# What's your favorite Hi-Rez albums?



## DPGstereo (Jan 16, 2013)

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What are your favorite *Hi-Rez albums* and where did you purchase them?



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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

DPGstereo said:


> What are your favorite *Hi-Rez albums* and where did you purchase them?



There are quite a few independent web sites now or record labels that offer Hi-Res downloads, but a lot of them cater to just a few specific genres. What genres are you most interested in?


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## DPGstereo (Jan 16, 2013)

bbfoto said:


> There are quite a few independent web sites now or record labels that offer Hi-Res downloads, but a lot of them cater to just a few specific genres. What genres are you most interested in?



Rock, classic rock, rock/easy-listening jazz, some country.

Examples of so of my favorite bands:
Rush
Steely Dan
Spyro Gyra
Toto
Led Zeppelin 
Avenge Centerfold
Creed
Def Leppard
Eagles
Fourplay
Metallica
Motley Crue
Pearl Jam


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## abusiveDAD (Jan 7, 2009)

HDTRACKS.COM


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## nineball76 (Mar 13, 2010)

Right now my no. 1 high res is Slipknot Grey Chapter. It really gets me in the feels. 

Sent from my LG-V20 using Tapatalk


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## DPGstereo (Jan 16, 2013)

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*HD Tracks*
Steely Dan - Gaucho 192/24 ..._Babylon Sister_...is a favorite.
Eagles older recordings re-mastered 192/24, sound really good.
Eric Johnson - Ah Via Musicom 192/24..is very impressive.
Fourplay's self-titled album, in 96/24, is a great recording.

*ProStudioMasters*
Ray Charles - Genius Loves Company 192/24... track 2. _Sweet Potato Pie_...is outstanding.
Re-Mastered album of Nirvana - Nevermind 96/24 ..._Smells Like Teen Spirit_, _Lithium_, _In Bloom_, _Come As You Are_.. these songs are the best versions I've heard. 

I need more time behind the wheel.


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## DPGstereo (Jan 16, 2013)

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When considering which hi-rez music to purchase, it may be a good idea to check out the Dynamic Range Database from *dr.loudness-war.info*.
The site posts many album test results from different media types (cd, vinyl, download) from different release dates. 
I found references to _HD Tracks_ downloads, which was of particular interest, to compare to CD format. Results will show release dates of recordings. You certainly see many different performance results from different release versions.
According to this sites results, they show little, if any dynamic range advantage from most hi-rez downloads over a good quality CD recording?
Wonder if this is an unbiased report?
Make me question is _dynamic range_ a good test measurement method to determine any improvement in sound quality?

Wonder if, with hi-rez being a relatively new format, does _HD Tracks_ ever update their files, which could yield different results?

As time allows, I plan on using an, agreed upon, well recorded CD...rip two ways, one at 44.1 lossless, second in as high of resolution as a program will allow...put these on my DAC and compare to a purchased hi-rez downloaded file. Play songs back to back.


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## baders (Dec 26, 2016)

That web site is not entirely useful to my mind as some bands (Tame Impala / Pond / King Gizzard) target "lo-fi" style music.


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## DPGstereo (Jan 16, 2013)

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At _Octave's_ SQ meeting this weekend, _Nick Wingate_ and I were listening to a, _Lossless iPod_ vs. _Fiio X7 Mark II_, hi-res versions of _Fourplay's - 101 Eastbound_. _Nick_ committed that he was very familiar with this track. In switching back and forth, he quickly picked the hi-res version and talked about the extra information he was hearing. More bass was obvious. Upper end seemed to shimmer more. Perceived depth was increased. Sound stage seemed further forward. Increased separation of instruments. 
So in this particular recording, advantage seems to go to hi-res, demonstrating there may in fact be a noticable difference.
To my ears, this is not the case with all of my downloaded 192/24 files?

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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

DPGstereo said:


> .
> 
> At _Octave's_ SQ meeting this weekend, _Nick Wingate_ and I were listening to a, _Lossless iPod_ vs. _Fiio X7 Mark II_, hi-res versions of _Fourplay's - 101 Eastbound_. _Nick_ committed that he was very familiar with this track. In switching back and forth, he quickly picked the hi-res version and talked about the extra information he was hearing. More bass was obvious. Upper end seemed to shimmer more. Perceived depth was increased. Sound stage seemed further forward. Increased separation of instruments.
> So in this particular recording, advantage seems to go to hi-res, demonstrating there may in fact be a noticable difference.
> ...


I'm in no way discounting Nick's auditory capabilities, but for this to be meaningful and completely objective, these listening tests must be conducted completely Blind A/B/X and with perfectly level-matched output through an identical signal path & connection to the source playback unit. The two versions must also be verified to be from the same master of the recording, with the only difference being the sample rate and bit depth.


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## DeltaB (Jun 17, 2017)

Diana Krall's 6 channel SACD "The Girl In The Other Room"
Bonnie Raitt's HD "Luck Of The Draw"

You'll know you're almost there when you can put on a blindfold and actually have your brain tell you that it is actually the instrument in front of you. When you get that, you'll know to stop throwing money and speakers at it, and until then, you've got work still to do.


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## DPGstereo (Jan 16, 2013)

DeltaB said:


> Diana Krall's 6 channel SACD "The Girl In The Other Room"
> Bonnie Raitt's HD "Luck Of The Draw"
> 
> You'll know you're almost there when you can put on a blindfold and actually have your brain tell you that it is actually the instrument in front of you. When you get that, you'll know to stop throwing money and speakers at it, and until then, you've got work still to do.



