Metallica - Hi-Res Downloads (Metallica.com)

Yes, it is. The size says "Digital Download purchases are non-refundable."

I think they should be when they

This question is for Lars & co. but generally there is a trend now, 24/44.1 sells better than 16/44.1 so why not? Look at the post no. 28. Now, do you think it is worth extra money?

 

Yeah 24/44.1 seems to be the trend at HDTracks as well. These are simply cd-masters at 16/44.1 upsampled or mastered in that resolution so customers would think they are higher resolutions than they actually are.

 

What I meant was: why not just upsample them to 24/96? Why go for the "inferior" 24/44.1 when they could upsample them to 24/96, especially when they did upsample the others to 24/96. What prevented them from upsampling everything to 24/96?

 

If it's a fresh transfer using the most recent technologies, then there still is a chance for a slight improvement. And it's better to make that transfer in hi-res even if the source that's been laid on tape was digital. You're always free downsample the stuff if it's taking up too much space. Or just not buy the hi-res stuff in the first place. Now, if anyone can hear the difference, that's a different thing.

As for Blu-ray. If it's sourced from DVD, then it's nothing good. But if the source is a video tape that wouldn't give you a 1080p resolution, you still benefit from better codecs used for Blu-ray.

Plus, there a theories that upsampling actually slightly helps with audio quality, and not in a magical way. Some say soundcards, especially cheap ones, perform better at 96 or 192 than 44.1.

 

Give Lars and co a break. I am sure they couldn't care less about the stuff we're discussing here and they didn't oversee the "remastering" of any of these post-Lightning downloads. Someone probably told them there is this trend of hi-res audio and they said: "Ok, you have our permission to do it". I just can't imagine Lars or James sitting and remastering these old albums, or even listening to the final remastered result. Maybe these anniversary editions, but definitely not these other hi-res downloads.

 

I totally wrote these off due to being upscaled versions of a compressed format but after listening to all these 2016 hi-res reissues, I'm actually pleasantly surprised.
The Black Album, S&M, Garage Inc and Live **** all sound identical to the originals but the others are all better IMO.

I know Metallica are releasing remasters of their back catalogue but judging by Kill 'em All and Ride The Lightning I'm not convinced they'll be any better than these.
As already stated, these are based on the iTunes masters and iTunes have done a good job here... Maybe it's clever software but they clearly understand how to manipulate digital music to make it better while still being relatively 'loud'.

If the DR numbers are correct, they sound way more dynamic and quieter than the numbers suggest.
St. Anger seems to have slightly more bass (could be due to the hi-res format) and Death Magnetic is actually listenable! Still loud but much better.
Load/Reload are quieter and much smoother on the ears. You can crank the volume without getting a migraine.
Justice sounds the same as the 2008 Japanese remaster (with more high end detail) which apparently has a much better DR but my ears tell a different story.

Basically, I'm pleasantly surprised and I'm happy to eat my words. It just shows that the DR numbers mean nothing if the engineers know how to properly master digital formats. Kudos to iTunes (I NEVER thought I'd say that...)

 

Look I am sorry if this is off topic, but now that I know that these are upsamples, is there a version of Reload that doesn't have a skip on Slither at ~3:40? What company/numbers do I look for if there is a version without that skip?

I have the remaster Kill and Ride and enjoy them. Looking foward to master and Justice, the rest I will stick with what I have. Yes St. Anger and Death sound like ass, but at least it wasn't technology that limited it, it was just an artistic mixing decision.

 

If the high-res Death Magnetic is just an upsample why are people saying it sounds better than the CD?

 

Death Magnetic is not.


But Master is

 

It's not an upsample, and it has been remastered so that it no longer audibly clips like the CD did. It's still not super dynamic, but it doesn't sound outright awful and distorted anymore.

 

While it may not be as bad as Master, shouldn't there be something hugher than 44.1? Excuse my ignorance i am relatively new to HD tracks.

 

It is there.

 

So there's a reason to get the 24/96 Death Magnetic instead of the 16/44?

 

I just got the 16/44, because I don't have the equipment to really benefit from the 96/24, but if you have good equipment, then the 96/24 may be well worth the extra few bucks.

