High Resolution files are usually available as downloads.
However a few are also available on DVD-R data
discs. Typically files
are considered to be High Resolution at the following PCM kHz sampling rates: 88.2, 96, 176.4,
and 192. Most commonly these are 24 bit
files, although 20 bit files are
virtually as good—as the fact of the
matter is that there aren't any A-D
converters that can actually output 24
bits of audio information anyway. The
state-of-the-art is about 22 bits—but a
lot of A-D converters can't even do a
full 22 bits.
An
excellent example of High Resolution
files are the HRx files from Reference
Recordings. They are available as DVD-R
data discs which means (that with the
exception of a few disc players) that you will load them onto
your computer music server in order to
play them. HRx DVD-R data discs contain
exact, bit-for-bit copies of the
original Reference Recordings 176.4 kHz
/ 24-bit digital masters. From a
technical level they have achieved a
very high level of fidelity for
two-channel sound. So when you listen to
them in a proper setup you are hearing
true high-resolution audio. If you would like to hear music at the absolute highest level of
fidelity possible, then you owe it to yourself to experience some
Reference Recordings
HRX files. In the past when analog reigned, few people every got to hear a really
good master
tape. But now when listening to an HRx file you are hearing a
bit-for-bit copy of a master recording, just like what the recording and
mastering engineer heard in the studio! In fact Alan Taffel in the April/May 2008
issue of the Absolute Sound gave them
the Best of the 2008 CES Show award
for “Greatest Technological
Breakthrough: Reference Recordings’ HRx
ultra-high resolution (176.4/24) digital
music format.”
Reference Recordings files are also
available as downloads and the best
sounding files are the ones that were
natively recorded at 24-bit 176.4kHz
sampling rates. Because the Pacific
Microsonics
Model Two A-D converter was used on
these recordings you can hear how
wonderful the state-of-the-art in
analog-to-digital conversion can be! And
if you download them it is recommended
to do so at 176.4/24.
Here is a partial listing of sources for
High Resolution files:
Ø
- offers
FLAC files; DSD files coming soon
Ø
- offers
Ø
-
Ø
-
has Studio Master FLAC & ALAC 20 or
24-bit files (44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz
or 96 kHz)
Ø
- offers
176.4/24
HRx (DVD-R)
- or order
HRx
DVD-R's by calling us at
781-893-9000
Ø
- offers
44.1/24, 96/24, 192/24 FLAC - plus DSD: DFF
or DSF 1bit 2822.4kHz
Ø
- (Canada & US)
88.2/24, 96/24, 176.4/24, 192/24 FLAC &
AIFF; DSD DFF 1bit 2822.4kHz
Ø
- offers
and
FLAC files
(download). Gratis tracks
and
Ø
-
FLAC files up to
& also some gratis
FLAC files
Ø
-
96/24 ()
(note: choose STUDIO 24/96)
Ø
- has 192/24 (DVD-R)
Ø
- has 96/24 and 88.2 FLAC files
Ø
- has "Studio Master Pro" files which
are 96/24 or 88.2/24 FLAC
Ø
- 88.2/24 WMA or AIFF
Ø
- 96/24 WAV
as well as DSD files
Ø
- 96/24 WAV
Ø
- 96/24 FLAC (download)
Ø
- 96/24 DVD or FLAC
Ø
-
96/24 PCM
Ø
- 24 bit FLAC w/sampling
rates up to 96kHz
Note: To play
High Resolution files either they are
downloaded or transferred from a
DVD-R data disc to a
computer or Music Server. Once they
are transferred you can then play the music files through your
audio system. In order to hear them at
their full fidelity the computer music
server should output a high quality,
ultra-low jitter digital signal to an outboard high end
D-A converter which can play these high
resolution files. For information on a
D-A converter that can play these files click
here.
Note: 2L also has high resolution
surround files to download.
Note: Linn also has high resolution
surround files to download.
Note: In the future we expect Reference
Recordings to offer some high resolution
surround files.
●
Music -
Medium
Resolution File Downloads
It is debatable whether to call 20 or 24
bit files recorded at 44.1kHz or 48kHz
true High Resolution files—nevertheless
both formats exceed that of regular CD's
(44.1kHz/16bit) so regardless of what
you call them they are definitely still
worth having. One could say that any
file that is at 20 or 24 bits and 44.1
or 48kHz are Medium Resolution.
