Yes, they are bundled as zip files that you then have to unpack. The 352.8 files are DXD, if you have them. The DSF files are DSD. DSF is the file format three-digit suffix for a DSD file that allows for more extended metadata. The other three-digit suffix for a DSD file would be DFF, but those typically are not distributed because of limited metadata storage in that format. The digital content is identical.
the 352.8 file unzips to a FLAC file
as noted, the DXD PCM Flac file unzips as Flac; the DSD64/128/256 files unzip as DSF
I brought all this up because you said to play the DXD file
All good! Hard to know how conversant people may be with formats and extensions. Sounds like you have it all down.
I downloaded the DXD 24/352.8 PCM FLAC version, and I do like this version better thru headphones than the DSD256. Headphones are the Sennheiser 660S and the music player is the Fiio 11 pro. While not quite the same as the wonderful Stax SR-009S driven by a Blue Hawaii amp, is still good enough to hear differences. Am listening mainly to Larghetto for violin comparison. Will try on the main system hopefully during the day on Tuesday.
Now I have to try the DXD 24/352.8 of Ben Webster Live in Copenhagen, previously downloaded when I purchased the DSD256, of which I already LOVE the sound of (DSD256), and easily one of the best sounding/musical recordings in my collection.
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I agree. Well recorded, and then transferred by HDTT from a 15ips 2-track tape in Pure DSD256. Great stuff!
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Weâve mentioned in this thread the recordings from Jonathan Horwich and his IPI label. My survey article of a number of these finally got published today. So, for those interested in some excellent Pure DSD256 transfers from the 15ips master tapes, you might want to take a look:
The Jonathan Horwich Recordings at HDTT - Pure DSD256 from the Master Tapes
The covers montage above only shows a few of the albums.
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Is the DSD256 the most pure version of Live in Copenhagen?
Yes. The âPure DSDâ DSD256 file will be as accurate a transfer of the tape as Bob can supply. For recent HDTT releases whenever you see in their description that the release is âPure DSDâ these will be made with no post-processing in PCM. Bob will do this when he has a really good sounding 15ips 2-track tape to work from. No need to pull the file into DXD for any post-processing.
HOWEVER, note that not all DSD256 files are Pure DSD. Many (if not most) will be outputs from the DXD post-processed edit master file. Over the past couple of years, Bob has been diligent about differentiating so that it is clear the the file has been processed in PCM from a DSD256 master and then output from that PCM master to DSD256 when this is the case. Watch for the âPlease note:â comment in red.
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Well, I tried to play the 24/352.8 flac file in my player that is connected to the stereo system (Beethoven Violin Concerto). The all in one player seems to not play those files properly. It sounded as if I was trying to play a 45rpm record at 33 1/3 rpm speed.
But i was able to connect my Fiio 11 pro portable player to my stereo system, and play those same 24/352.8 files without a hiccup, where the lead violin did sound slightly more realistic.
This live recording sounds absolutely wonderful through good headphones, but my stereo isnât delivering the lead violin with the same splendor that the headphones are.
It should be noted that I am nitpicking, and looking for a live recording of a violin being played back with utmost realism, and am spoiled by how good the previously noted Ben Webster DSD is thru tube preamp to M1200 amps with that magical âbeing played in the roomâ sound. In general terms this release does sound very good.
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Yes, those 15ips 2-track jazz tapes are hard to match â they have terrific transparency and the Pure DSD256 transfers capture them very well. 
Are you looking for classical recordings with similar transparency, or just violin recordings specifically?
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Mostly violin, and also do like Beethovenâs V C in particular
Itâs been great to see HDTT diving into the Mercury Living Presence catalog more deeply. This classic Mercury Living Presence recording by Bob Fine and Wilma Cozart has all of the sonic hallmarks that made these Mercury recordings so revered by music lovers and collectors. Huge soundstage, tremendous dynamics and impact, excellent detail and capture of the instruments abound. The performance by Dorati is one of the bestâravishingly lyrical in the slower movements (lovingly played), brutal onslaughts in the demandingly chaotic segments, filled with color and dance. Itâs a good 'un. And just now released in this excellent transfer by HDTT. Iâm guessing this is from a commercially released 7.5ips tape because, while it sounds very good, I could still wish for a bit greater transparency in the soundâbut Iâm sure Bob got from this source tape all that it had to give. Wonderful to have once again in the digital music library! Great job, and many thanks for this!!
