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Warning about "so called Hi Rez" downloads

I have been downloading for awhile with several
brands such HDdown loads and I can tell you first hand that the majority of them are not Master recording
and just remastred such as the Doors first album ,it sounds more smooth on a hirez cd ,I found several songs tipped up in the upper octaves,Luck for me My Ayon Dac
is all Vacuum tube. Also I wrote to the company 3 times and went on deaf ears where one guy spent $3k on downloads so he gave him a replacement down load or two .But myself received -0 because I spent only a few hundred .Everyone has a seperate account under their name with all your credit card details on file ,In two seperate cases I heard about others credit cards numbers being stolen .I will not say which companies ,yes more than one .These companies
should have accountability .I never see a money back, or replacement guarantee anywhere .That tells me they could care less they just want your hard earned money
for $18-$25 a download that is a big risk .For the time being by a reference recording or even a lot of classics
reissued in their original Master recordings .
Just a little advise unless they offer some guarantee .You will be in a hit or miss proposition .I have over 30 down loads and at least 6 are no better than their cd counterparts that is 20% and I have over $35k in electronics so my system has nothing to do as to
the download playback problem. Best of luck ,
and happy listening.
128x128audioman58
4 responses Add your response
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,428 posts
 
Audioman58, How can they offer money back guarantee? On your word of honor that you deleted download? I buy a lot of things on internet and never had a problem but my daughter had her credit card numbers stolen. She's not sure how it happened - it could be internet but it could be hacked grocery store computer as well, or if somebody took snapshot of her credit card. Credit card company voided charges, since she never authorized them, and issued new credit card. One cannot be too careful but at the end it is more of the credit card company problem.

According to few posts on Audiogon, many hi-res downloads are in reality redbook CDs upsampled to higher resolution and sample rate. I'm not surprised since companies are most likely reluctant to release 24/192 masters without any protection, while fighting music piracy at the same time.
Post removed 
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,197 posts
 
Companies offering high res downloads for premium prices should provide more information about how the product was mastered. Target file format resolution alone means nothing. IT can be mostly filler, like bad hamburger. To not even attempt to do this is suspicious. At this stage, I would likely still be skeptical in that saying something does not necessarily mean it is true. I would want some kind of certification from an trusted source. I know of no such reliable authentication mechanism for this out there today unfortunately.

When HiFI records first came out in the 50s, serious record companies went out of their way at first to promote the sound quality and actually explain what went into creating the superior sound of their products. How times have changed!
audioman58's avatar
audioman58 OP
4,134 posts
 
Very good points that for sure there should be a specific certification
As to the own loads quality such as a half speed master tape.
Also HD down loads works under a double standard where one guy that
Spent over $ 1,000 on down loads was given free downloads if a recording was not better than a standard cd ,which it should be for all,
Butis not . I have spent several hundreds of dollars with them and the Doors first album I downloaded 24/96 was not even as good as the current cd version.i wrote to HD download several times and not even the courtesy
Of a email. Purchase at our own risk ,until there are some guarantees
Of their audio quality.
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