Just starting with high-res music files


I hope this thread is not too repetitive, as Zavato began a similar one just last month, but his was very jazz-specific and rather than try to steer that discussion in a new (and possibly unwelcome) direction, I'd like to get some input on my preferred genres, classical and late 60s rock/folk. Yesterday I downloaded the 11-track sampler from HDTracks.com in  24/96 FLAC format, transferred it to a flash-drive and plugged that directly into my Cambridge Audio 751 BD player. It was a very interesting experience, and what it demonstrated was how different these disparate tracks could sound depending on the original source material. Some of them sounded superb, for example Sonny Rollins' "St. Thomas," which had had real presence and outstanding clarity and definition. By contrast, "Bossy" from JD McPherson's album "Let the Good Times Roll" was simply unlistenable, over-processed and in-your-face. And a few of these tracks were simply average, probably not very different from the 44.1 Khz CD format and in one case, the Ying Quartet playing Schumann, downright unpleasant. I would be grateful if anybody has some suggestions for high-res recordings worth the investment. I'm seriously considering the remastered "Tommy" (The Who), a recording I bought in its initial release all those decades ago and still have. It would be an interesting comparison.
cooper52

Showing 1 response by tdimler

Interesting comment about the Bossy track from JD McPherson.  I had the same experience from the free download.....thinking "Good grief, this isn't much of a sales pitch for HDTracks!"  

Coincidently, I somewhat stumbled into seeing him in concert several months later with no other exposure to his music other than the free download.....and it turned out to be the best show I've ever seen!  Funny enough, the sound was spectacular as well.