New DSD downloads from Acoustic Sounds - Superhirez.com

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by jojopuppyfish, Aug 28, 2013.

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  1. kevin5brown

    kevin5brown Analog or bust.

    Any comments about how Cream sounds? Are they the same as the recent SHM-CDs/SACDs?

    The Live albums can only be gotten at Acoustic Sounds ...

    I would think this looks promising?
     
  2. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Were these Clapton titles remastered at one point, Backless 24/96 is showing a DR12 ? just curious
     
  3. SammyU

    SammyU Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA, USA
    Per the statement below, which is listed near the description of each Cream and Clapton title on the Acoustic Sounds web site, I believe all of these titles were recently remastered:

    Download created from the original analog master tapes by Seth Foster at Sterling Sound
     
  4. The latest update to the FiiO X3 supposedly allows it to play DSD files (tho it might just convert and play them as PCM). How do DSD files compare in size to the other HiRez files?
     
  5. Black Elk

    Black Elk Music Lover

    Location:
    Bay Area, U.S.A.
    Slightly larger than 24/96, just under half the size of 24/192. Lossless compression can gain you about 50% file size reduction in all cases, so no advantage there.
     
    sallymae_hogsby likes this.
  6. bferr1

    bferr1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA
    Hi! Where can I learn more about this update? I've been eyeing the X5 for a while now because of DSD support, but this update puts the X3 back into consideration. Thanks!
     
  7. The update is still beta (and James at FiiO recommends that you wait until it's officially ready), but the info can be found in this thread at head-fi:

    http://www.head-fi.org/t/651769/the-fiio-x3-thread

    (There are also threads there about the X5 and the future $100 X1.)
     
    bferr1 likes this.
  8. jfeldt

    jfeldt Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF, CA, USA
    Do these guys ever run discount codes or have sales like HDtracks does?
     
  9. jmacvols

    jmacvols Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tennessee
  10. Metralla

    Metralla Joined Jan 13, 2002

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    The Keb' Mo' is a well recorded effort judging by the SACD.
     
  11. I got confirmation that FiiO X3 and X5 do play DSD files. but also that they're transcoded to PCM.
     
  12. jmacvols

    jmacvols Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tennessee
  13. kevin5brown

    kevin5brown Analog or bust.

    I wonder if the NiN Hesitation Marks is any better than the awful CDs that came out, "audiophile" version included.
     
  14. jmacvols

    jmacvols Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tennessee
  15. ParanoidAndroid

    ParanoidAndroid Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bournemouth, UK
    Are there any more comments about the REM releases? In particular, I would like to know how Fables sounds compared with the CD releases? I only have the old IRS CD that was released in the early 1990s and was wondering if this would be an upgrade.
     
  16. jmacvols

    jmacvols Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tennessee
    Acoustic Sounds

    10% Off All Super Hirez Downloads

    (through May 22)
     
  17. CraigVC

    CraigVC Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Where is the thread to talk about high-resolution PCM digital downloads (e.g., 192/24, 96/24, etc.) from Acoustic Sounds' "Super HiREZ" store? Is this thread the one, despite the subject line that limits discussion only to "new DSD downloads"? Or should I start a new thread dedicated to non-DSD high-resolution downloads from Acoustic Sounds' "Super HiREZ" store?

    I just purchased a couple of albums (one at 192/24 and the other at 96/24), and I was looking for a place to share my thoughts.

    Craig.
     
  18. kevin5brown

    kevin5brown Analog or bust.

    I say, you could share them here. :) I'm still curious if anyone has gotten the Cream Live releases yet, and how they sound. They are floating higher and higher in my "queue," that if no one else comments on them soon, I'll take a shot myself. If they are mastered the same way the other "HR cutting" SHM Cream releases have been, they could sound better than any digital release so far.
     
  19. CraigVC

    CraigVC Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    When I saw 192/24 digital downloads of Billy Squier's Don't Say No appear at Acoustic Sounds' SuperHiREZ site, and for 10% off the regular price ($19.78 instead of $21.98), I finally decided to take a chance on this new type of product for the first time.

    I went for it in spite of not knowing anything about the source, who mastered the tracks (or if they're "unmastered" flat transfers from whatever source they used), etc.

    The lack of such information is frankly obscene for a merchant that caters to audiophiles. But I mostly trust the Acoustic Sounds name, so I took a chance.

    I also decided to get the 96/24 digital download of Aerosmith's Rocks, which is another cherished album from my youth. In the case of this album, the mastering and source information is mentioned:


    I avoided considering any of Acoustic Sounds' DSD downloads because even though my computer can decode/play them with foobar2000, I would want to listen to these high resolution downloads on my home theater system, and I don't want to buy a special (and not inexpensive) DSD D/A converter piece of hardware for my home theater system to do so. (I am not aware of a way to burn DSD downloads to a disc that my Denon universal player would recognize as an SACD.)

    The purchase process was as simple and straightforward as buying physical product.

    The download process required first downloading and installing a specialized executable "download manager," which I'm used to by now (Amazon, Google, Linn, and many other competitors do the same thing), though I'm not crazy about it, and they each have their annoying quirks. In the case of Acoustic Sounds' download manager, it immediately started downloading to the default folder location after installation, even though I wanted to create a special folder in a different location. I completed that adjustment halfway through the downloads, which meant I had a few files downloaded in one folder, and the rest in my preferred folder. Not a big deal to move the first downloaded files to the new location later; merely an illustration of the quirks of such software.

