I bought a few just now, I almost forgot today is the last day of sale. Thanks for the recommendation as always!
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Good point! While all may not be sourced from the Master Tape, and indeed some are sourced from vinyl it makes one wonder as to their āheritageā in general. Havenāt dipped my toes in HDTT and probaly wonāt as the majority of their releases are currently in my vinyl collection, safe, sound, and clean. To a degree I can understand why some may choose to pursue them having walked away from vinyl playback, or just curious in general.
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I wonder how many of the vinyls you have were the source for HDTT to convert to digital and then marketed as sourced from tape.
Reminiscent of MOFI debacle and litigation and class action payments.
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That occurred to me as well, that, and I am trying not to duplicate what I already own. I donāt follow HDTT close enough to get all the subtleties involved in their process including acquisition of source material. Having experimented with SACD I learned my lesson, no reason to duplicate what I have and sonically they were a mixed bag. When my PSA Perfect Wave SACD Transport flamed out that was IT for SACD as far as I was concerned. Personal choice here.
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@akro, HDTT has just recently started making releases from vinyl once again. They did have a few in their catalog from 10 years or so ago, but Bob switched to focusing just on tape transfers until this past year. If you do a search, as of today they show 7 titles that are sourced from vinyl. Hereās a search link. In several cases, Bob has found that the LP available to him sounds better than the various tape copies heās auditioned as a sourcing candidate. Tapes age, degrade, shed, get stretched ā they are not a reliably perfect source. But they sound great when in good shape!
As to master tapes, there are only a small number of releases that actually come from master tapes (the Jonathan Horwich recordings (International Phonograph, Inc), some of the Delmar releases, the DTR releases and a few others. The vast majority of the HDTT catalog is from reel to reel tapes that are either the commercially released tapes (both 2-track 15ips and 4-track 7.5ips) or that come from various collectors who may have acquired 15ips tape copies through various means.
With the exception of releases from the master tapes or master digital files, virtually all of the material released by HDTT is now out-of-copyright and considered to be āin the public domain.ā
But regardless of the source, in listening comparisons I find that HDTTās DSD256 and DXD reissues typically sound sonically better than any other digital releases I have available to hear, including from the major commercial companies. A number of others would agree with this assessment.
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so, your review is two reviews in one? and, the last several paragraphs of you Positive Feedback review are not to be associated with the several digital releases by HDTT in that review?
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Hmmm, not sure what you mean here. The review is a series of reviews of different releases from HDTT. I think I covered about 15 different recent releases. Some sourced from tape, some sourced from LP (I think just two were from LP in this batch).
The Addendum at the end of the review āWhatās the story with HDTTās transfers from LP?ā is simply a commentary for those who are skeptical about LP transfers. Relevant since the two releases from LP were both among the top the Mercury Living Presence recordings.
HDTT is VERY clear about which releases are transfers from vinyl.
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Hi @paul172, just as a point of interest and possible exploration, Bob always transfers from his source (whether tape or LP) in DSD256. He feels that gives him the most perfect copy of the original source from which to then do any further post-processing that may be required.
If the source is really really clean, he may then release that DSD256 transfer file as a Pure DSD release with no PCM processing, and he will clearly note that on the albumās web page. It will be as close to an exact copy of what he hears in the source as he is able to achieve. This past year heās released quite a few jazz albums in Pure DSD256 because heās had access to an incredible library of very clean 2-track 15ips tapes to work from. An LP will almost never meet Bobās standards for being noise-free.
If the source is not as clean as he would prefer (and most are not), he then applies some post-processing in PCM at 32-bit 352.8kHz (32-bit DXD) using his Pyramix Digital Audio Workstation. Or he may send that DSD256 transfer file to John Haley for John to work on given Johnās greater expertise working with more challenging tape restoration projects (viz., the Leinsdorf Wagner Die Walkure release or the Paul Paray Saint-Saens Organ Symphony).
From the resulting 32-bit DXD edit master file, he will then output the file formats that we see on the HDTT website. Any DSD file will thus be a conversion from that 32-bit DXD edit master file (unless itās a Pure DSD release) and will be output via Pyramix Album Publishing.
