The Official "Apple Digital Masters / Mastered for iTunes" Thread*

This is an excellent letter...count me in as a fan of iTunes/MFiT downloads to own and keep, along with all the other physical formats I buy. If they could find a way to add Hi-Res/Lossless downloads to the current iTunes Store/Apple Music offering, then that would be a winner with me and many others here.

Long may this thread continue too, on our very own corner of the SH Music Forums.

 

Not sure why so cheap but that MFiT Black Sabbath - Ten Year War is a steal at approx €15 for 8 albums/66 tracks.

(Also surprised to see it's only £11 as Hi-res 24/96 FLAC from 7digital, but not available here...)

 

I have just preordered Appetite for Destruction MFiT version june 26.. I already have this on cd from mobile fidelity, but I am looking forward to this version for sure!! I hope Use Your Illusion 1+2 will see the light of the day with MFiT..

 

I'm hoping that with Dave Matthews Band's new album coming in a few weeks that the whole DMB catalog will go MFiT. Guess we'll see.

 

This is an interesting article. I did try mqa using Tidal and I must admit that the standard Tidal non mqa hifi sounded just as good to me. And now I find, thanks to this great site, that MFiT sounds just as good and in some cases better.
MQA: A Review of controversies, concerns, and cautions

 

Welcome to the forums always good to see a new face.

I did try reading the article but struggled when the graphs etc started, not helped by wine & Eurovision being on. Whilst no one here is going to argue against better music reproduction, getting closer to the sound on master tapes, I can’t help feel that MQA is a solution to a problem that has already been solved. The masses have already signaled that they’re satisfied with downloads (overwhelmingly lossy; MP3, AAC, FLAC) and currently with streaming (again overwhelmingly lossy, DRMed Ogg Vorbis, AAC etc). Even if MQA proves to be night and day better than the current digital formats, the masses are unlikely to go for it. As such it will need to compete with the already established niches of HiRes downloads, SACD, BluRay audio, DVD Audio etc.

The impression I got from the article as far as I did read it is that MQA might sometimes be better than existing formats, depending on equipment, mastering, and a whole host of other factors. In other words, not self evidently night and day.

I’ll happily take a listen for myself should the opportunity present itself. However it would need to be very impressive indeed to warrant investments alongside BluRay audio, CD (mostly boxed sets), MFiT & regular iTunes downloads plus Apple Music.

 

Thanks for the welcome. Yes the graphs show that MQA is lossy and does introduce some distortion, it did not impress me. Its a solution looking for a problem I think.

 

Returning briefly to the noffice ed for paid downloads in the streaming era...

Just picked up the 2015 MFiT Ultimate Sinatra compilation for £4.99. Back when I had. Spotify Premium account, they had the full album and I grew to like the early songs in particular; Nancy With The Laughing Face, Saturday Night etc. Since switching to Apple Music, those early tracks weren’t available to stream unlike the rest of the album. And now that I’ve biught the album, it doesn’t matter if the entire album leaves AM and iTunes Store alike (personally speaking).

It also looks as though the Sony 2016 remastered of the original 1977-1983 LP Star Wars soundtracks might be replaced by the (quite different) 2018 remixes from Disney. Glad I picked up the Sony releases as they’ve already left Qobuz etc and I suspect that they’re not long for the iTunes Store and streaming services either.

 

I agree with coffeetime above, that buying your favourite downloads is the only way to be sure you can continue to listen to them in future, other than by purchasing physical copies. Not unexpectedly, albums will disappear from streaming services (and from the iTunes Store) on a regular basis as they go out of licence...just as they do in their physical formats too.

 

Just a quick observation - I've noticed that quite a few albums NOT badged as MFiT in the iTunes Store are now coming up as 24 bit sourced in my Vox for Mac player and sound very good too.

I have found that generally, albums released in Hi-Res on HDTracks and Qobuz, etc. are mirrored in iTunes too at 24 bit...and are quite a bit cheaper, albeit at 256K. Some are still badged as MFiT of course, but good to know that other releases can also be derived from a Hi-Res source.

While one or two of us here have commented on a some albums showing up this way before, there has been a definite increase over the last year or two. My tastes will no doubt differ from others here, as I'm into a lot of Electronic and Alternative music, but for example, these are all 24 bit sourced, but not MFiT badged:

2017
Laurel Halo "Dust"
Oneohtrix Point Never "Good Time Original Motion Picture Soundtrack"
Actress "AZD"
Thundercat "Drunk"
Kelela "Take Me Apart"
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith "The Kid"
Floating Points "Reflections - Mojave Desert"
Four Tet "New Energy"
2016
Danny Brown "Atrocity Exhibition"
Jenny Hval "Blood Bitch"
Jessie Lanza "Oh No"
Earlier
David Bowie "The Next Day: Extras" EP
Talking Heads "Remain in Light" (32 bit)

I'm sure you'll be able to find more across the musical spectrum....

