Best Hi-Res Audiophile Downloads Top 3

Native DSD's Album of the week is a good place to start

This is a superb recording all around and is one that I can recommend for all jazz fans. Superb musicianship and just fantastic sound.

highly recommended!

https://www.nativedsd.com/product/imp7002dxd-clique/

The new Carmen Gomes download Ray! is really very very good, music as well as sound.  Following the Arch Manifest, (wherever that came from, but nonetheless quite an interesting concept); 

Each recording starts and ends with the main artist alone in the hall the only interplay being the acoustics of the hall and his own mind. No audience is present except the ghosts from the past. When the band enters the music must create an Arch, going from the single instrument performance  to the more complex band performance and back to the last solo performance. The same principle goes for the engineering; each recording starts out with only one microphone (stereo). As the music gains in complexity more microphones may be deployed, the only limit being the imagination and technical skills of the recording engineer.

it is well recorded. Maybe less ''pure'' compared to the Sound Liaison but it is a classic and probably the best live recording of a rock band.

I have heard that Eagles album on practical every audio show I have gone to. So there must be something there.

Eagles;https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/hotel-california-eagles/0603497922888

Any rock?

ozzy

excellent

The new   Patricia Barber album; Clique, is really well recorded and played. Highly recommended.

That sampler is excellent if you want an album to see what audiophile is all about. Even if you don't believe in audiophile it is a must have, so you know what you are missing. And the music is superb.

The https://soundliaison.bandcamp.com/album/the-visual-sound-the-sound-liaison-dxd-music-sampler-24bit-192khz-version
(or in 352)
https://www.soundliaison.com/index.php/536-sound-liaison-dxd-music-sampler
had a great review;

....have managed to strike a balance between intimacy of the performance and the soundstage in the big way, better than numerous other albums on which the sound engineers have tried the same! Really well done. This is a superb recording in every respect: tonal balance, timing, spatial delineation etc. And it’s a pleasure to listen to!

No Spotify, no Tidal

Note that the albums by the Sound Liaision are not available on streaming services such as Spotify and Tidal. Why? Here’s the explanation: “Because the audio quality on these streaming sites is simply not good enough, and the music of the Sound Liaison does not fit the spotify mould where the chorus of a song tends to start within 15-30 seconds. And last but not least, we want to pay our artists their fair share of the profits being made.”

The whole Sound Liaison collection is now available in 24/96 FLAC on BandCamp; link; https://soundliaison.bandcamp.com/http://

Sound Liaison are having a stacking sale at the moment. Great chance to ad to the collection. Tip start with the ''One Mic" recordings. 

Talking about Sound Liaison getting good reviews. Check this one!
https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/sound-liaison-one-mic-recording-r957/

This is some of the best sounding drum sound I have ever heard on a recording. Very dynamic and not reserved. The sound of the double bass is full, rich and powerful where needed but with no hint of bloat. And the guitar.....It is clear and reverberant. Naturally, not with added reverb. Of course, the vocals are captured beautifully. Carmen is right there in front of you. This recording doesn’t take you to the recording studio. Even better, it brings the recording studio to your listening room. Very few studio recordings do this. The drums to the left, Carmen in the middle in front of the instruments and the bass just to the right of her and the guitar to the right side of the soundstage. The sound is totally three dimensional. You almost feel like you can reach out and touch everyone. The sound is totally open with natural decay and depth. It is stunning. It really is. No hyperbole.

The album is on introduction sale for few days more;
https://www.soundliaison.com/index.php/677-up-jumped-the-devil-carmen-gomes-inc

fine jazz trio on Native DSD with flugel horn specialist Angelo Verplugen. 20% of this week. Well recorded too.https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/jazz-flugelhorn-recorded-by-the-nativedsd-team/

Check this!
https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/sound-liaison-one-mic-recording-r957/

Good review.
I only want to ad that the Sound Liaison recordings sound beautiful as well as realistic. 

Superb review of "https://www.soundliaison.com/index.php/536-sound-liaison-dxd-music-sampler "'
by Gary Galo from AUDIO EXPRESS
https://audioxpress.com/article/recording-review-taking-a-listen-to-sound-liaison-s-dxd-music-sampler

The Verdict

There are some audio enthusiasts who claim that high-resolution digital recordings offer no audible improvement over conventional Red Book CDs. I could not disagree more, but what about 96 kHz vs. DXD at 352.8 kHz? I found the 96 kHz files to be excellent, but by comparison the 352.8 kHz originals have a bit more air and space in the sound, even with my OPPO player down-sampling them to 176.4 kHz. The DSD comparisons are interesting. I found the DSD files to be a bit “warmer” but I could not help wondering if there’s some sort of euphonic coloration going in the conversion process. At times, I felt that the DSD files had a slightly larger and more precise stereo image. That may seem strange, but I can only report what I heard. It’s possible that my reactions to the warmth and the imaging are due to the simpler analog filtering in DSD playback.

Sound Liason’s DXD sampler, The Visual Sound, offers some of the most realistic sounding recordings I’ve heard, in enjoyable selections performed by excellent musicians. Most of the music on this sampler is decidedly laid-back, and audiophiles looking for an in-your-face sonic spectacular will likely miss the point. For engineer Frans de Rond and the excellent musicians heard on these recordings, it’s all about subtlety and refinement. Musically perceptive listeners will appreciate the efforts of all involved in making these fine recordings. aX


This article was originally published in audioXpress, August 2020.

Thanks Kefas.
Very interesting article.

