Your opinion on downloading HD music (classical)

[kndy]

Although I post quite a bit on the Blu-ray related threads, I am always intrigued by the postings on the Blu-ray Music and High Quality of Music thread. But I was wondering how one feels about downloading HD music and by any chance has anyone had the urged to resort back to listening to music via LP?

Intriguing article by Alex Ross titled "Infinite Playlist" in the New Yorker:

I have not downloaded HD classical music from the sites that Ross has mentioned in his article but curious for those who have, what are your opinions on HD downloadable music? Would the price be much cheaper to go with a physical HD music release?

Thank you in advance.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Hi,

I would love to download some HD tracks from any musical genre to see how it compares to the physical version of my LP's. Unfortunately, most HD sites I've seen (or am aware of) limit downloads to U.S. based consumers only, so I'm out of luck in that regard.

I would think however, that the HD downloaded tracks still wouldn't measure up to a good-quality LP pressing for sound. That, however, could be because of the bias I have for the physical LP format.

Your question is an interesting one, and I hope others will chime in with their thoughts.

John

[btf1980]

I'm a member of the Society of Sound (B&W Music Club) and they have 24-bit FLAC downloads for members. Annual membership was like $60 or so.

It's incredible, and if you have a capable prepro, or a good standalone DAC, then you'd be hard pressed to find better.

http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=3550

I love vinyl, but I'm very selective with my purchases simply because now that vinyl is "cool" again, many record companies are capitalizing and are now using 44.1khz tracks and slapping that on vinyl and calling it a day. Universal is notorious for this. It defeats the point of vinyl in the first place. You might as well buy the CD. Thankfully, most of what I listen to has been mastered properly by people like Bernie Grundman, Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman, so it's been done right. Not all new vinyl is good. However, high resolution downloads is more often than not, incredible.

[Hammie]

Originally Posted by btf1980

I'm a member of the Society of Sound (B&W Music Club) and they have 24-bit FLAC downloads for members. Annual membership was like $60 or so.

It's incredible, and if you have a capable prepro, or a good standalone DAC, then you'd be hard pressed to find better.

http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=3550

I love vinyl, but I'm very selective with my purchases simply because now that vinyl is "cool" again, many record companies are capitalizing and are now using 44.1khz tracks and slapping that on vinyl and calling it a day. Universal is notorious for this. It defeats the point of vinyl in the first place. You might as well buy the CD. Thankfully, most of what I listen to has been mastered properly by people like Bernie Grundman, Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman, so it's been done right. Not all new vinyl is good. However, high resolution downloads is more often than not, incredible.

I'm also a member, but I use the 16-bit ALAC format. As a matter of fact, I have all my discs burned to my hard drive in ALAC. I have also chosen the ALAC format for my Nine Inch Nails downloads.