads, but customer service is good about resolving problems. Some of the downloads are outstanding, some are flawed. Link to comment
Dennis Graves Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 Thanks for the tip. Passionato looks promissing. They have quite a few flac downloads and the prices are good. Is there any way to know which of the downloads are good and which should be avoided? Link to comment
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