More and more online sites are beginning to provide high resolution audio downloads. Cases in point:

http://www.hdtracks.com/index.php

http://www.linnrecords.com/linn-help-downloads-studio-master-quality-album-downloads.aspx

Has anyone downloaded any of these files and if so, do they sound as good as SACD/DVD-A? As someone who craves more high-res audio options I certainly hope this technology proliferates and succeeds.

Since no one else has jumped in to mention itrax, I'll do so. Itrax is the home of the AIX label's material, as well as as a few classical titles from Image Entertainment, a recent addition from 2L, and both of David Elias's titles which I was pleased to see there just now. Hi-res downloads in several different formats (and mixes).

I've not tried it out yet -- but I'm a big fan of AIX's DVD-audio discs, and owner Dr. Mark Waldrep checks in here fairly often.

http://itrax.com

Mark Z

Thanks for remembering iTrax.com. As some here have come to know, we will be issuing Blu-Ray discs with Dolby TrueHD, 7.1 "Audience" and "Stage" mixes, HD Stereo and HD Video...but I'm most excited about the possibility to download HD Audio to music servers.

The problem that I have is about the misrepresentation of HD in the audio world. The only way, in my opinion, for something to be truely HD is for the original recording to be done at HD sample rates and word lengths. A CD can't be considered HD and neither can vinyl. There are only a few sites that offer recordings that were actually recorded in HD...Linn and iTrax.com do, but others have only a limited subset of HD tracks.

(iTrax) I don't understand the pricing model. I just purchased the DVD-A disc Laurence Juber - Guitar Noir for $25 + ship, which contains all the extras/bonus, etc. The iTrax DL for just the PCM 96/24 /5.1 AUDIENCE mix is $28 with none of the extras .

I'm all for HiRez DL's, but I don't see how this will ever take off with the upside down pricing for DLs.

I'm curious.

Exactly what is a hi rez download?

Are we talking 5.1 or 7.1 surround or enhanced stereo?

Does it make sense to get hi rez, if all you are going to do is play on an IPOD with headphones or a PC with cheap speakers?

I too am hooked on SACD, DVD-A, and concert DVD's done in DTS, etc. When done right and played on a decent system, the sound is amazing.

Thank you,

:)

Hi rez downloads are basically the same quality (sample rate) as the songs on a DVD-A or SACD. They are for playback on DACs/processors that can handle the format. If there's any compression, it's lossless. You can take a 94khz/24bit PCM file and burn it to a DVD using DVD+Audio format. Most transports recognize this format and most modern DACs can process 94/24 PCM. S/PDIF works fine for the transport of the data, at least for 2-ch.

larry

Pooper,

Thanks...

:)

The obvious problem with this is content. I mean I clicked on "genres" from the 1st site and got the following

Classical
Jazz
Scottish?
Easy Listening
Gypsy Swing?!

I would gladly play triple what iTunes charges for music if it was high res. Dont get me wrong, I love jazz and some easy listening, but even in those categories the choices are slim to none.

Gypsy swing? I'm there... :)

larry

So, if I download a 5.1 hi-res track, what are my options for playing it? Do I have to burn it to disc, as Larry indicates, or is there currently any way to stream these?

For example, my Denon AVR-3808Ci will stream digital music from a NAS...if I load a 5.1 hi-res track on my NAS, will the Denon play it as 5.1? Or am I pretty much limited to 2-channel for streaming?

(Of course, I could just try it myself, right? However, my NAS is just arriving today, so it may take a few days to get everything up and running.)

For example, my Denon AVR-3808Ci will stream digital music from a NAS...if I load a 5.1 hi-res track on my NAS, will the Denon play it as 5.1? Or am I pretty much limited to 2-channel for streaming?

(Of course, I could just try it myself, right? However, my NAS is just arriving today, so it may take a few days to get everything up and running.)
Downloaded my first HD 5.1 disk yesterday (Al Di Meola's "Flesh on Flesh"), but so far no luck streaming through my receiver. Files come down in WMA format (from MusicGiants, supposedly DRM-free), so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with how they can be played.

Does it play back on your computer?