View Full Version : Downloading FLAC or WAV music tracks
Where can I buy and download music tracks in a lossless format such as FLAC or WAV?
Stratmangler
02-02-2017, 12:42
CD Baby
HD Tracks
Qobuz (is Qobuz still operating?)
Where can I buy and download music tracks in a lossless format such as FLAC or WAV?
It's cheaper to buy the CDs second-hand and rip them. Best of both worlds. ;)
CD Baby
HD Tracks
Qobuz (is Qobuz still operating?)
Thanks,
First two have a very limited library, and Qobuz is better but still not got the track I want - It seems that the way to search is tracks labelled CD quality.
HackneyRF
02-02-2017, 13:06
Give boomkat a go?
https://boomkat.com/
What track are you looking for Chris?
Give boomkat a go?
https://boomkat.com/
What track are you looking for Chris?
The wife's fallen in love with a track by Nell Brysen called The Olive Tree off her new album Bloom. I thought if she was going to pay for it then CD quality beats MP3 by a long way.
Bigman80
02-02-2017, 14:08
Ponos had a few really high quality tracks added recently I think.
Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk
These sites certainly provide FLAC and WAV amongst other formats.
https://tracks.technics.com/GB/
https://www.7digital.com/
I think the above two maybe one and the same though there are one or two slight differences come up now and again.
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/hd_downloads.php?search=yes&composer=&work=&performer=the+russian+state+symphony+capella&label=&cat=
https://onkyomusic.com/
http://www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/Society_of_Sound/Society_of_Sound/Music/download-lossless-sound.html
http://bluecoastrecords.com/home
https://www.promates.com/music-store/
https://www.highresaudio.com/en
http://www.eclassical.com/
Cheers,
Jim.
Doing a little search, none of those sites I listed have her latest album!
(Her name is Bryden not Brysen BTW).
Might have to be the CD and rip it as others have suggested. :-(
Thanks good people. This is a decent reference section for buying CD quality music.
Linn are another good source, but they have a limited range: http://www.linnrecords.com
I'd also second the suggestions of Qobuz (http://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/shop) (all music) and Presto Classical (http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk) (Classical mostly) both of whom provide excellent service IMO
The two advantages of Downloads are:
1. Availability of better than CD quality recordings. For example, 24-bit FLAC and DSD
2. Convenience, you can download an album and be playing it in about 10 minutes. Buying and ripping a CD takes a lot longer.
The two advantages of Downloads are:
1. Availability of better than CD quality recordings. For example, 24-bit FLAC and DSD
2. Convenience, you can download an album and be playing it in about 10 minutes. Buying and ripping a CD takes a lot longer.
Point 1 is debatable...;)
As for point 2 it takes about 3 mins to rip a CD with DBpoweramp, and you have the art work, sleeve notes, and a physical backup...as someone mentioned earlier BOBWs :cool:
Yeah, i rip with jriver and its 3to5 mins a disc..maybe less. EAC can take longer especially if disc has problems. Having disc backup is essential as shit happens pc wise. The what sounds best is subjective i suppose, but you can always play it at higher bit rates if you wish. Ive found 32 bit 44 on headphones suits me on headphones and 32 bit 384 on rpi through system. But plenty prefer bit perfect 16/44.
Mickyricky
03-02-2017, 11:01
The album is available to listen to on Spotify
As for point 2 it takes about 3 mins to rip a CD with DBpoweramp
The ripping speed is irrelevant. The delay is getting hold of the CD.
Say I'm at home and I read about a fantastic new album and decide to buy it. The very quickest way I'm going to be able to get that CD is to jump into my car and nip to my local shop to buy one (if such a thing still exists locally for me - my local town no longer has a decent music store). With a following wind it's going to be an hour, and realistically is more likely to be a few hours (because while you are out you'll probably want to get some other stuff .....)
With downloads, without leaving my chair I can find the album and have it downloaded in at most half an hour, and often only about 10 minutes.