Here is a partial listing of sources for
Medium Resolution files that are
potentially still
better than CD
because they are 24 bit:
Ø
- has
44.1/24 and 48/24 FLAC
files (download) - featuring both
popular music and the LSO (London
Symphony Orchestra)
Ø
- has
48/24 FLAC
files (download)
[Note: When decoded by a D-A which
includes
HDCD decoding (like the Berkeley
Alpha DAC, etc.), HDCD-encoded
CD's—of which there are many thousands
of
titles—decode as 20 bit 44.1kHz
files.]
●
Music -
CD
Resolution File Downloads
It is an exciting development to see
that Deutsche Grammophon has so much
great music from major artists on their website for
download as FLAC files. These are at the
regular CD level of 44.1kHz/16bit and
they use the FLAC lossless compression
to make the files smaller so they will
download about twice as fast as WAV
files. If
you have ever spent time transferring
your CD's into a music server you know
how much time you could save by simply
downloading files so this is a nice
alternative to have.
On the DG website they
state, "We are committed to
bringing back ever more out of print
releases from our past as downloads from
this site".
Hopefully they will someday release
their catalog as High Resolution files!
And hopefully the other major labels
will follow suit! Nevertheless having
FLAC 44.1kHz 16 bit downloads from DG is
still an important development, and
while we are waiting for more high
resolution files to become available
these are still well
worth having in the here and now.
Below is a partial listing of sites that
offer CD quality downloads:
Note: Unfortunately Apple Mac computers
using iTunes are not able to play FLAC
files. So if you are using a Mac
computer with iTunes here is a
about how to download a FLAC
file and change it into a file type that
is Mac iTunes compatible. To maintain
sound quality we recommend that you
convert FLAC to either AIFF (.aif or .aiff)
or Apple Lossless (.m4a) files.
Alternatively if you are using a Mac and
don't wish to use iTunes as your music
server software you can download
or
in
order to play FLAC files directly
without conversion.
Ø
-
already has
over 200 DG & Decca albums in 44.1/16 FLAC
files (download)
[Note that currently DG has a 55 CD set
as a
for $89 which works
out to be less than $2/CD. It is a
15.3GB download of 732 files in total
and includes many major artists. You can
see the listing of artists and
repertoire contained in this CD box set
or FLAC download
.]
NOTE: For some reason this was
discontinued.
Ø
- 44.1/16
WAV, FLAC, WMA lossless, AIFF
files (download)
[Note: The Classical Shop has
dozens of record labels in their
. Currently a lot of
their catalog is only available as MP3's,
but hopefully they will continue to
expand their lossless offerings.]
Ø
- 44.1/16 FLAC
files (download)
[Note: Hyperion has quite a large
selection of FLAC downloads. For
instance here is just the
.]
Ø
- 44.1/16 FLAC
or WMA or Apple Lossless
files (download)
[Note: The bad news is that Rhino is
engaging in what is at the very least an
unacceptable level of hype that
threatens their credibility by calling
their 44.1kHz/16 bit files Hi-Def—as
obviously they are at best CD quality.
The files are available in FLAC, Apple
Lossless, and WMA. The good news is that
they have a large number of files! Also
if you would like to ask them to please
change their labeling from the (in our
view!) totally misleading Hi-Def
label to the proper labeling of
CD quality you can email them at
customerservice@rhino.com. At the
same time you could ask them to start
offering some true Hi-Def files at 88.2
or 96 or 176.4 or 192kHz and 24 bit. Now
if they would start doing that it would
be great as they do have some great
popular music titles!]
Ø
- 44.1/16 FLAC
files (download)
Ø
- 44.1/16 FLAC /
WMA Lossless / Apple Lossless -
files (download)
Ø
- 44.1/16 FLAC
files (download)
Ø
- 44.1/16 FLAC
files (download)
Ø
- 44.1/16
FLAC
files (download)
Ø
- 44.1/16 FLAC
files (download)
Ø
- 44.1/16 FLAC
files (download)
Ø
- 44.1/16 FLAC files (download)
Ø
- 44.1/16 FLAC
files (download) [Note; As of May 2010
it was still a beta site]
Note:
bought MHS and so downloads are no more,
but still has guides to
&
.
Note: Many popular bands have their own
websites and you can download files from
them. Some examples are:
Ø
- FLAC
files (download) Live Concerts from 2007
on (be sure to specify FLAC)
Ø
- FLAC
files (download) Live Concerts from 2004
on (be sure to specify FLAC)
Ø
- FLAC
files (download) (be sure to specify FLAC)
●
Music - HDCD
   

CD
titles marked "HDCD"
have been recorded with an advanced
digital recording system co-invented by
"Prof." Keith Johnson.
