Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Studio Quality HD Downloads - Classical

Now this seems to be a really good way to get great quality classical music downloads.

Studio Quality HD Downloads

I quote from the link:

"... Studio Quality (HD) FLACs retain the higher definition of the files used by the sound engineers in the mastering process itself - hence the name."

The HD downloads will usually be 24/96 but other bit depths and sampling rates exist, such as 24/192.

I hope to soon hear some reviews of these downloads, and better still comparing them to the CD of the same recording. Unfortunately I am temporarily unable to download and listen.

Some pretty fancy prices on there!

Rip Off, in my eyes (ears?).

Just a sample at random :-

Bach, J S: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1
MP3 (320 kbps) �11.66
CD Quality FLAC (lossless, 44.1 kHz, 16 bit) �14.58
Studio Quality FLAC (lossless, 96 kHz, 24 bit) �20.43

Yeah, let me think about that a minute. All the lossless downloads are actually MORE expensive than the actual CD.

And they wonder why HiRez never takes off.

Cheers
Greg

I expect HiRez downloads to cost more than CDs due to the superior quality content which is, after all, what we're really acquiring. The CD manufacturing and distribution costs aren't relevant.

Do I want the expensive wine in the cheap bottle or the cheap wine in the expensive bottle? Let me think for a moment...

That having been said, �20 is more than I'd be willing to pay. Halve all the prices and everything looks about right.

Duncan

I agree. That might seem unfair to the artists, but IMO there is far more music out there these days, as a result of the Internet, so more artists are essentially competing amongst themselves for the same pot of consumer money. IMHO.

I too was surprised at the high cost of the download of the studio quality HD version.

What price quality? After all, we buy very expensive Meridian equipment, which is in some cases more than x1000 times the cost of one download. Similarly we may spend a lot of money on, for example, cables. Many of us search for that extra quality sound. This may be one way to get it, at least for some of our favorite recordings that we have heard are very well recorded.

When I am able to I will download a HD recording and determine its worth. It may mean that I will not go ahead with my plans to upgrade some of my cables.

So I still hope to see some reviews here of these downloads, and especially with a comparison to the CD of the same recording.

Don't get me started...

I'd love to here from someone more involved in the business than I ever will be to chime in here. Ludwig, got any thoughts?
Surely modern recording and mastering equipment is 96/24 at the very least. So if the material is already at that quality, why arent people who want MP3's charged more for the extra processing required to convert down to that quality.

Don't get me wrong, something like the HiRez 'Kind of Blue' release recently genuinely deserved the price premium. That was something that added genuine value, not just some marketing spin. But for standard recordings, I really can't see much justification for the the price differential. And it simply puts people off buying, so volume is lower, so it never really takes off etc. etc.

As long as these companies see high res as a cash cow, and not just another distribution format, I don.t see any hope that the format will succeed.

And as I've said before on this forum, what Meridian have managed to do with red book CD in terms of AQ means I'm happy to stick with standard res given the price hike that anything higher res entails.

Cheers
Greg

I agree with you Greg
Investment in Meridian technology/gear is sufficient. I have no interest in paying more, especially for something I already own, for IMHO a very marginal improvement in AQ.
I would rather spend the money on more new music.
Hector

If Pono marketplace and others enter the market, then I would think the volume would go up, and prices eventually go down... I also don't generally pay more than for a CD quality, for things like Kind of Blue, Pet Sounds (in my fav 25 or 50, perhaps) I don't mind paying extra.

I can't get away from the nagging feeling I'm buying virtually nothing when I buy downloads. I still like buying physical CD's, Blu Rays and DVDs and it bums me out when I see all the CD shops out of business.

It is the basic "Hunter Gatherer Instinct" ingrained in us all for many thousands of years that still supports this behaviour. Thank god many "Farmers" are producing original new material to sustain our appetite for new experiences.
Hector