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Is HDtracks really selling you Hi-Rez music?

I just purchased Santana Abraxas in 176KHz 24 bit resolution from HDTracks that has just been released this week. It was uploaded in AIFF format.

I purchased the 1998 remastered CD which I uploaded in AIFF format in ITunes for comparison and what a disappointment the HDTracks download was. I could not hear any difference between the 2 versions. Seems that the original master tape was not of great quality to start with. I had the same experience with Beach House 'Bloom' hi-rez download for which I previously purchased the CD version as well.

On the other hand I downloaded great hi-Rez albums from HDTracks which were like having the original master under hand. A good example is Kenny Burrell's 'Midnigth Blue' hi-Rez download that just kills the remastered CD version.

It would be great if HDTracks would publish purchaser's review of their downloads like Amazon.com. This would avoid audiophiles paying top dollars for poor quality downloads. I am really annoyed and feel I was screwed by HDTracks! Any similar experiments?
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Showing 1 response by sgr

sgr's avatar
sgr
689 posts
 
This is an ongoing problem with HD Tracks. Quality control is an issue. I don't think they state anywhere that the recordings are all newly remastered by HD Tracks, remastered by the recording artist or companty, or just upsampled.

But I think HD Tracks should make this clear when they advertise new material. I would be more confident and tempted to make purchases.

However, remastering, upsampling, etc, are all limited to how well the recording was done in the first place. Quality varies dramatically from artist and recording studio dramatically no matter what the format be it LP, 45,
8 track, cassette, CD, SACD, Bluray, DVD Audio, DSD, or download. The magic is in the recording studio, not the format.
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