DizRotus Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 (edited) Would others also be interested in a thread dedicated to recommendations of excellent digital downloads?Not all hi-res files are created equal. The original recording and performance are still paramount. While I like to purchase the the highest resolution FLAC file available (digital storage is cheap), a max-res file of a poor master, or remaster, of a poor recording of a poor performance is worse than an excellent master that is only available in 16/44. It's great to download an excellent file, but it's disappointing to download mediocrity. I can't recall the source of each, but most are from HDtracks (HDT) or Pono Music Store (PMS). Other sources are High Definition Tape Transfers, LINN, Loudr and many free online sources discoverable through a Google Search.In no particular order, I'll mention a few that did not disappoint:Time Out, Dave Brubeck, HDT;Kind of Blue, Miles Davis, PMSUnplugged, Eric Clapton, PMS;Waltz For Debby, Bill Evans, HDT;Moondance, Van Morrison, PMS;Something, Mike Masse, Loudr; andKlipsch Tapes Vols. I & II, High Definition Tape TransfersIf such a thread already exists, please point me to it. A search did not find one. The closest I found is the excellent thread started by Chris A, The Missing Octave(s) . . . (https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/155096-the-missing-octaves-audacity-remastering-to-restore-tracks/).On a related note, perhaps it's time to have a forum dedicated to digital sources. As I stated in Mallette's, Top Ten Reasons . . . . thread (https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/159903-top-ten-reasons-to-be-a-klipsch-forum-member/), this is the best audio forum, I value the opinions of MOST of the contributors here. Edited November 21, 2015 by DizRotus 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Good Idea, Neil. I know of no threads specifically on that subject. Those are particularly good download recommendations, too, of the ones that I'm familiar with. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted November 20, 2015 Author Share Posted November 20, 2015 (edited) Chris- You'll note I did not include "Rumours" although I enjoy it, the quality is below that of the others. I frequently consult the Dynamic Range Data Base linked (http://dr.loudness-war.info/) in your thread to avoid compressed versions. Edited November 21, 2015 by DizRotus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Black Sabbath's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is also a good download 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 Chris- You probably explained this in your "Loudness War . . . " thread, but it would be of interest here also. Who compiled the Dynamic Range Data Base and how is it best interpreted? I notice it's not arranged alphabetically and doesn't appear to be sorted by dynamic range. I scroll through it looking for downloads with green scores. I find searching by artist and album to be useful. Why are so many sources shown as "unknown? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Good idea... definitely not created equal. Limited to downloads or all digital media? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 I like it. If I am going to purchase and album, I check the DR database to verify that the source dynamic range is there. One thing that would be great, if we a had search feature, that we could search for specific albums, artist, etc... to verify that the download is indeed a good one. That would keep us from having to dig through all the post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 (edited) Good idea... definitely not created equal. Limited to downloads or all digital media? I'd say all digital media. The Dynamic Range Data Base identifies many digital media. I would like to know which digital acquisitions others like and those in which they were disappointed. Edited November 21, 2015 by DizRotus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 (edited) Who compiled the Dynamic Range Data Base and how is it best interpreted? I notice it's not arranged alphabetically and doesn't appear to be sorted by dynamic range... Why are so many sources shown as "unknown? The DR Database was initiated by Ian Shepherd in early 2011, and has been growing ever since as a crowdsourced database of dynamic range ratings for albums (including digitized vinyl). There are no opinions involved with the ratings, rather the results are calculated via the offline TT Loudness Meter or the Dynamic Range Meter plugin for foobar2000. There is a "Dynamic Range Day" in late March every year to raise awareness of the dynamic range problems in stereo recordings, and to give awards to those recordings of the year that retain their dynamic range without succumbing to the "Loudness War". The "unknown" sources in the database are due to a more recent change in the database structure that allows the users that are inputting dynamic range meter results to record what kind of source that was used to calculate the results. Also, any database records that were produced before about 2014 didn't have the field available, so when the database was updated to include it, if the authors didn't go back themselves and select the sources for each database record, the default is "unknown" until the field is set. Many people simply ignore the extra fields in the database records when inputting their dynamic range data records, which is actually a shame since most of the important applicability information is involved with those fields. It's pretty easy to sort on the column headers for the displayed database record fields and to add more filters - like artist name or album name to narrow the searches. It's actually fairly useful because of those sorting abilities. I use it a great deal myself for all music tracks that I'm thinking of investing in. I also find that the vinyl and mp3 albums are calculated to be 2-4 ratings points higher than the typical CD, download, or SACD/DVD-A sources, indicating issues with the offline TT Meter or Dynamic Range Meter in foobar2000 use on those sources; I usually ignore those records because of those issues. Here is a YouTube video by Ian Shepherd that explains the issue with vinyl - which is a real eye-opener for that medium. Highly recommended: Chris Edited November 21, 2015 by Chris A 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 Chris, Thank you for the very informative reply. I too consult the DRDB prior to making most digital downloads. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincymat Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Neil, What is the PMS music service you refer to as a source of some of the music? Pono? I almost always check the DR Database before purchasing any music. Thanks, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 Mark- PMS stands for Pono Music Store (at least in this thread). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 I am well into my Sunday morning high res 5.1 re-mixes! All are very good... some better than others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyOwn Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I would love this. Question, Is there any difference in quality of say Queen Night at the Opera from HDtracks or Acoustic Sounds. Both offer 96/24 sample rate 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) My guess is no. IMO, more important than the source, the format or the bit rate is the quality of the master from which the digtal file was derived. My experience is that I can perceive no SQ difference between files from Pono or HDtracks. Edited December 20, 2015 by DizRotus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyOwn Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 So basically different stores offering the same thing in flac, aiff, alac, wav or DSD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 On December 20, 2015 at 11:23 AM, Steve_S said: So basically different stores offering the same thing in flac, aiff, alac, wav or DSD? Yes, that's how I see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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