Lunna

thanks for the tip - that got me off the fence; just ordered it from acousticsounds before they wise up!

Having finally been able to download the entire 19 tracks from HDTracks, I must say it sounds really nice to me. Anyone else have any thoughts on this and/or comparisons to the SACD? PS - Thanks Allan for the clarification - that takes away any sting I may have had in opting for the download - for me, the 3 bonus tracks are not a deal maker/breaker.

As always, I jumped the gun and purchased the download. Since I'm in Nepal right now for work, it is taking forever to download everything, but the tracks I have downloaded sound great - nice and quiet background and very nice ambience. That said, I'm no expert, and haven't and can't measure DR and all that. I somehow completely missed the 35 vs. 19 tracks difference - shoot! Oh well, I can't rip the SACD to my computer so at least I have a high res version available. I'll just have to wait for the next acousticsounds sale to see if I'll plunge for the SACD as well...

thanks, but i'm also wondering about the mastering. are they radically different?

Mastered by two different folks - please someone advise me which way to go!

Yep - I have the same problem. Takes forever, even with FLAC 96/24.

I'm debating whether to purchase downloads at the lower 88/24 rate. I have a Cary Xciter DAC, and it appears that it goes from 44.1 to 48 and then up to 96, with no 88.2 in between. So, if I purchase an album that's at 88.2/24, do I basically have to settle for 48/24 (or lower), or will my DAC somehow accept the 88.2/24 and playback at that rate (or upsample to 96/24)? I'm obviously no expert, so I'm basing this on the selector switch on my DAC - no 88.2 option. Thanks for any help you can provide (or directing me to a thread where this may have been answered already).

Hi and thank you very much! I actually have thought about that a lot, so perhaps you can help me answer these (I'm sure dumb) questions. What would be the best format to download that in? I see on HDTracks that they recommend against WAV if you use itunes. I wonder why? But my real question is this: if I download it to either WAV or to ALAC (or even FLAC, though I'm looking at WAV and ALAC only for now), how much space would they take up? And more importantly, after downloading, would I: (a) be able to burn a CD from that download AT 24/96 high resolution, or would it automatically downconvert to 16/44.1? If I can burn a CD to high resolution 24/96, is there any kind of blank CD you would recommend? Is there a CD with enough space on it to do so? -and (b) would I be able to convert this after downloading it to, say, to Apple Lossless (16/44.1) so that I can then put it on my portable devices too without losing the 24/96 version? Basically, I would want: (a) to burn a high resolution CD at 24/96; (b) keep the 24/96 download on my computer, and © make a second 16/44.1 version for use with my portable devices (ipods). Thanks for any tips you can provide! (PS - I read that itunes will support 24/96 on regular PCs, but not on portable devices, so that's why I would want to make a 16/44.1 copy as well)...

Jimmy Smith - The Cat (West Germany early pressing). Great stuff. I wish, though, that someone would have the SHM-SACD for sale, as I would jump at it (obviously at a decent price!)

Hi All, I just noticed that the price seems to have dropped a bit - I wonder if this has been recently reissued in the States?

Many, many thanks to Ralf for sharing this wonderful set. It sounds absolutely beautiful to my untrained ears! I have become a big fan of computeraudiophile as a result of my great experience!

Reviving this thread - Yes, anyone, please help someone Stateside find this in download format available at a sane price (i.e., the prices offered in Europe). In the United States, downloading this costs a fortune - thanks for any help! (I'd be happy to cover the price if someone is willing to burn this for me too - it's purely for my personal enjoyment and spiritual elevation!) Thanks in advance!