Luck Of The Draw..a favorite of mine. The late great _Jeff Porcaro_ played the title cut on that album. Haven't seen a hi-rez offering for that album yet?


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## DPGstereo (Jan 16, 2013)

bbfoto said:


> I'm in no way discounting Nick's auditory capabilities, but for this to be meaningful and completely objective, these listening tests must be conducted completely Blind A/B/X and with perfectly level-matched output through an identical signal path & connection to the source playback unit. The two versions must also be verified to be from the same master of the recording, with the only difference being the sample rate and bit depth.



I don't know how much to attribute the improvement in sound quality to the _Fiio X7_ DAP vs. _Lossless iPod_? 
Should be..digital is digital?
Then again, _iPod_ runs through _Pioneer 99RS_..supposed to be hq?


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## DeltaB (Jun 17, 2017)

DPGstereo said:


> Luck Of The Draw..a favorite of mine. The late great _Jeff Porcaro_ played the title cut on that album. Haven't seen a hi-rez offering for that album yet?


Bonnie's work was a DCC re-master.


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## DPGstereo (Jan 16, 2013)

DeltaB said:


> Bonnie's work was a DCC re-master.


How about Queensryche- Empire DCC CD?
Couple available on Ebay $199.00?
Is it that much better than original CD?


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## DeltaB (Jun 17, 2017)

DPGstereo said:


> How about Queensryche- Empire DCC CD?
> Couple available on Ebay $199.00?
> Is it that much better than original CD?


Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab really does a great job. It all revolves around the quality of the masters that can be obtained. They take the analog and DSD it to digital.

The real thing about older (80's vintage) CD's is that they have compression and Dolby added in. My old Sony CD player from the 80's did a really good job at decompression and restoration. It's why much of that content in today's players yield low bass response, and squashed upper end.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

There are some excellent Hi-Res recordings mentioned in the following video. But I can't guarantee that they'll all be to your liking.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

So one of my favorite recordings has always been *Michael Jackson's BAD* album, and its title track. Of course, the Thriller album & track is a stand-out as well.

Unfortunately, AFAIK nothing beats the sound quality of the original 1987 *BAD* CD & LP release. The very first CD release (#32.8P-200) is, as usual with first CDs releases, the best digital one of this album ever produced. Only LPs from the same year could beat it and if clean, really do.

Below is an interesting video. Michael Fremer of Analog Planet/Stereophile explains the SQ of this album and what properties make this album & track so special. If you have this track, listen for the things that Michael describes.  Some of the comments in the YouTube video are interesting as well.







*The Dynamic Range Database - Michael Jackson - Bad*

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## DeltaB (Jun 17, 2017)

bbfoto said:


> So one of my favorite recordings has always been *Michael Jackson's BAD* album, and its title track. Of course, the Thriller album & track is a stand-out as well.
> 
> Unfortunately, AFAIK nothing beats the sound quality of the original 1987 *BAD* CD & LP release. The very first CD release (#32.8P-200) is, as usual with first CDs releases, the best digital one of this album ever produced. Only LPs from the same year could beat it and if clean, really do.
> 
> Below is an interesting video. Michael Fremer of Analog Planet/Stereophile explains the SQ of this album and what properties make this album & track so special. If you have this track, listen for the things that Michael describes.  Some of the comments in the YouTube video are interesting as well.


And this is why I say, that the quality (and availability) of the masters play such an important role.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

DeltaB said:


> And this is why I say, that the quality (and availability) of the masters play such an important role.


Very true. If you check the Dynamic Range Database, the HDtracks and Acoustic Sounds Hi-Res download versions are among the worst.


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## DPGstereo (Jan 16, 2013)

bbfoto said:


> Very true. If you check the Dynamic Range Database, the HDtracks and Acoustic Sounds Hi-Res download versions are among the worst.


I noticed the same, poor scores from many HDtracks versions. What’s the deal? They are the most popular site to purchase Hi-Rez. Claim they test all files to ensure quality. 
Is this an accurate way to determine song/file quality?


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## DeltaB (Jun 17, 2017)

DPGstereo said:


> I noticed the same, poor scores from many HDtracks versions. What’s the deal? They are the most popular site to purchase Hi-Rez. Claim they test all files to ensure quality.
> Is this an accurate way to determine song/file quality?


Just be mindful, that dynamic range (the differences between the softest and loudest passages) while important in it's own right, doesn't always lend itself to the totality of the SQ. The psychoacoustics contained in the content can play as much if not more in the overall listening experience.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

DeltaB said:


> Just be mindful, that dynamic range (the differences between the softest and loudest passages) while important in it's own right, doesn't always lend itself to the totality of the SQ. The psychoacoustics contained in the content can play as much if not more in the overall listening experience.


True, but generally, if you see two or more versions of the same album, the one that has more dynamic range and isn't brick-walled has a good chance of being the better one.  And for older or classic releases where there are multiple re-issues and/or remasters, the first or original issue is the best 9 times out of 10.


Here are two of my favorite Hi-Res albums that are available on HDtracks that are actually very good. YMMV :

*Macy Gray's "Stripped"* (on the Chesky Records label)








...and *Gregory Porter's "Liquid Spirit"* ...or any of his other albums.







Happy Holidays & Happy New Year everyone!!!


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## Holmz (Jul 12, 2017)

DPGstereo said:


> .
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> When considering which hi-rez music to purchase, it may be a good idea to check out the Dynamic Range Database from *dr.loudness-war.info*.
> ...


There is no description of what they are doing to get the dynamic range numbers.

The Wagner Götterdämmerung is pretty good for dynamic range, and the Sheffield track I have in vinyl and CD.


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