    My impressions on the sound quality are a bit tricky. I rarely get an opportunity to listen critically with my full attention on my main system at home, which would offer the best opportunity to discern any sound quality differences between these high-resolution files and the standard CD/LP versions I already own.

    Instead, I'm mainly living at a temporary apartment for work, in which I've set up an "ultra mini" system that cost me just $100, and is able to receive audio from a Windows desktop PC through the HDMI input of a cheap HDTV. (See this thread for details about my $100 system.) I did bring up a "backup" Pioneer universal player, which I can connect to my $100 system with a pair of garden-variety RCA cables, so if I can find the time I might try to burn a DVD-R of one or both of these digital downloads, and see if that results in a more revealing listen regarding sound quality...

    Otherwise, until I can burn these high-resolution files to DVD-R and get home to play them on my main system, and do some comparisons with earlier versions I already have, I'm not sure there's much value in my impressions on sound quality.

    What I will say, though, is that I experienced a significant sense of being underwhelmed by the experience of purchasing and downloading these high-resolution files. The day before, I had dropped $38 on a half-dozen Yep Roc CDs (sale in progress until May 23). That was a rush ("$5 CDs by artists I am a fan of!!") compared to this deflating nothingness I associated with spending $36 on high-resolution digital downloads (by the way, Yep Roc even tossed in free digital downloads of 320kbps MP3s of each $5 CD I ordered, each set of MP3s a $9.99 value on its own). Or even the rush of pre-ordering a new SACD for $25-35 by Audio Fidelity or MFSL, knowing the care that went into tracking down low-generation sources and into mastering it with audiophiles in mind, and waiting weeks until it's released and shipped to me.

    Immediately after I clicked "buy" for the Acoustic Sounds' digital downl0ads, I felt deflated at the lack of anything tangible (physical) for the purchase I had just made. I realized I wouldn't be able to resell what I had just purchased, if I decided I no longer wanted it. Just feels like a bummer to this old(-ish) collector of physical media. And it feels cheap to spend $16-20 on digital files that I then have to spend my own time and effort to "manufacture" a homemade physical version (i.e., burn to DVD-R) that plays in my audio system. I'd rather spend $5-10 more and have real discs, real booklets, real packaging, and something I can resell later if I decide I don't want it anymore.

    As an aside: Does anyone have a clue about the source and mastering information of the Billy Squier Don't Say No 192/24 files? I have listened to it a few times so far on my $100 system and I can't tell any difference between it and the memories I have of the original LP and original CD editions. As far as my cheap $100 system can reveal, and my ears can discern, I might as well be listening to upsampled files ripped from the original CD. I hope that's not the case, but without Acoustic Sounds sharing that information (or without doing some "spectral analysis" or whatever people do to analyze the waveforms for tell-tale frequency information, which I have no knowledge of how to do), I am completely "In The Dark" (pun intended).

    Craig.

    P.S. - I once emailed Acoustic Sounds a few months ago and asked them about source information for a different digital download title (I think maybe it was a Heart album), and their reply was that if they don't get any information from the record label that provides the files, then they have no idea! I guess that's the case for this Billy Squier title as well. But if that's true, does that mean Acoustic Sounds is simply trusting record labels not to upsample from CD rips or whatever? Ugh, this whole digital downloads thing brings with it so much uncertainty and questions. No wonder then, that obtaining underground/illegal downloads is so much more appealing in comparison. If you can't be assured of the quality and source of what you are buying, then the perceived value plummets! In other words, I realize I might just have spent $19.78 on a sh1tty CD rip that was upsampled to 192/24. Acoustic Sounds apparently doesn't know any better either, so who's the chump? Maybe me.
     
  20. jmacvols

    jmacvols Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tennessee
  21. kevin5brown

    kevin5brown Analog or bust.

    I have too much on my list to buy now, but I will get these someday. I really like these 2 albums, and I always wanted good sounding versions.
     
  22. jmacvols

    jmacvols Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tennessee
  23. CraigVC

    CraigVC Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Yes, I want to know this too! And I also want to know whether a Robert Vosgien mastering is something I should get excited about, or steer clear of.

    EDIT: Quick scan of other "Music Corner" threads/posts that mention "Robert Vosgien" reveals mixed reviews. I read some positive reviews of Vosgien's mastering work on stuff like Bob Seger's catalog, and The Band's Last Waltz, but also some scathing reviews of his more recent work on the R.E.M. reissues. So "which" Robert Vosgien mastered these Billy Squier digital downloads?

    The 192/24 PCM is a lot more flexible format for my needs (I like creating a DVD-Audio ISO which I can then burn to DVD-R and enjoy on my main system's universal disc player), so I'm avoiding DSD downloads for the time being.

    Craig.
     
    Last edited: Jun 11, 2014
  24. rodney sherman

    rodney sherman Forum Resident

    Location:
    de soto, kansas
    The Billy Squier Albums sound like a DSD mastering to me.
     
  25. brimuchmuze

    brimuchmuze Forum Resident

    Doesn't the same apply to physical product they sell as well?
     
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