HDTracks News (part 6)

With Jackson Browne's "Late for the Sky" is being prepped for 40th anniversay reissue, wonder if we will see a hires version make its way to HDTracks...

 

Doubt it. WEA apparently pulled "Lawyers in Love" and "Hold Out" from HDTracks shortly after they were released there because they evidently wanted higher royalty payments. Read that somewhere maybe here. Thankfully I picked them up right after they were released. Would kill for a hi-rez version of "Late for the Sky". In my top 10 albums of all time.

 

I also grabbed "Hold Out" right when it came out and it sounds fantastic. Too bad about all the Jackson Browne getting pulled. You get even get "Running on Empty" on HDTracks anymore (which I have and love).

 

I purchased "Heart Like A Wheel" by Linda Ronstadt at 24/96. Certainly better than the original CD but not breathtaking. I missed out on Steve's remaster so I'm glad to get this. I would certainly be tempted by "Late For The Sky" although I do like the DCC version of that one.

 

Anyone get the Santana or new Eric Clapton?

 

I have most of the newly-remastered studio Clapton albums recently released on HD Tracks/ProStudioMasters.
They're not spectacular, but they sound nice, and I'm happy with all of them. I don't have any other versions of these albums.

The ones I have range from DR11-DR14 (I've put this info on the DR database site.)

 

In response to a question in the last part of the thread, 24/352.8 is DXD, a hires PCM originally planned as a "transparent" format used to edit DSD. The Scandinavian label 2L records in DXD, and it is its albums being offered that way on HDtracks.

 

Which Santana? There is the 44/24bit Santana (Corazon) and there is the HiRes Santana (ST). I decided against the 44/24 bit "Corazon" but will get the HiRes "Santana" later today. I listened to the samples, nothing that grabs me and they are quite loud (OFF TOPIC: Has anyone noticed that the 44/24 samples are louder than the HiRes samples?)

Per "Corazon", I need to wait and hear the entire album before I make a final decision.

Edited for clarity.

 

Has anyone noticed that the 44/24 samples are louder than the HiRes samples or is it just my imagination? I spent a few hours listening to HDTracks samples and it seems to me that many of the poppish 44/24 samples are louder than the HiRes (88/24 and up) samples. If someone has the time it would be interesting to know what the DR numbers are.

 

My guess is they are louder because most things done in 24/44 are much less dynamic recordings so they will sound louder.

 

Anyone noticing some releases getting released early and maybe even exclusively to other vendors? I just bought Takin' Off and My Point of View from Acoustic Sounds as they are nowhere to be found on HDtracks which has other Hancock offerings on Blue Note. Maybe they'll eventually show up on HDtracks but I find it odd that they aren't on all distributors sites at once, I'd prefer to stay loyal to HDtracks mainly because they seem to always have a coupon.

 

HDTracks has Albert King, King of the Blues Guitar in mono, 24/96.

 

http://www.findhdmusic.com/

15% discount sitewide at HDTracks with code: FHD15

Limited time.

 

I'm going to be politically correct....and point out that from a technical standpoint, what this means is that the project was recorded at 44.1...there was nothing more captured. Most of the "poppy" new release content, regardless of sample rate, are the CD masters, in terms of loudness/limiting, IME.

I don't see ANY advantage in buying the 24/44 over buying a CD at the local shop. 24/88....absolutely.

 

Of course I had to "like" this, tho it encourages me to "be irresponsible". Now I'll be sneaking into HDTracks off and on during the day, browsing, until I get home from work.

 

Ditto. However somewhere around (using just a quick count) 50% of new releases are now 44/24. At least HDTracks differentiates these as "24 bit" downloads. Well since most of the "poppish (or"poppy")" material seems to be recorded this way, HDTracks may not have any alternatives. Particularly, if they refuse to upsample.

 

There really is very little to no advantage to upsample. I hope that more artists start recording in at least 24/96. If Apple starts to sell high res downloads maybe they will.

 

I used this code last nite and got 15% discount. I tried it again the morning to buy one other selection and it did not work. So it's either a 'use once and done' code or it has expired.

 

I'll let you guys know what happens when I try it, later today. (If nothing else, it's fun to fill up my "Wish List".)

 

That's where I've got to watch the language....someone recording multitracks at 44.1 is not an engineer I would use. This is the side effect of some hard core marketing by a number of converter makers to amateur "engineers". There is simply zero actual reason. 48khz has done a fine job for 30 years...88/96 have done better for decades.

It's a fundamental shift in WHO does the work of audio engineering.

 

That was me being facetious. Next time I'll remember to . We gave HDTracks so much heat about a number of upsamples a few years ago.

 

You mean years, not decades. 88/96 hasn't really been around that long, only in the last 15 or so years. The professional standard had been 48 for a couple of decades, but, even up until 2000, or so, many engineers used 44.1, even today, many of them use it, as they figure their audience will only be listening to the mp3 or AAC version from iTunes.

88.2, 96, 176, and 192 are used mainly for remastering/archiving, not tracking. Why? It's still processor intensive and takes longer, even with today's processors. Time is money.

 

The reason why many engineers use 44.1 is because that's the CD standard, which for 30 years has been the listening standard for 99% of the people consuming digital audio. You can convert from 48 to 44.1, but that leads to minor conversion artifacts. Many engineers feel it's better to record at 44.1 to begin with.

Recording at 88.2 would make sense as well, since that's a clean convert back to 44.1, although in practice it's seldom used. Recording 96 also made sense, because DVD-A (another consumer format) favored that sample rate.

 

Upcoming releases this week on HDtracks...

Michael Jackson - Xscape
Tori Amos - Unrepentant Geraldines
The Black Keys - Turn Blue
Dolly Parton - Blue Smoke
Down - Down IV Part II
Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band - Life In The Bubble
Foxes - Glorious (Deluxe)
Stray Cats - Built For Speed
Billy Squier - Don't Say No
Leon Russell - Carney
The Cars - Door To Door
The Civil Wars - Live At Eddie's Attic
Eric Clapton - Another Ticket & Backless
Staatskapelle Berlin & Daniel Barenboim - Elgar: Symphony No.2

and more!