Ripping is still good for when you find a new CD from browsing in a shop or finding one second hand. But there's nothing to beat reading a record review and having it playing out of your Hi-Fi in minutes. Downloads give you that.
Oh and don't even suggest the streaming route. I don't want to rent my music. I want to own it.
Pieoftheday
03-02-2017, 13:10
The ripping speed is irrelevant. The delay is getting hold of the CD.
Say I'm at home and I read about a fantastic new album and decide to buy it. The very quickest way I'm going to be able to get that CD is to jump into my car and nip to my local shop to buy one (if such a thing still exists locally for me - my local town no longer has a decent music store). With a following wind it's going to be an hour, and realistically is more likely to be a few hours (because while you are out you'll probably want to get some other stuff .....)
With downloads, without leaving my chair I can find the album and have it downloaded in at most half an hour, and often only about 10 minutes.
Ripping is still good for when you find a new CD from browsing in a shop or finding one second hand. But there's nothing to beat reading a record review and having it playing out of your Hi-Fi in minutes. Downloads give you that.
Oh and don't even suggest the streaming route. I don't want to rent my music. I want to own it.
Do you actually own a download or do you just lease it? I know there was some confusion a while back but not sure if it was resolved.
Depends on where u get it. Spotify etc is just leased as long as you use service. Others I think you download and keep. Like an MP3 rip from amazon that you buy or get with cd or record is yours for keeps
If u get access to where it's downloaded on pc it's yours
Pieoftheday
03-02-2017, 13:25
Depends on where u get it. Spotify etc is just leased as long as you use service. Others I think you download and keep. Like an MP3 rip from amazon that you buy or get with cd or record is yours for keeps
If u get access to where it's downloaded on pc it's yours
Yeah I suppose if you have it on a HDD it must be yours,I wonder if it's the same with cloud storage?
By download, I meant go to an online store and buy the files containing the music. I then download the files and store them on my network. My hi-fi plays them from my store on my network.
If the people who sold me the files go tits up, I'll still have my files.
Of course that does make it my responsibility to store them securely, and have them backed up. Many suppliers (Presto Classical for example) remember what you've purchased and allow you to download them again without additional charge. But I still look upon it as my responsibility not to lose the files.
Recently a young lad I know lost his job, and he suddenly found he could no longer afford to pay the subscription fee for his favoured streaming service. So he lost access to his favourite music. If he'd downloaded, that wouldn't have happened.
Pieoftheday
03-02-2017, 13:56
By download, I meant go to an online store and buy the files containing the music. I then download the files and store them on my network. My hi-fi plays them from my store on my network.
If the people who sold me the files go tits up, I'll still have my files.
Of course that does make it my responsibility to store them securely, and have them backed up. Many suppliers (Presto Classical for example) remember what you've purchased and allow you to download them again without additional charge. But I still look upon it as my responsibility not to lose the files.
Recently a young lad I know lost his job, and he suddenly found he could no longer afford to pay the subscription fee for his favoured streaming service. So he lost access to his favourite music. If he'd downloaded, that wouldn't have happened.
I'm glad you mentioned backup, still have to do mine:doh: I was thinking of the Bruce Willis case,(that never was,) but it did throw up some questions about downloaded digital content and whether it's owned or leased
Anything I rip or download I make 3 copies min. In case of he'd failure. Once had 2 go in a week
Music files I've downloaded and stored locally may legally still be leased, but they'd have to come and take them off me. With a streaming service, they can just switch them off.
And another thing: I can be reasonably sure that the files I've downloaded - being in an open format (I favour FLAC) - will always be playable by my equipment. Whereas if a streaming service decides to change the format of the stuff it streams - or the format of the stream itself - that could render the equipment I used to listen to the feed obsolete at a stroke.
Pieoftheday
03-02-2017, 14:59
Music files I've downloaded and stored locally may legally still be leased, but they'd have to come and take them off me. With a streaming service, they can just switch them off.