 

If any doubt the latest Bowie Box should all be in MFiT except the re:call 3.
I suppose as the standalones were later taken from the box they are not granted the MFiT label.

From the box announcement:

Digital download 96kHz/24bit box set:
Low (remaster)
“Heroes” (remaster)
“Heroes” E.P.*
Stage (original) (remaster) *
Stage (2017) (remaster)
Lodger (remaster)
Lodger (Tony Visconti 2017 mix) *
Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (remaster)

Digital download standard/MFiT box set:

Low (remaster)
“Heroes” (remaster)
“Heroes” E.P.*
Stage (original) (remaster) *
Stage (2017) (remaster)
Lodger (remaster)
Lodger (Tony Visconti 2017 mix) *
Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (remaster)
Re:Call 3 (Single versions and non album B-sides) (non MFiT) *

* Set exclusives

 

Thanks Streamingmylife - and yes, I'm pretty sure the stand alone Bowie's from the box will all be 24 bit derived from Hi-Res if not actually badged as MFiT.

 

The Miles Davis soundtrack album L'Ascenseur Pour L'echafaud is worthy your cash and is on sale at half off right now. (Here at least)
MFiT of course

 

The new Courtney Barnett album "Tell Me How You Really Feel" is MFiT and 24/44.1 at Qobuz.

 

...and a few more 24 or 32 bit files not badged as MFiT in the iTunes Store in my collection, again found by running through Vox Player For Mac:

Albums
Kate Bush "The Dreaming" (32 Bit)
Joni Mitchell "Court and Spark" (some tracks 32 Bit, others 16)
Simon and Garfunkel "The Essential Simon and Garfunkel" (32 Bit)
Frank Ocean "Blonde" (24 Bit)
Julia Holter "Loud City Song" (24 Bit)
U.S. Girls "Half Free" (24 Bit)
Oneohtrix Point Never "Garden of Delete" and "R Plus 7" (both 24 bit)
Vampire Weekend "Contra" (Mostly 32 Bit, just opening track "Horchata" at 16 Bit)

EP's/Singles
Frank Ocean "Provider" Single (24 Bit)
FKA Twigs "M3LL155X" EP (24 Bit)
Arctic Monkeys "Do I Wanna Know" Single and B-Side "2013" (24 Bit)
Prince "Sign 'O' the Times" Single (16 bit, but B-Side "La, la, la, he, he, He" 12 inch version is 24 bit)

 

Some of those new Springsteen EP's are MFIT.
Backstreets.com: Springsteen News
You'll have to search for them it seems, like "live & rare"

Bruce Springsteen - Spare Parts, a playlist by Bruce Springsteen on Spotify

 

Counting Crows’ discography is MFiT. (Look for the 2014 Geffen Records versions.)

 

Rory Gallagher’s catalogue (most) are now MFIT!! These are the latest 2017 remasters! For some reason, Live in Europe doesn’t show MFIT...

Anyway, great stuff!!

 

Has anyone heard these yet, love me some Rory.

 

Michael Nesmith has several RCA solo albums with bonus tracks and MFIT just up last week.

 

Can someone tell me how the Aerosmith MFiT sound?

 

I think they sound great - particularly once you get past the first album, which of course sounds like it was recorded in a garage either way. But the rest sounds great, a total step up to my ears from my CD rips. I would definitely recommend the 70's Aerosmith albums as upgrades for sure.

 

I have recently dug out my old CDs of Love Is Hell my Ryan Adams (the original part 1 & 2 ep set). When listening I found them a bit harsh and loud.

I was wondering about the MFIT version: it has a release date - c.2014 UMG. I can't find the specific iTunes version on the dynamic range database, nor any threads here relating to it. Do you suppose its from the same source as the hi res download showing the same copyright date on the DR database? The dynamic range for that version is MUCH better than the CD releases, I like the sound of the MFIT releases I have bought thus far. Can anyone comment on the sound of the itunes version?

 

Did anyone notice The Police MFiT are available? Any consensus on the sound quality of these?

 

Bought 'Outlandos d'Amour (Remastered)' and 'Synchronicity (Remastered)' and they sound great to me (iPad Mini 2, Fiio X1 with Sony MDR-1A Headphone).