Essentially an HDCD CD is a 44.1kHz/16
bit recording but with an extra 4 bits of
resolution encoded in hidden channels so
that when it is decoded you are hearing 20
bits of resolution rather than the
typical 16 bits. That is why HDCD can bring a
higher
level of accuracy and musicality to CDs.
Heard on a standard CD player, their
sonic superiority will be evident simply
because the Analog-to-Digital Converter
utilized was in most cases from
Pacific Microsonics.
However the finer levels of
resolution, imaging, and spatial
information will be revealed when these
CDs are reproduced on players with HDCD
decoding which are available from a
number of
manufacturers. One such manufacturer is
Spectral Audio who manufactures the
renowned
SDR-4000SL CD Player which is
considered by many to be the finest
reference CD player available today—and
of course it does an exemplary job of
decoding any CD's that happen to be HDCD-encoded.
Alternatively HDCD CDs can be ported to
a computer-based
music server and then played back
through an outboard high end DAC such as the new
Berkeley Audio
Alpha DAC which also decodes HDCD
recordings.
There are well over 5000
HDCD encoded CD's available, and a substantial
listing of HDCD recordings can be found
here.
If you would like to hear what are
probably the best sounding HDCD
recordings ever made you can find a
catalog of Reference
Recording HDCD CD's
.
Tech Tip:
If you are going to
transfer music from an
HDCD-encoded CD's to a
music server,
Illustrate's
CDGrabber
has a
that
allows tracks from HDCDs
to be ripped to 24-bit
WAV files. The files
have a bit rate of
2116.8 kbit/x and are
about 1.5 times as large
as 16-bit WAV files. For
example, King Sunny Ade's
"Jigi Jigi Isapa" (from
the odú~ album) has a
16-bit WAV size of 58.5
MB, while the "24-bit"
WAV file is 87.8 MB.
Note that while the
files will be listed as
24-bit, only 20 bits per
sample contain actual
data.
However if you are using
a DAC that decodes HDCD
(like the Berkeley Alpha DAC,
etc.) it is unnecessary
to convert the files to
24 bit. In fact it is
preferable not to
convert them but simply
to transfer them as is.
You can use
to
transfer the music to
your music server which
will ensure a
bit-for-bit copy. That
way when you play the
file you will see the
HDCD indicator light
come on which can assure
you that the files were
accurately transferred.
However we do recommend
over Exact Audio Copy as
the metadata comes out
better.
|
●
Music - SACD
Although
no longer being supported by Sony, well over
8000 SACD's have been released to date.
And especially in Europe and Asia there
are a number of smaller labels
continuing to release new albums. So it
looks like SACD will continue as a niche
format.
Basically there are two types of SACD
discs—Single
Layer and Hybrid. A Single Layer is SACD
only. Whereas a hybrid SACD is made up
of two separate layers—with
one layer carrying regular
CD-format music and the other layer
carrying the SACD music
information. Any Hybrid SACD title can
be played on any CD Player, DVD Player
or SACD Player. However a Single Layer
SACD can only be played with an SACD
Player. Within those two groups are
Stereo, Mono and Multichannel SACDs.
Stereo SACDs carry two-channel (left and
right speaker) SACD information—and
obviously a Mono SACD carries just one
channel. A Multichannel SACD carries as
many as six separate channels. To
playback a surround sound SACD you will
need an SACD player, the requisite
number of channels of amplification, and
a 5.1 speaker setup. However only some
SACDs have Multichannel functionality,
so look for the recording information of
each title either on the SACD front or
rear cover—or
you research online.
For a substantial listing of SACD
titles click
here.
●
Music -
DSD File Downloads
DSD
files are now available and can be
played on a music server. The easiest way to get DSD files is to
download them from websites such as:
-
-
(just announced)
-
-
-
-
HD-Klassik.com (German site)
-
- (German site)
-
DSDfile.com
-
-
-
-
(Japanese site)
You can also rip DSD files from your
library of SACD discs in order to play
them on your music server.
For a substantial listing of SACD
titles click
here.
To listen to DSD files you need a music
server that can play them.
has designed their music
servers so that they can play DSD files.
In addition
Media Center (Windows—and
soon both Mac & Linux) and Channel D
(Mac) are examples of
music server software that can play DSD
files into a DSD DAC.
and (eventually)
Amarra music server software are other
options for the Mac.
