Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - sacd or 96/24 download ?

[TALON1973]

as topic ... i just wondering which version will sound better ?

would be for headphone stereo use only

 

[6th.replicant]

AFAIK, 96/24s and SACDs are, in effect, the same resolution and many of the 'new' 88-96/24 DLs are sourced from existing SACD master tapes, as HDtracks.com clarified recently when it released the hi-res versions of the Rolling Stones back catalogue.

FWIW, I prefer SACDs purely because my CDP does a better job of playing digital music compared to my computer/iTunes/DAC setup.

 

[lonely boy]

Don't forget the old Mobile Fidelity Ultradisc, which sounds very nice. Not heard the SACD so can't compare.

 

[CnoEvil]

AFAIK, 96/24s and SACDs are, in effect, the same resolution and many of the 'new' 88-96/24 DLs are sourced from existing SACD master tapes, as HDtracks.com clarified recently when it released the hi-res versions of the Rolling Stones back catalogue.

FWIW, I prefer SACDs purely because my CDP does a better job of playing digital music compared to my computer/iTunes/DAC setup.

That is also my understanding.

SACD/DVD Audio.. really come into their own in 5.1 (fantastic - shame its dying.)

I hope Blu-ray music takes hold....but it too will probably remain niche.

Cno

 

[6th.replicant]

AFAIK, 96/24s and SACDs are, in effect, the same resolution and many of the 'new' 88-96/24 DLs are sourced from existing SACD master tapes, as HDtracks.com clarified recently when it released the hi-res versions of the Rolling Stones back catalogue.

FWIW, I prefer SACDs purely because my CDP does a better job of playing digital music compared to my computer/iTunes/DAC setup.

That is also my understanding. SACD/DVD Audio.. really come into their own in 5.1 (fantastic - shame its dying.) I hope Blu-ray music takes hold....but it too will probably remain niche. Cno

Prefer SACDs via 2-channel, but probably 'cos my 5.1 setup isn't much cop.

My dream is for next-gen CDPs to be CD/SACD/Blu-ray compatible, and all future 'hard copy' music releases to be on a hybrid Blu-ray disc with a 16/44.1-Red Book layer and a 24/192-Blu-ray layer.

Guess I'll have to keep on dreaming...

 

[TALON1973]

i should add .. when i got into sacd abit originally i had a VERY good 5.1 system ......times change ... and sacd playback would be through sony s370 br player ...

nearly all my listening these days is through headphones ... senn hd600 , graham slee solo , mf v-dac through pc ... if i went sacd route obvoiusly the path is slightly different....

so.... teh 96/24 download is ok i take it ? it is from hdtracks

also i have a slight concern on how long i can expect teh quality of my downloads to last ? and if i can re-download at no cost to me in the future ? anyone know ?

 

[CnoEvil]

i should add .. when i got into sacd abit originally i had a VERY good 5.1 system ......times change ... and sacd playback would be through sony s370 br player ...

nearly all my listening these days is through headphones ... senn hd600 , graham slee solo , mf v-dac through pc ... if i went sacd route obvoiusly the path is slightly different....

so.... teh 96/24 download is ok i take it ? it is from hdtracks

also i have a slight concern on how long i can expect teh quality of my downloads to last ? and if i can re-download at no cost to me in the future ? anyone know ?

If you end up getting it, can you report back.....it's one I have had my eye on.

Thx

Cno

 

[TALON1973]

lol i couldnt resist .... downloading now

just listening to :-
Audiophile 96kHz/24bit
Artist: Carla Lother
Title: 100 Lovers

which i just downloaded ..... damn it sounds good through headphones

 

[6th.replicant]

i should add .. when i got into sacd abit originally i had a VERY good 5.1 system ......times change ... and sacd playback would be through sony s370 br player ...

nearly all my listening these days is through headphones ... senn hd600 , graham slee solo , mf v-dac through pc ... if i went sacd route obvoiusly the path is slightly different....

so.... teh 96/24 download is ok i take it ? it is from hdtracks

6th .. have you got a link to that info please ?

No disrespect to your Sony S370, but if I had your V-DAC/PC setup I'd opt for HDtracks's 96/24...

Re the Stones's hi-res downloads, HDtracks blurb said:

"...For this HD Tracks release, the Bob Ludwig mastered DSD files [aka SACD master] were converted to both 176.4kHz and 88.2kHz high resolution PCM with Weiss Saracon conversion software."

Full info here:

https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=stones (scroll down to heading: "The Remastering of the Rolling Stones")

 

[TALON1973]

never even heard of her .. but played teh demo trakcs ... and thought i'll try it ... i like a good guitar sesion

 

[TALON1973]

thanks 6th in regards that ... yeh tbh i thought the pc download would cream the sony for hd sound tbh ...are all the tracks the do direct rips from sacd / hd audio sources then ?

 

[The_Lhc]

also i have a slight concern on how long i can expect teh quality of my downloads to last ? and if i can re-download at no cost to me in the future ? anyone know ?

Sorry, are you saying you're expecting the quality of a digital file to degrade over time? Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

[TALON1973]

also i have a slight concern on how long i can expect teh quality of my downloads to last ? and if i can re-download at no cost to me in the future ? anyone know ?

Sorry, are you saying you're expecting the quality of a digital file to degrade over time? Nothing could be further from the truth.

thats exactly what i'm refering to ..... i know ive read that mp3s have de-graded over time and its a file at the end of the day on a pc ..its bound to

 

[The_Lhc]

Wherever you read that was wrong, a digital file will NOT degrade, it's impossible. A physical cd can but that's not the same thing at all. Ignore whatever you might have heard the idea is nonsense.

