Has this already been initiated in a thread? Sorry if it has, I was hoping to be able to refer to a dedicated thread for feedback on hi-res downloads; which ones are good, which ones aren’t so good… This can cover all download sites (e.g.: HDtracks, Linn, Blue Coast Records, Itrax…etc.). I was prompted to write this as I was wondering about the SQ of the latest Van Morrison hi-res download from HDtracks - “His band and the Street Choir.” I hate purchasing “hi-res” files of music I already have on file, only to find that there is little to no significant difference. On the other hand, I have downloaded some real gems…
Happy holidays to all… ~O) %%-
Yes I would very much like this too. I started something , it did get a few replies with suggestions , but that was it. For me it’s the quality I want and if it is music or genres I do not know all the better. I did a post and I gave some of my favs.
I have the red book cd and the hi Rez . The can’t stop two cd set live is fantastic . It is great with speakers and headphones too. The hi res is a little better and you will notice an improvement . I can Recomend the county crows live a cross the wire as well. Good sounding but van does beet it.
HDTracks - Jazz at the Pawnshop 24/88 is excellent. I can’t provide a comparison as this is the only version that I have heard.
Truth is that I have only a few albums in both redbook and HD. I will have to do some serious comparison of those before offering more comparions.
J.P.
This is why I want suggestions , I a tired of buying and it sounds bad . I find it hard to find the really good stuff. I have the Nora jones sacd collection . Her music is not my style , but it is now I love it. So I am expanding .
wingsounds13 said: Jazz at the Pawnshop 24/88 is excellent.
I have it at 192/24 and at 44/16. Both sound superb.
Ok thanks I really would like to buy a few for myself for the holidays . A big thanks.
Well, I’m not overly impressed with the HDtracks 24/96 WAV version of “His Band and the Street Choir.” It still suffers from the same issues as the 16/44.1 CD versions; kind of muddy, with less than desired airiness. It is only slightly better than the Redbook version that I already had. On the other hand, the 24/192 version of “Astral Weeks” is excellent. I also think the 24/96 version of “Moondance” is better sounding than the aforementioned “…Street Choir.” Maybe I should have purchased the 24/192 version? It’s still a great album.
Thanks
Do you have some picks of great quality any format ??
I just recently took the plunge and downloaded the HD tracks remastering of Kind of Blue in stereo and it is fantastic!
Clark Terry, “Portraits” 24/96 is wonderful.
The Larry Coryell Organ Trio, “Impressions” 24/192. This is a very high quality effort. I bought one track, “Stowaway,” in 24/96 and the whole album in 24/192. Paul mentioned the sound of “body” in a cymbal in his recent post. Comparing the ride cymbal (a very, very “brown” one in this case) between the two sample rates showed me the difference that can be had. It is subtle, very subtle, but there is more body to the 192 cymbal than the 96 version. I think that with the level of equipment that I have (audiophile middle ground?) that I need to concentrate my listening this narrowly to appreciate the difference. Others may hear more differences, I can’t say. A well recorded track I think, regardless of sample rate, shows a much greater difference over a lesser effort.
Kenny Burrell, “Midnight Blue.” A similar setup to TLCOT’s “Impressions” sonically, but from a different era. The musicians sound like they are going to get up and raid your refrigerator after the set it’s so good.
Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” is nice. One of my favorite hi-defs, but I am biased. Crippled by Joni is more like it. 
Wow thanks I have so much to buy now , my Christmas presents to me !! Thanks
Merry Christmas to all.
I about to download the complete Grateful Dead studio catalog from HDTracks as a Christmas present to me. Should I go with FLAC 24/192 or WAV. It is a $250.00 download & I would like to make the right choice.
Thank you
From what I hAve read and asked it’s wav as it has no compression and you can use programs to convert if you want to anywAy . Always keep the wav as a original .
Al. D
I would download the flac version to make sure that the metadata remains intact. You can always create a wav copy for playback if that truly does sound better on your system.
J.P.
Ditto what JP said.
Merry Christmas you old Deadhead! 
+1
Plus, you will get your present in half of the time!
Can someone explain the meta data , as used with audio files. If I would download music in wave would I have the meta data at all. And if so why flac as I always did flac before ?
Metadata are simply the tags stored in a FLAC, MP3 or other file types which tell the player what the file is: album, track, artist, etc.
WAV files typically do not have the ability to contain such data. (Some programs add such data to WAV files, but many playback programs do not know what to do with it.)
Given the size, number of tracks and complexity of the Grateful Dead download, having all the files internally identified is highly valuable.
Oh yes I do see your point in that , And I should my mouth in giving someone the wrong or inaccurate advice. Thanks for clearing it up though. I just received the krell connect the other day by the weekend I will be using it and I will do a post comparing it to PWT and krell using the spidif connection . I will use headphones for the comparison first.
Al. D