24bit96khz file sound bad?

Out Of Time in 24/192 sounds (to me) to be a bit thin and hazy- almost like it's out of phase. But I don't have a CD to compare it with. As with all recordings regardless of the medium they are presented in, providence is all, and some super dooper special editions and remasters, not to mention HiRes efforts can sound dire compared to "lesser" incarnations because they were messed up by people who should have left well alone. 

I've got some outstanding 24/XX recordings. And I've got some distinctly ordinary ones. And some awful ones. Just like I have with my CD collection and did have with my vinyl. Same old. One day I'll be wise enough to stop salivating at the prospect of buying yet another version of something I could have lived without in the first place. I may be dead by then, of course.

i hear you Harry. it is hard to resist to buy a better version of a piece of content. i am not badly equiped (200, 202, nd5xs, hi cap, naca5, BW804), but as far as i am concerned, it is financially appealing to buy a better file to get a better sound rather than upgrading expensive devices. that is what i was hoping for, but so far my experience is not up to my expectation.

is there a list of songs/files that sound great? this would be a rather subjective list but it could be a start to double check those that do not sound great according to a group of people.

cheers

You like what you like and I wouldn't advocate fishing in waters that may not be to your taste. It used to get on my nerves when dealers would play music I couldn't stand to impress me! So for what it's worth and subjectively, I'll list my top pick:

Aqualung 40th anniversary edition - Jethro Tull. I don't know if you can download it from anywhere.  The DVD-A in the pack needs to be ripped locally. It is, without a doubt in my mind, superb and after forty years of waiting (and despite some good efforts on vinyl and CD) you will hear it properly for the first time.

Days Of Future Passed - Moody Blues. I downloaded from HDTracks in the days before the record labels put the fix in on non US customers. It might be available elsewhere, I don't know. Not only does this album flow with realism and insight, it lets a good HiRes recording play to its strengths because in my (subjective) experience HiRes is particularly good at preserving and resolving more dense and complicated material.

Moving Pictures-  Rush. I know this is well regarded and with justification. Like the two albums above the 24Bit offering is like being introduced to it for the first time. It's also available retail as a CD/DVD-A edition.

Rush also have 24/96 versions of Fly By Nihght, A Farewell To Kings and Signals on sale in their "Sectors" box sets. I rate them all but Fly By Night stands out for me for the separation  detail and realism of the presentation. Their back catalogue on Mercury/Warner was rendered in 24/96 for the Sectors remasterings and I suppose that in time they will be released as HiRes, probably by HDTracks who have an arrangement with Warner. And I expect plebs like me who live in England won't be allowed to download them.

Homecoming - America. Not a big fan here but some of their stuff IMO is classic and timeless. It's a good HiRes offering.

The Stones London Years compilation. It's a very good CD collection but in my opinion the 24Bit offering sounds more life like.

Acthung Baby - U2. No different from the dense and heavy CD version.

Fleetwoot Mac - I think Rumours sounds a bit rough for reasons I can't explain. Tango In The Night IMO sounds better for its 24Bit outing. 

Fragile - Yes. I think the 24bit version actually sounds worse than the Mobile Fidelity 16Bit Gold CD.

Band On The Run - Wings. Loved this album for a time then rapidly went off it. Don't know why. Some time ago, having not heard it for years and no longer owning a copy, I downloaded the 24Bit version because there was a lack of HiRes music and I just wanted to get something. On playing it I discovered that I now like it even less. But the sound quality is fantastic. So maybe those dealers who used to torture me with music I didn't like were on to something after all?!

Something else I have is a 24Bit version of ELO1 which came out this year in a CD/DVD retail pack. I haven't seen many good reviews of it but I love it. It's a rough and dirty effort - always was - but to my ears the 24Bit version gives good insight into the tones and shapes of the instruments and the arrangements.

I also hear from many directions that George Harrison's early versions/work in progress stuff is a HiRes delight. I wouldn't know about that.

All the best

Harry has made some very good observations regarding the quality (or not) of some "Hi-Res downloads".

I've had some hits and misses myself.

Totally agree that days of future passed sounds great, as does Innervisions from Stevie Wonder.

Generally I've found the best quality (perhaps Unsurprisingly) from albums recorded in Hi Res rather then those remastered or the dreaded 'up-sampled' efforts that aren't really Hi-res at all.

Some of those actually recorded in HI-Res are Paul Simon's latest "so beautiful, so what" (96/24) The Dark Knight rises soundtrack (192/24) and the Fleet foxes .........