For DSD DACs there are a number of high
end models from companies such as
dCS and MSB
that can play DSD files. Plus the new
Luxman DA-06 USB DAC can play DSD files
natively from a Windows music server
with an ASIO driver. Alternatively if
you are on a tighter budget check out
who have several
models. More
technical information on music file
quality, metadata, and cover art for a
music server is available
here and specifically with regard to
DSD files
here.
●
Music -
Blu-Ray Audio
The Blu-Ray format was originally
created for 1080p movies with higher
quality soundtracks in mono, stereo, or
surround sound. The soundtracks for
genres such as movies, music videos,
opera, dance, etc. are usually available
in a variety of quality formats:
- PCM (also called LPCM, Linear
PCM, or Uncompressed )
- Dolby TrueHD (lossless
compressed)
- DTS-HD Master Audio (lossless
compressed)
PCM is usually 24-bit at 88.2, 96,
176.4, or 192 kHz sampling rates.
There is also a newer type of disc that
is audio-only called Blu-Ray Audio. Not
surprisingly sampling rates/bit depths
are the same as the video/audio blu-ray
discs. Record companies who have
released Blu-Ray Audio discs include:
You can find Blu-Ray Audio discs
at:
●
Music -
DVD-Audio
Music
on DVD Audio (also known as DVD-A) can
be in stereo and/or surround sound
formats. DVD-A's can only be played on a
DVD player or transport that supports
DVD-Audio playback. DVD-Audio 2-channel
can be up to 192kHz/24 bit, whereas
DVD-Audio surround sound tracks can be
up to 96/24. Although
no longer being actively supported by any record
labels that we know of, over 1500
DVD-Audio discs have been released to
date, and some of the recordings are
well worth having. DVD-Audio discs have
been released by Warner Bros, Universal
Music Group, Reprise Records, EMI
Capital Records, Rhino Records, Virgin
Records, BMG, Silverline (a member of
the 5.1 Entertainment Group), AIX Media
Group, Chesky Records, Telarc, and a
host of boutique studios so there is a
good variety or material available.
There are two ways to play DVD-Audio
discs, either with a DVD-Audio player—or
through a
computer/music server which feeds an outboard high end DAC such
as the Berkeley Audio
Alpha DAC.
If you wish to transfer a DVD-Audio disc
to your computer/music server here is a
for some Windows software which
one of our clients told us about.
To make it easier for you to build your
collection, three substantial listings can
be found
here and
here and
.
●
Music -
DAD



DAD discs are actually the same as
regular DVD-Video discs. The difference
is that they are audio only. They have a
stereo PCM 96/24 audio track which is on
the same audio track as a regular DVD.
So unlike a DVD-Audio disc which can
only be played on a DVD-Audio enables
player, a DAD disc can play on a regular
DVD Video player. In once sense this is
a niche product because there is only a
small amount of software. But in another
sense it isn't because DVD has become a
true standard that will continue for the
foreseeable future. Various labels have
released them including
,
,
, and
. These are also available
from
which stocks various
titles.
●
Music -
HDAD

HDAD discs are two sided discs. One side
has 192kHz/24bit data which is only
playable on a DVD-audio player—and the
other side has 96/24 data which is
playable on a regular DVD video player.
So an HDAD disc is the combination of a
DVD-Audio disc and a DAD disc. Like DAD,
in
once sense this is a niche product
because there is only a small amount of
software. But in another sense it isn't
because DVD has become a standard format
and will remain so for the foreseeable
future.
has released a
number of classic recordings that were
originally recorded by such labels as
Vanguard, Blue Note, and Everest.
also has released a
number of classic re-releases.
stocks these also.
●
Music -
DualDisc
A
DualDisc is a 2-sided disc. One side is
a CD and the other is a DVD-Audio.
However there is a caveat that you
should be aware of and that is a
DualDisc is thicker than either a
regular CD or DVD disc. A CD is 1.2mm
thick—as is a DVD disc, whether it be
DVD-Video or DVD-Audio. Whereas a DualDisc is 1.5-1.6mm thick. So there
can be problems playing DualDiscs on
some players. In fact some manufacturers
advise against using DualDiscs on some
models, and in certain cases will void
the warranty on their player if it is
used with a DualDisc. So please check
with the manufacturer of your player
before playing any DualDiscs! To our
knowledge this format is no longer being
supported. However there are some good
recordings available and so you might
wish to check them out.
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