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Todayâs second new release from HDTT here. Quite a powerful performance by Rudolf Serkin. Recorded in 1959 with excellent sound quality on this transfer. Iâm trying to find out a bit more about the source tape for this one because the sound has a clarity, a transparency, that suggests a better source tape than a commercially released 7.5ips tape.
This is a follow-up to an earlier posting mentioning the tape restoration work done by tape restoration guru, John Haley of Harmony Restorations, LLC, who works with Bob Witrak at HDTT on a variety of projects that require a deeper level of expertise.
John has now sent me some craaazy before-and-after sample audio files illustrating fixes to some extreme problems: wow and flutter, tape slippage, missed notes in live performances, extreme surface noise in old acetate records. Theyâre just mp3 files, but if you listen to them, I think you will be as wowâed by the results as Iâve been. You can stream them or download them.
See the article A Conversation with John Haley - Audio Restoration Magician at the embedded link.
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One of the greatest casts ever assembled, with a highly skilled Wagner conductor in Erich Leinsdorf who was to leave from these recording sessions to conduct the full Ring Cycle at the Met in NYC. Recorded by Kenneth Wilkinson (on contract to RCA) the excellent acoustics of Walthamstow Town Hall, 1961. Rights reverted to Decca who left it to languish in favor of the Solti Ring Cycle releases. Now restored and remastered by HDTT (with the excellent services of restoration magician, John Haley) in wonderful high resolution sonics.
Full review posted HERE.
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This release in gorgeous high resolution sonics is cause for celebration! The Mercury Living Presence recordings which I so loved throughout my days listening to vinyl have a very distinctive sound. It is very much a third row presentation, very upfront and impactful. But, these great Mercury recordings also present a huge soundstage, with excellent inner detail, superb micro-dynamics, and a marvelous sense of three-dimensional air around instruments. That three-dimensional air around the instruments is what creates, for me, the sense of real instruments performing in a real acoustic spaceâand itâs all part of the Mercury Living Presence magic.
And this release by HDTT brings back that Mercury Living Presence magic.
As is so often the case with the HDTT releases, this release sounds better to my ears than the CD in the recent 2022 box set from Universal. Pitch is now corrected (was a bit sharp on the CD release) providing fuller, richer string tone and better match to the organ. The volume of the organ has not been diddled. It is left as found on the tape and not boosted as on the Universal CD. In the second movement (Poco Adagio) we can once again hear the organ providing its dark, mysterious support to the lower strings, not playing the dominant protagonist (again, matching my recollection of the LP). But most importantly, we once more get to hear the three-dimensional air around the instruments, the sense of real instruments performing in a real acoustic space. The orchestra sound once again has depth and dimensionality. This new HDTT release is back to what the Living Presence magic was all about.
Full review HERE.
Update, March 27, 2023: The pitch corrected version of this file is now on the HDTT website. Anyone who earlier downloaded this album, should by now have received a link to download this pitch corrected file.
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Newbie here and far from being a skilled music reviewer, but have really enjoyed this thread since I âdiscoveredâ HDTT a couple months ago. My interests donât include classical but Iâve picked up a few of their jazz offerings and have been pleased.
I purchased âLightninâ Hopkins, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - Blues Hoot Live The Ash Groveâ yesterday and thought I would pass on my thoughts on it, after hearing it twice.
Part of this release is simply of Hopkins and his guitar and some includes the other two artists. All are minimalist recordings in a live venue. The audience is very respectfully quiet, though Iâm sure the way it is recorded hides incidental sounds well. There is no between-song âambianceâ like, for instance, Jazz at the Pawnshop.
This is raw and, to me, exciting stuff. Itâs one of the closest, simple, live âyou are thereâ recordings Iâve ever heard. With Lightninâ on the left and Sonny on the right, the recording is almost (but not quite) hard panned and, given this is an acoustic session, likely exactly the way it sounded from the audience. There is one track - Blues for Gamblers - where Lightninâ seems well back on the left stage and somewhat recessed in the background. However the rest of the tracks seem authentically well balanced.
Itâs a real treat to hear such a realistic recording and makes me grin ear to ear when Sonny gives out a whoop, hardly pausing from his raucous harp playing, which is one of his âsignature movesâ. An odd thing to mention, perhaps, but the audience clapping after each performance is stunningly realistically captured.
Cheers,
Robert
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Hi Robert, welcome to the forum and this thread. I am continually amazed by the depth of the HDTT catalog. Iâd not come across this album in their listings before your post. Iâll be getting it later today!
HERE
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