 

Frequency response is actually half the sample rate. So a CD has frequencies up to 22.05khz, which is where MoP cuts off. Death Magnetic has frequencies extending much higher than CD resolution.

 

I am pretty sure it's not the iTunes that master the "Mastered for iTunes" recordings.

 

According to Flemming Rasmussen in the below article, everything up to Justice was recorded analog. So the frequency cutoff on Puppets had to be introduced after the recording phase. Was it mixed digitally? Or maybe mixed in analog but recorded out to digital tape? Or maybe they compiled the final album onto digital tape? Somewhere along the chain it had a 44.1khz step. Or maybe they just pulled the wrong tape for the hires download and it does exist on another tape without the cutoff. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that they didn't simply upsample 44.1khz digital.

Flemming Rasmussen: 'Metallica Wanted The Albums To Sound As Loud As Possible' | Music News @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com »

 

Have they mentioned on their website how these hi-res files were made ?

 

I highly doubt the band that publicly brags about and strives for LOUDNESS has made a specific effort to reveal the sources of their hi-rez files.

 

Just downloaded a few of these in 24/96 and I'm listening at work with some iffy USB headphones (which don't even support 24/96) but can pretty quickly gauge the feel

Death Magnetic is low listenable. Still doesn't great but the CD/Spotify is unlistenable. I saw something over the other the thread about the itunes version being better. No idea if this is the case, I suspect they are from the same source Don't really use itunes so would be a faff.

..And Justice for All - sounds great, I don't know what version this is taken from, it sounds bright, dynamic and at times you can actually hear Jason's bass crunch come through often, on To Live Is to Die I think I can actually hear notes and it's noticeable on One a fair bit too. Not sure what version is on Spotify but this is definitely better. Also, sure what cd version I've been using either but same holds I reckon. Volume seems about the same.

Master or Puppets, seems warmer than any version I've listened to save maybe the DCC, I don't have that with me, so can't compare. Supposedly this is the same as MfiT so guess it's been out in the wild for a little while. Anyway, the bass is coming through better than I've heard before, the guitars seems a little less in our face, definitely more instrument separation. Bass drum as a nice thud to it which seems new.

On those three, I'm quite pleased. Not sure I'll get any others..

I reckon the MoP and AJFA masters might be worth snapping up as they will most likely be deprecated by the box sets or whatever comes next, after which they will probably no longer be available. They could end up being better or worse than this, I quite like the the first two remasters so you never know.

 

I bought all of the downloads on 24 bit except st anger I missed it.

DM 24 bit on a A/B comparison is shocking how much it's improved. If you were on the fence don't be it's worth the cost. I have the 24 gold cd remasters by Hoffman there both good but the 24 bit downloads are worth the purchase.

Justice sounded really close to me load and reload are a improvement so is S&M.

I'm new to digital world as I decided to pick up a Bryston Pi instead of the CD player coming out. It's not here yet but I just finished ripping everything iTunes to AIFF I have no idea what that means, but the discs are ripped and backed up.

 

You are correct sir. I downloaded this yesterday from the Met store and listened via headphones. It sounds MUCH cleaner and defined compared to the original CD - no more sizzle and audible distortion. I actually listened through the entire album......twice in a row!

 

on a side note of metal hi res tracks I did pick up slayer seasons and south both are improvements over the cd's. Next is megadeth

 

Oh i soooo wish i had found this site 12hrs ago... i've just spent $18 on Master Of Puppets as my first 24/96 purchase... and it's no better than CD!!!
Ran it thru spec.cc and NOTHING above 22khz... guess that $18 wasted then...

 

Well - I am surprised... 1) that i got a refund, 2) they say i was the first to raise this as an issue (not sure i believe this...)
I raised a complaint via a customer support ticket at http://help.metallica.com/support (including a screenshot of a audio spectrum from spek.cc) - they responded with the following...
"After a year and a half of offering this download in our store, you're the first to bring this to our attention. Many thanks for letting us know. All files were delivered to us by the mastering house who did the 2015 "Mastered for iTunes" remasters, so we assumed that what they delivered was exactly what we were offering. Many apologies for letting you down.Your order has been refunded."