The Sound Liaison label has a sale on this week. All albums 20% off with the coupon code; RAINBOWS

Interesting about the original one point stereo recordings;
https://www.stereophile.com/content/fine-art-mercury-living-presence-recordings

And they just released one more. This time with superb low end and perfect sound stage. These ''one mic recordings'' are superior to any other audiophile recordings I have ever heard.
https://www.soundliaison.com/index.php/577-braskiri-live-at-mco

[img]https://www.soundliaison.com/images/Braskiri300shadow.jpg[/img]

Native DSD best album award 2019 has 2 of the https://www.soundliaison.com/ albums mentioned above, winning in the categories best vocal and best world music album.
Both are a ''One Mic Recordings'' meaning that they are completely phase coherent and with superb imaging. I think they are must haves for audiophiles. It's wonderful music played by superb musicians and I can't think of better recordings to test or show off my system.

Thanks very much my best to you fyn….

Here is one more;
Bach On The Lute

The first in a series of four must-have recordings exploring the lute music of J.S. Bach.

The benchmark against which other Baroque lute recordings are measured, this Nigel North's Bach series remains popular. North applies his encyclopaedic knowledge and instinctive flair for the lute, to the transcriptions and arrangements of works for violin and cello by J.S. Bach, a practice started by the composer himself who frequently re-scored existing pieces if a work for lute was required. The Violin Sonatas and Partitas, renowned for their technical difficulties and requirement for depth of musical expression, are beautifully rediscovered. North sensitively presents a distinctive orchestration of these pieces which intriguingly emphasizes the subtle Italian influence of these works.

https://www.linnrecords.com/recording-bach-lute-volume-1

The best Lute cd sound ever recorded to my knowing with a french lute repertoire of the highest order and one of the best audiophile recording I know of by itself...If you know some better recording than that please tell me... The youtube address is only a guide, dont listen to it there …

You will listen the subtle " spiralling harmonics of each note" and this is an infinite pleasure,no other recording can make that so audible...

If your system is very good you will not be able to listen any other cd for a while...If you dont hear the "spiralling harmonics of each note" the level of noise in your system is too high, or your system need serious upgrading...

Rolf Lislevand "la belle homicide"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKuEBKPxvh0&t=93s

Check the new DXD sampler from Sound Liaison as well.
Especially the One Microphone recordings are very impressive.
Ideal for speaker placement:
https://www.soundliaison.com/index.php/536-sound-liaison-dxd-music-samplerhttp://

The new One Microphone recording with
Reinier Voet&Pigalle44 https://www.soundliaison.com/index.php/515-reinier-voet-ballade-pour-la-nuithttp://
 has received a five star review in Audiophile Style;
"These guys and this recording just rocks. Pace, rhythm, tone and soundstage are just off the charts. The precise placement of all four of the musicians perfectly matches the photos of the sessions. The balance of all four instruments is darn near perfect. As you can no doubt tell, I am a huge fan of this recording. It is one of the best in terms of recording quality I have ever heard."

Highly recommended indeed.

Fine Chesky album here;https://www.hdtracks.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=wycliffe+gordonhttp://

Binaural recording.

At least as good or from an audiophile standpoint maybe even better;
The Feenbrothers plays Brubeck one mic recording.
It is the perfect speaker placement recording;https://www.soundliaison.com/

Get Carmen Gomes’ new one mic recording.
unbelievable. Even on you tube it sounds good;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DypP5GnMakQ

Great tribute album to Joni Mitchell and well recorded too!

http://www.hdtracks.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Herbie+Hancock+-+River+-+The+Joni+Lettershttp://

Hi   jaybe what is in your opinion an A grade artist with A grade material?

Hi Milan60
this should work http://www.2l.no/

You gotta be kiddin' ''B-grade material'', well it's a free world with free speech, but..... hey... jaybe what is in your opinion an A grade artist with A grade material?

The Carmen Gomes albums are available in redbook CD via Bandcamp as well.
https://carmengomes.bandcamp.com/

excellent

Hi Kefas 
the link doesn't work. Which album do you mean?

Here is a very good 2L recording
highly recommended;
https://shop.klicktrack.com/image/93C77A2C1D53D9DF29949712D84C6AFF-39E078111BFF-00.jpg/large?type=re...

The 2 latest albums are on special offer at the moment.
Superb DXD recordings available in DSD and Flac and of course in DXD.
Highly recommended;

The Enghave Barok 2nd edition.
Excellent recording and SQ. And it is a nice that they included a stage map with the download, enhances the listening experience.
There is still 2 days left of the introduction price of 10 $/euro.
https://www.soundliaison.com/studio-masters/254-bach-live-edition-2

I think the Doug MacLeod download  will be exactly the same on hd tracks as on reference. No difference.

The new DXD downloads from Sound Liaison,https://www.soundliaison.com/ are stunning.
’’Carmen Gomes Sings the Blues’’ is destined to become a classic.
Very impressive SQ and sound stage.
[video]https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=a+fool+for+you+carmen+gomes[/video]

milan60, I noticed that Doug MacLeod album is also available on HDTracks in the same resolution... would there be a sound quality difference between the 2 web stores ? not talking resolution but maybe more warmth / musical / .... just better  ...  anyone can answer.... thanks

New Doug MacLeod album ’’Break the Chain’’, out now! https://referencerecordings.com/now-available-doug-macleod-break-the-chain/http://  K. Johnson recording.

Calloways suggestion; https://www.primephonic.com/http://
has several note worthy albums.
Thanks!

The Sound Liaison albums are on sale this month.
You have to fill in the coupon code ''indian summer'' to get a 33% reduction.

But the tape version has been made following a pure analog signal chain while the DXD has gone straight into the computer.
The DXD sounds good to me.
There is a free sampler as well on the Sound Liaison site where one can compare the different formats.

A friend of mine was there and heard the tape in the Nagra room.
He found it very impressive. Says the DSD 256 digital download has the same kind of warmth.