Mumford and Son's latest 'Babel' (48/24) also sounds very nice but as Harry has mentioned it all depends on what you like.

Interestingly, to my ears anyway, I found Fleetwood Mac's Rumours (96/24) better sounding then Tango in the night (192/24) and Tusk (192/24) both of these in my eyes sounding very bright and no better then CD. I also feel the same about Lionel Richies Can't slow Down. To be honest I'm now avoiding downloading any supposed "Hi Res files from Albums made in the 80's (although I think Tusk was '79!!)

Good luck, when you find a 'proper' Hi Res album, they really do sound fab!

I am one of the people who still can buy from hdtracks. Of course I have bought a few albums in the beginning just because they were 24 bit 96. I have also bought Steely Dan Two against nature just to check if there were any difference in sq. On that recording there is, and the 24 bit version is best.

With new releases I tend to wait a few weeks and see if they show up on hdtracks and buy them in the hope that I get better quality, if not at least the price I pay is less than the usual price for a new release in Denmark or bought from Amazon.

Claus

thank you Harry and Shanbo for sharing you favorite hi-res pieces of content. of course it all on what you like, but i appreciate the list.

anybody else would like to share their best 24bit files? trying to make the best use possible of my nd5xs :-)

cheers

Cara Dillon Live at the grand opera house. It is available from b&W society of sound wich you have to subscribe to. You get one or two new albums to download each month and some of the previous albums can be downloaded when you subscribe. Another interesting feature is that you can download albums in all qualities from mp3 files cd quality files and 24/96 files, meaning you do not have to buy the same album in different formats to compare quality.

Claus

I just bought the hi res Rhino remaster of Crosby, Stills & Nash's self-titled first lp, and we thought it sounded really good (only one listen so far).  HDTracks is selling it presently.  

I just checked and Society of Sound seems like a really good deal -- $60 / year and includes 2 free album downloads each month.

Claus how has the subscription worked out for you?  THANK YOU for this tip!

talking heads!!!!!!!

I know that these may not be to everyone's taste, but if you wish to listen to your NDX or similar at its very best, I suggest, from the Norwegian label 2L.

a) Vivaldi - Bellazza Crudel

b) Mozart Violin Concertos

both in 24/192 from www.2l.no.

They are not cheap, but I have not heard better recordings, ever.

I shot straight over to HDTracks when the announcement hit my Inbox. But unfortunately.....

Something I omitted to mention on the Rush front is that Snakes And Arrows can be obtained in HiRes on DVD and Clockwork Angels is available for download. I can't speak for the latter (although reports are pretty much what I expected). As far as Snakes goes the mixes available are comprehensive and 24Bit resolution does a good job of bring out every aspect of a truly awful recording. Distortion par excellence, accurately and comprehensive presented like the shit it is. Just in case the 16Bit version was unconvincing!

Can I second the recommendation for b & w society of sound. I've been a member for a year and have enjoyed the majority of releases. Cara Dillon was excellent as mentioned above and some of the classicals have been really enjoyable too. Oh and the HD video of bolero is absolutely superb ....every school child should be made to watch it!

They also have a remaster of tubular bells at reduced cost to members. I'm enjoying hearing more instruments than ever before but I'm not sure the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Has anyone else tried it?

MartinC

Martin I can't find it -- I wonder if its not available for download to US customers (?)

Like others I had a hard time finding this download, and I am living in the wrong country to buy it anyway. I wonder why the music industry has not stopped this crazy idea to deny to sell contents to customers who actually wants to pay for it.

http://www.bowers-wilkins.co.u...c/Tubular_Bells.html

Because in the medium to long term they will make more money by price fixing across regions. What you have to remember is that even when you buy music, in the eyes of the labels you are a thief and are killing the industry. Against that kind of mentality there is no hope.

I've listened to several hi-res downloads which have disappointed me by comparison with CD (and of course vinyl). Something doesn't add up (hehe) here.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

I also have a few highres downloads. Yesterday I bought Corelli's Concerti Grossi Opus 6 from Linn Records. The 160 kBit AAC version for the car was very enjoyable (in the car) and only a 25th of the size of the downloaded material which now lies on my NAS and backup. Basically I have sworne to myself not to fall for the highres hype any longer. But with some stuff I simply cannot resist ... not for current listening but in anticipation of future technical solutions; though I doubt that my ears will ever be capable of appreciating the benefits ...