I need to get demonstration quality recordings (downloads and/or disks) fairly quickly. Music that would specifically demonstrate the hi-rez capability of the PWD/T combo.
I know that some suggestions were made in this forum elsewhere, but thought I could narrow it down to tell you what I/my friends like in specific and then perhaps I can get a few suggestions?
Female vocal: I like Norah Jones, Carol Kidd, Barb Jungr, Sara K and Diana Krall.
Solo Piano: Lots especially from the Windham Hill label (george Winston etc).
Acoustic guitar, guitar recitals
Male vocal such as Cris Isaac and Eric Bibb
If possible, a single source such as Amazon would help. And, of course, I don’t mind paying for good stuff.
You can download the whole album ($40), or per song ($3) and you will have a perfect demonstration set. You can listen to the tracks before you buy.
What make BlueCoast Records recordings so good is not only that it is 24/96 recording, but first of all the recording itself is done with a lot of attention : special microphone, special silver cables, special technique,...
I like especially the guitar sound and the female voices. Awesome. It pretty much fits what you like so you can start with that one. Then you will find other downloadable stuff there. But not that much… it is rather restricted unfortunately.
There are also two free downloadable tracks (see in the main menu bar). If you like guitar you will be amazed.
I am curious to hear you feed-back.
I am also interested in new ideas and I hope other lots of other ideas will come in.
Thanks, Dave! I’ve already paid via PayPal; downloaded but will only be able to test it tomorrow evening (it’s already 22:00 in my country and I still have a few PC’s to assemble ...
You should also download the three (not two as I said above) free downloads (guitar) on BlueCoastRecords
About voices, you can also try
“The World’s Greatest Audiophile Vocal Recordings (96/24) - Various Artists”
From HDTracks (it is their best seller at the moment).
If you want to buy just one song from this record, I would recommend “Isn’t she lovely”. It’s definitely not Chris Isaac (which I like very much as you do), and not my everyday style. But if you want to show off or demonstrate a system, it is very efficient (play it at a good volume). Really amazing through a decent system.
I just listened to the last track (#12) for the 1st time throughout. I was 100% sure the song was done, so I took the disk out, turned around & walked back to my chair.
Turned out it wasn’t finished, and I’d forgotten the PWT is a memory player. I almost sh@t my pants when I heard this voice whispering from behind!
I see exactly what you mean !! I had the same kind of surprise.
Funny ! When this track was online for the first time, the whispering voice was only in the preview version on the website - Not in the actual downloadable track because their first idea (at Blue Coast) was that the blank space before the whispering voice would be seen as a waste of data by the client, not worth keeping. But I liked it very much because I had the same surprise as you when listening to the preview in the dark on late evening. I asked them (Cookie Marenco) if I could get the full version. They were kind enough to send it to me. I am very happy to see that they also replaced the previous downloadable track with the full version.
And I am soooo happy to see that you were as surprised as I was.
This is something you can scare your friends with - especially in the circonstances that happened to you, with the disc removed. This must definitely been worth seeing I guess.
Paul, do you or anyone else in the forum have any evidence if or when we will see high-res downloads from any of the major recording studios? Also, it is obvious that HDTracks and BlueCoast Records are offering most of their files only in 24/96 sampling rates instead of 176 or 192/24 formats. Is this another attempt by the recording companies to restrict access to true master tape quality and will this end up being the “coin of the realm” format do you reckon?
I know of some big upcoming releases, but agreements with labels preclude me from offering any additional information.
While I’d prefer to see more 24/192 it seems many record labels and recording engineers think 24/96 provides the same perceived performance as does 24/192. I guess they don’t own Perfect Waves
I am with Ryan on this one. It’s easy to get impatient but it’ll happen. Record labels start to see profits from re-releasing product and they will make this happen. Remember, there aren’t many devices like the PWT that can play it.
Ayre and Wavelength’s boxes can do 96kHz in asynchronous USB - but these are only good sounding stop gaps until the real high res can ship and start to be viable. Once more companies get moving on 192kHz and disconnect from the computer, you’ll start to see more labels releasing product.
Think of it as high def audio - and then remember how long it took for high def TV to get established. It’ll happen, we’re right on the cutting edge of something very exciting.
Has anyone visited the new Rhino.com and downloaded lossless versions of albums or songs? They have done a tremendous job with their website and music catalog. I think they will set a new precedent and perhaps business model for providing music downloads. They have Apple Lossless, FLAC, and WMA available and even upfront explanations regarding the differences between the different formats with more in depth literature available at the click of a button. Even their MP3 downloads are at a higher bitrate than iTunes and other similar sites. I have yet to download anything because I’m just discovering it all while at work, but I will be trying it all out as soon as I get home tonight. Check it out!
Computer Audiophile has been looking quite closely at the Rhino website and they have found major problems and a management team totally unresponsive to customer problems. Their very recent findings seem quite at odds with yours. Maybe they have revised their website (today maybe). I guess we can all check it out for ourselves and report back to this discussion forum.
I am relatively new to the download side of audio. I’ve stuck with CD’s and vinyl because the digital download movement has been a joke in regards to quality. I’d thought that the industry had gotten much better than where it currently is, but it hasn’t. Now that I’ve purchased a new computer with faster processors, more storage space, and Windows 7, I’m thinking more about setting up a digital file based audio system as has been discussed extensively on these discussion board threads. I have taken a look at what is out there and frankly it’s disappointing to see so little available that is hi-rez uncompressed. Most of what is available as lossless isn’t what I would listen to. I frankly wouldn’t purchase these lossless music downloads just because they are lossless. I want the music I like that I’ve bought on CD and on vinyl. That’s not to say that I won’t give new unknown artists on these boutique sites a try, it’s just that I’m very picky and want what I want.
With that said, I’ve downloaded two songs from Rhino.com. I didn’t have any problems with the sites functionality except for when I was searching the database. That aspect certainly needs more work. The downloading set-up and process was quick and easy. I chose Apple lossless and what I got is the following for each song:
Bit Rate: 1411kbps
Sample Rate: 44.1khz
Sample Size: 16 bit
From that information I gather that it is a lossless copy of the CD. So, it’s not really lossless, but I’m quite happy that somebody has finally taken the step toward releasing mainstream artists and their music as digital downloads that are as good of quality as a CD. Considering that the step backward from that point is MP3, which is so deep you’d fall on your head hard enough to give yourself a concussion, I’m willing to be patient and let the real lossless versions come later down the road as the technology and demand aligns. It’ll certainly give me something to look forward to. Until then, I hope that Rhino Records’ model pushes other companies to do the same or better. Considering that they are open to suggestions as the companies’ site is being built-up, I would say that they are even further ahead of these mega-sites like iTunes and Napster. I support the companies’ efforts and have let them know it.
Agreed. What they are doing is terrific and I am sure there are some growing pains and they perhaps aren’t as responsive as they should be but give them time - the future of all music is in the downloads and access to libraries “in the sky” so you’re just starting to see the future unfolding. This is really exciting stuff.
I love it! Thanks guys.
