Recommended Download Sites
Posted by: Dougie on 23 October 2015
I have had my NDX now for around a month but still find myself buying cd's and ripping them. Could I please ask what web sites people have used and would recommend for downloading music. This takes into account quality of downloads and cost.
Hyperion direct.
eClassical.
... This takes into account quality of downloads and cost.
Bandcamp I find best for bargains, also Boomkat (although their new site look is awful) undercut CD prices. You really need to be specific about genre etc. as many sites are 'specialist'.
Quite a few albums ive bought recently have been half the price of Qobuz downloads if bought as a CD via an Amazon reseller. I'd much rather get the download to avoid needing to store the cd, but I'm not paying twice the price. It seems odd that the cd, including the box, packing and postage, can still be half the price of a download, which is just bits sent down a wire.
hdtracks
linn records
presto classical
acoustic sounds
find hd music (to look for something in many sites)
Quite a few albums ive bought recently have been half the price of Qobuz downloads if bought as a CD via an Amazon reseller. I'd much rather get the download to avoid needing to store the cd, but I'm not paying twice the price. It seems odd that the cd, including the box, packing and postage, can still be half the price of a download, which is just bits sent down a wire.
I definitely agree with this. Zoverstocks a good seller on Amazon that tend to be cheap and very reliable, Dodax too. I have bought CDs from Amazon UK that shipped from the USA and were still significantly cheaper than a download equivalent. Seems to me that downloads are costing about the same or more then 12 months ago but some CDs are falling in price especially a few months after release. A trend that may continue?
For downloads Qobuz is now my go to page. Great selection, lots in High-Res if you want, functionality is fine but pricing is so-so especially on new releases. 7digital is also OK and sometimes they can be significantly cheaper, although such offers don't always last long and seem a bit random so I just check in occasionally. They do a fair choice of high res versions plus CD quality (and MP3 if that is your poison!). Not sure that their classical selection is up to much.
Bandcamp is a great resource for bargains and just fun variety, I'll have a browse through every week or so and see what takes my fancy. I have found quite a bit of new music this way. Great you can mostly listen to albums in full before buying. I don't think they ever sell high-res? Website functionality is good too.
Bruce
I'm stiill buying cd's too despite having a uniti serve since they first come out......
i have used high res audio when I have downloaded - must get more into it as HH says cd's are a pain to store.
Gary
Quite a few albums ive bought recently have been half the price of Qobuz downloads if bought as a CD via an Amazon reseller. I'd much rather get the download to avoid needing to store the cd, but I'm not paying twice the price. It seems odd that the cd, including the box, packing and postage, can still be half the price of a download, which is just bits sent down a wire.
I have had similar experience with Qobuz, but also some super bargains, e.g. certain Bear Family boxsets. Also, some great bargains can be found in 2nd hand physical media market. I would say that this year I have shifted to almost 90% download / streaming for new music. Very happy that Qobuz integrates with Audirvana, even if still in beta.
Thank you all for your advise, I will investigate some of the sites over the weekend.
Another option is perhaps a steaming service such as TIDAL (if your content with CD quality and not hung up on having something tangible such as a download)
Hopefully at some point in the future TIDAL will offer HD streaming
track.technics dot com
(not sure if i can put the correct address in so didn't want to breach any conditions)
a lot of HD/hi res stuff at competitive rates vs other sites of a similar kind
enjoy
This a good place to find high res downloads, both PCM & DSD, search by Alum, Artist, Label, Genre, each album has links to the individual vendors that carry it & also if not available as high res it shows were to go to get non-high res .......... NB the USA locations cannot be accessed from Europe due to regional restrictions.