Hi-Res Download News (HDTracks, ProStudioMasters, Pono, etc.) & Software/Mastering Part 12**

Maybe they thought they could make it "louder" with bigger files.

 

I'd like to hear some more opinions on the Christopher Cross S/T.
Is it a noticeable improvement over the old WB CD?

 

COMING FRIDAY to HDtracks...

Goo Goo Dolls: A Boy Named Goo
Rancid: ...And Out Come The Wolves
Jethro Tull: Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll: Too Young To Die!
David Bowie: The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
Miles Davis: The Last Word - The Warner Bros. Years

and many more...

 

The 192 hi-res version of Black Sabbath's Heaven And Hell is on sale in the Canadian Pono store for a decent price. I've owned the Warner Brothers CD for years. For those of you who have heard both versions, is it worth it for me to spring for the hi res download?

 

Short answer- Yes. A warmer sound and greater detail.

 

Let me just say this, You Are A Good Man!

 

This one is a little tough for me to answer...I personally think the Japanese SACD sounds much better, in my opinion, and I realize that means absolutely nothing to you if SACD simply isn't an option, but, understand that it's hard for me to assess the hi-res download without thinking of it in relative terms to the SACD.

That said, if we're talking strictly hi-res download, I enjoy it. I think it's nicely balanced and a fair improvement over the CD, even if a little juiced up...YMMV, of course...

 

Happy Thanksgiving guys.
Question that may have been answered, in general, before.
2015 Astral Weeks remaster; CD is $10, HDTracks 24/44.1 is $21, Pono 24/44.1 $18.
Regardless of SQ, is there anyway to tell if the download is really native 24-bit?

 

Yes, with a bit-meter, if no other modifications were done during the upsampling from 16bit to 24bit.

 

Just to expand on Plan9's answer. Something like a gain change will show on a meter that it's using more bits so there's no way to confirm it wasn't 16 bit sourced at that point. This is why I don't even bother with 24/44. I'm all for having the highest quality available, but with labels and sellers trying to pass off CD res as 96 or 192, even when it's possible for us to prove it's not true hi-res, I don't trust them to be truthful when it can't be proven. I could take any CD, make minor changes and have it read as 24-bit on a meter.

 

Thanks guys.

 

Today's deal ate eclassical.com is Sudbin/Vanska - Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5. $7.31 for 96/24. http://www.eclassical.com/performers/sudbin-yevgeny/beethoven-piano-concertos-4-5.html

 

and this is a different mix/master when compared to the HDttacks set released a few years ago at 24/192, right..?

 

PONO DISCOUNT CODE (US only):

Black (&Yellow) Friday Savings!

Aloha! We are excited to offer some top Pono selling albums on sale for a very special low price as well as a discount code for 20% off any music purchase of $50 or more, valid now through end of the day Monday 11/30 Midnight PST!!!

MUSICONLY20BFRIDAY

ALBUMS ON SALE FROM $8.99!

Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color
Beck - Morning Phase
The Doors – The Doors
Fleetwood Mac – Rumors
Florence & The Machine - How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Joni Mitchell - Blue
Neil Young - After the Gold Rush
Ryan Adams - 1989

 

Pono has the first seven Todd Rundgren albums in hi-res. Can't get them individually.

 

With the sale you can get all 117 tracks for 91 bucks - sounds like a deal to me!

 

...and the newly listed ELO Classic Albums Collection for $108 in 192k which averages to about $9.80 per album.

 

That is tempting..any consensus on these masterings. I do not have any of the cd pressings with the exception of whatever e-music and amazon were selling as downloads for the past 4-5 years.

 

I picked up a couple, I enjoyed them at first but the additional compression got to me after awhile, nice soundstage as the Hi-rez offers but at the expense of loud, too bad, I was hoping these would be my go-to from now on, your mileage may very...
Edit:OOTB seems to be the less messed with compression wise, so you may want to give that one a shot first, the others are more so than the latest remasters unfortunately, a reviewer thought OOTB to be bright, I didn't think anymore so than the other formats, editions etc...

 

PONO Music
Black (&Yellow) Friday Savings! Aloha! We are excited to offer a collection of PonoPlayers that are pre loaded with select artists’ complete catalogs, on sale and in limited quantities. Additionally we have some top Pono selling albums on sale for a very special price…and if that wasn’t enough, a discount code for 20% off any music purchase valid now through end of the day Monday 11/30 Midnight PST!!!
MUSICONLY20BFRIDAY
www.ponomusic.com

Pre-Loaded PonoPlayers:These Complete Albums Bundle packages contain a 64GB PonoPlayer (Yellow or Black), and the artist’s entire collection of studio albums preloaded on the PonoPlayer and a bonus 64GB Micro SD Card all for one low price!!!

PreLoaded PonoPlayer - The Clash - 5 Studio Album Set This collection contains their 5 studio albums (91 Tracks)All albums are in 96/24bit resolution along with the 64GB PonoPlayer and a 64GB SanDisk MicroSD Card for the special price of $429! Full regular retail on this offer is $494.97, for a savings of over $60.00!!!

PreLoaded PonoPlayer - Simon & Garfunkel - The Complete Studio Albums Collection This collection contains their 7 studio albums (86 Tracks) All albums are in 192/24bit resolution along with the 64GB PonoPlayer and a 64GB SanDisk MicroSD Card for the special price of $469! Full regular retail on this offer is $518.98 for a savings of over $60.00!!!

PreLoaded PonoPlayer - Billy Joel- The Complete Albums Collection This collection contains his 14 studio albums and additional masters (154 Tracks) All albums are in 96/24bit resolution along with the 64GB PonoPlayer and a 64GB SanDisk MicroSD Card for the special price of $489! Full regular retail on this offer is $578.98 for a savings of over $80!!!

PreLoaded PonoPlayer - Grateful Dead - Complete Studio Albums Collection This collection contains their 12 studio albums (103 tracks) All albums are in 192/24bit resolution (with the exception of Built To Last in 16bit) along with the 64GB PonoPlayer and a 64GB SanDisk MicroSD Card for the special price of $529! Full regular retail on this offer is $658.98 for a savings of over $100!!!

ALBUMS ON SALE FROM $8.99!
Ryan Adams - 1989
Joni Mitchelll - Blue
Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color
Neil Young - After the Gold Rush
Beck- Morning Phase
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Florence + The Machine - How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
Fleetwood Mac - Rumors
The Doors – The Doors

(Offers are for US customers only)

 

Not sure if this is a mistake, but HighResAudio has the lot for £19.

https://www.highresaudio.com/artist.php?abid=497590

 

Ended up being $26.12 US, thanks for the heads up @Robert Goodison

 

Has anyone heard Green Day's Uno, Dos, and Tre from HDTracks? I have American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown from there and I was wondering if uno, dos, and tres has the same improved dynamics over the CD releases

 

It seems so...

http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=green+day&album=uno
http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=green+day&album=dos
http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=green+day&album=tre

 

Hey Neil, no discount for your new Canadian customers, eh?