And another thing: I can be reasonably sure that the files I've downloaded - being in an open format (I favour FLAC) - will always be playable by my equipment. Whereas if a streaming service decides to change the format of the stuff it streams - or the format of the stream itself - that could render the equipment I used to listen to the feed obsolete at a stroke.
Though I've never streamed myself, you make a good point about possibly having to change your gear if the format changes. I did start ripping in WAV but now FLAC, I personally couldn't tell any difference,I'm not trying to start a debate on that btw:)
I would hope that the main difference between WAV and FLAC is the files size. FLAC files can be compressed, so they are smaller but still deliver good quality audio. Also FLAC file support metadata where as WAV don't (or don't support it as well/easily)
Light Dependant Resistor
03-02-2017, 23:39
But wider still, Flac is designed specifically for audio, is non-proprietary, is unencumbered by patents, has an open-source reference implementation, and has a well documented format.
Cheers / Chris
But wider still, Flac is designed specifically for audio, is non-proprietary, is unencumbered by patents, has an open-source reference implementation, and has a well documented format.
:yay: :yay: :yay:
Clive197
04-02-2017, 12:03
Having just spent 3 months with Tidal, I think it is overpriced and over hyped. SQ was poorer than my own CD rips. It was however useful for finding new music that has previously passed me by, but at the end of the day I didn't like the fact that I didn't own anything and was subject to somebody else's whims in supply.
I would hope that the main difference between WAV and FLAC is the files size. FLAC files can be compressed, so they are smaller but still deliver good quality audio. Also FLAC file support metadata where as WAV don't (or don't support it as well/easily)
FLAC is basically a lossless compression format for WAV, one can select the compression level, but it's advisable to keep it at 5...the best compromise for compression, and ease of transcoding at playback.
One can convert from FLAC to WAV and back again, infinitely, and still have exactly the same data...
My MDAC has some 'Bit Perfect' test WAV files 16/44.1 and 24/96, I've converted these to FLAC on my NAS, and can play the back via LMS/SBTouch into the MDAC. On both occasions the bit perfect test is passed...so proof, if proof were needed... :)
Magna Audio
05-02-2017, 19:36
Having just spent 3 months with Tidal, I think it is overpriced and over hyped. SQ was poorer than my own CD rips. It was however useful for finding new music that has previously passed me by, but at the end of the day I didn't like the fact that I didn't own anything and was subject to somebody else's whims in supply.
Agree, that and no compatibility with my android tablet to control the damn thing on my pc-server - unless you go for more subs and Roon!
How big a hole is than in their "it's for Hifi lovers" is that!!!
Having become used to Jriver / Gizmo and Spotify's smart setup, Tidal was useless.
Trial sub duly cancelled.
Loads of folk have been telling them this for ages, falls on deaf ears..
Magna Audio
05-02-2017, 19:38
The wife's fallen in love with a track by Nell Brysen called The Olive Tree off her new album Bloom. I thought if she was going to pay for it then CD quality beats MP3 by a long way.
Good album that. I'm listening to it with the missus :)
Rothchild
06-02-2017, 16:06
FLAC is basically a lossless compression format for WAV, one can select the compression level, but it's advisable to keep it at 5...the best compromise for compression, and ease of transcoding at playback.
One can convert from FLAC to WAV and back again, infinitely, and still have exactly the same data...
My MDAC has some 'Bit Perfect' test WAV files 16/44.1 and 24/96, I've converted these to FLAC on my NAS, and can play the back via LMS/SBTouch into the MDAC. On both occasions the bit perfect test is passed...so proof, if proof were needed... :)
Actually FLAC encoding is 'asymetrical' so you have nothing to lose by winding the compression right up, it will take longer to encode but requires exactly the same amount of processing to decode as a minimally compressed file. Over a big collection this could save a few Mb.
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