Which format will sound better to each of us will depend on the DAC we use. For me, if Pyramix Album Publishing has converted the file from 32-bit DXD, then the 24-bit DXD file format will always sound just a touch better than the alternative DSD256 file from Pyramix. But, for some folks using a different DAC, the DSD256 file may sound better. This is the case with our secondary system in the office which uses a chip-based DAC. On that system the DSD256 file sounds better.
So, just sharing for what it may be worthā¦
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I totally understand the process. I was trying to point out each recording is taken from the best analog source and the vinyl restoration was not the norm over analog tapes at HDTT. Thanks for clarifying tho.
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I am curious how this works, since the releases on HDTT are apparently copyrighted. A quick google says for Canada, copyright lasts 50 years after the death of the author. But when does the clock start for a particular release? Did HDTT have to source original year releases? Or can they use any subsequent release? If the latter, then what stops someone from reissuing the HDTT drops? Similar question for the cover art. The EU copyright loophole release I have seen rarely use the original album artwork.
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@danm, copyright law is about as murky and complex an issue as there is. Itās an area in which even very skilled lawyers donāt like to tread. But, the best explanation Iāve heard is that Canadian law regarding recorded performances is cleaner and clearer than U.S. law, but still not as clear as EU law. All that aside, whatās been explained to me is that Canadian law with respect to sound recordings is:
Sound Recordings
Copyright lasts until 50 years after the end of the calendar year in which the first fixation of the sound recording occurs. If the sound recording is published before the copyright expires, the copyright continues for 50 years after the end of the calendar year in which the first publication occurs.
Canadian Copyright Law | University of Alberta
From what Iāve observed, HDTT seems to be very careful in selecting original media to use as their source media, not later reissues, in order to stay within this 50 year rule. There apparently is also a later amendment to the law that extends the time period to 70 years (based on some cutoff time period around 1970 or so) and theyāve withdrawn some files from their catalog due to that.
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Thanks for the additional info. So, from my reading, to satisfy the law, needle drops must constitute a new ārecordingā (to be copyrightable) and come from an LP or tape that is at least 50 years old?
As best I understand it, this seems to be the case.
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Based on your copyright insights regarding HDTT you seem to be rather well informed with the inner workings of HDTT. Other than reviewing their product what is you relationship with them? For example, are these tidbits you garnered from previous interviews and published in a Positive Feedback article? Bear with my questions as my curiosity has gotten the best of me.
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I tend to review albums released by the smaller niche labels because they are the ones releasing in DSD256 and DXD. There are perhaps 6-8 with whom Iāve developed correspondence relationships over the years in the course of my music reviewing. Iām curious about what each of them focus on in their recording and mastering processes and how they work with their artists. Youāll see interviews at PF that Iāve done with several of the recording engineers whose work I like.
HDTT and NativeDSD are unusual cases because they are retailers providing a catalog of music. And HDTT is particularly unusual in that it is releasing vintage recordings that match really well to what was once my vinyl library of music. And, as people consistently point out, there is this question of sourcing and licensing of the music they release. So, Iāve been interested to research as much about this as theyāve been willing to share.
I donāt have a published interview with Bob Witrak, but I do email with him. Heās not loquacious by any stretch. OTOH, Iāve spent quite a bit of time talking with John Haley of Harmony Restorations because I am very interested in audio restoration and how experts like John accomplish what they do. John is not an employee or partner in HDTT, but he does a lot of contract work for Bob on various HDTT releases that need more expertise to restore. Hereās a link to an interview I did with John that also touches on his work for HDTT::
And hereās an article about the Vinyl Records Restoration series with information from Bob about what he is doing and my reactions to the first two releases from this series:
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From what you say Iād call it a full immersion based on circumstance, transition from vinyl, and appetite for the musical form.
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Retirement helps in that mix. 
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I know the feeling all too well!
I made a stupid mistake on one of my orders from HDTT. I ordered Chet Atkins āThe Most Popular Guitarā Twice. I forgot I ordered it about three or four months ago and ordered it again. I email my mistake to HDTT and they just ignored me. They should have that information on my past orders in their data banks, to prevent such mistakes. If they care so little about their customer, no big deal, Iāll just get my files elsewhere.
Update: Robert Witrak just emailed me to give me a refund, so all is good. BTW, he has some of the best DSD 256 recordings Iāve had the pleasure to hear, so Iām glad everything worked out.
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I have been enjoying the conversation around here quite a bit. Very good responses!
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