 

[TALON1973]

If you end up getting it, can you report back.....it's one I have had my eye on. Thx Cno[/quote]

just did a quick back to back / stop strat at after 20 seconds comparrision of candle in teh wind

version of cd i'm using on my pc is "greatest hits - one night only " from 2002. ive made sure both have the same sound level to max , so that im usign the headphone amp to control volume .. after setting in at a level playing field ive got to say the 96/24 version is a nice breath of fresh air ... more bounce to it and everything seems to come alive , and its louder / clearer.. glad i bought it now

edit .. ive also listened to "saterday nights alright for fighting" .. again this is for more alive and detailed / loder than the cd version..... i did my first test usign different media players .... "candle cd" was wmc .. "candle 96/24" was mediamonkey.

for "saturday" i used wmc for both files......and again the 96/24 version just jumps out at you ... for more drive and attack .. and i'll say again ....louder/clearer ....... the best way to describe it would be saying the artist has gone back 20 years later and played exactly the same song /same cords/same style , but using better recording eqipment ..... just awesome is all i can say

 

[CnoEvil]

Talon

Appreciate you taking the time.....Thx

Looks like one I'll just have to get.

Cheers

Cno

 

[TALON1973]

no probs

i can see myself getting into the the tracks more tbh ... now if apple get on teh bandwagon it might get interesting ... does mean i got to get myself a nice big external hardrive tho .. as with the size of these files it might take up alot of space lol

and ive only got 500 gb hardrive on my media pc ... which has a shiteload of games on it .. i got 150 gb left ... so i need to make a musci only hd i think

 

[DIB]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but where can you source these 96/24 downloads?

The reason I ask was that whilst demoing the Marantz MCR603 today, the shop streamed a 96/24 file of Queen's "Another one Bites The Dust". The sound was awesome, but I'd like to download it myself and compare with a standard CD/Flac replay.

Cheers

 

[TALON1973]

well there are a few online retailers that do hd audio ... but there are not alot of mainstream albums available

in this topic the music has come from https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php

the queen tracks your referign might have been sacd ... you sure it was a stream ?

 

[6th.replicant]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but where can you source these 96/24 downloads? ...

AIX Records
http://aixrecords.com/

Blue Coast Records

http://bluecoastrecords.com/

Bowers and Wilkins - Society of Sound

http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Society_of_Sound/Society_of_Sound/Music

Cantaloupe Music

http://www.cantaloupemusic.com/

Chesky Records

http://chesky.com/

Gimell Records (96k/24bit, 48k/24bit, 44.1k/16bit of the The Tallis Scholars)

http://www.gimell.com/

HDTracks

http://hiresmusic.com/homepage.html

High Definition Tape Transfers

http://highdeftapetransfers.com/storefront.php

2L's high-res download test bench (free samples)

http://www.2l.no/hires/

iTrax

http://www.itrax.com/

Linn Records

http://www.linnrecords.com/index.aspx

Reference Recordings

http://referencerecordings.com/

Rhino

http://www.rhino.com/

If you're UK-based, it's worth noting that HD Tracks will only accept payment via PayPal.

 

[6th.replicant]

...are all the tracks the[y] do direct rips from sacd / hd audio sources then ?

It seems that the majority of HD Tracks's 88-96/24 material is sourced from SACDs' DSD masters - the obvious clue is that most of HD Tracks's artwork PDFs bear the SACD-logo and at some stage the material has been/is still available as an SACD.

Meanwhile, the clarification that the 'Stones's hi-res series is DSD-sourced would seem to confirm that the SACD-logo on the PDFs is more than coincidence?

At a guess, though, maybe the process of producing a 96/24 file from an SACD/DSD is more complex than mere 'ripping' - or perhaps not?

 

[DIB]

well there are a few online retailers that do hd audio ... but there are not alot of mainstream albums available

in this topic the music has come from https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php

the queen tracks your referign might have been sacd ... you sure it was a stream ?

Thanks for the comments and list Talon/6th

As for the Queen track, it was definitely being streamed to the 603 from the shops Xiva MusicM8 NAS. Maybe it was a rip from a SACD (possible I presume?), I must ask when I go back in. Either way that track "Another One Bites The Dust" is terrific for highlighting your systems capabilities.

.

 

[DIB]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but where can you source these 96/24 downloads? ...

HDTracks

https://www.hdtracks.com/

If you're UK-based, it's worth noting that HD Tracks will only accept payment via PayPal.

I've tried to register with HD Tracks but it wont accept my Email address ********.co.uk. Upon closer inspection it says USA only.

Pity really, they have plenty of stuff I'd like to investigate.

Any way around this perhaps?

.

 

[6th.replicant]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but where can you source these 96/24 downloads? ...

HDTracks

https://www.hdtracks.com/

If you're UK-based, it's worth noting that HD Tracks will only accept payment via PayPal.

I've tried to register with HD Tracks but it wont accept my Email address ********.co.uk. Upon closer inspection it says USA only.

Pity really, they have plenty of stuff I'd like to investigate.

Any way around this perhaps?

Open an email account for your HD Tracks stuff at Gmail.com? I'm UK-based, use a .com email service and PayPal and have no probs with HD Tracks

 

[DIB]

Cheers 6R - I'll give it a try, I'm sure I've got a Virgin email address that I never use, that might be a .Com address.

.