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I think it should still sound great in AIFF but somebody else may be able to answer that better. So long as there is no downsampling or conversion it should sound the same. I currently play the native flac files using Decibel on my Mac Mini out firewire to a Metric Halo Lio-8. Power amp is a DAC 4800A to SP Tech Continuum Studio Monitors. I am very happy with Decibel. It's a pretty minimalist program but the playback quality is probably as good as anything out there. One big reason I chose it is the ability to play nearly all formats, and of most importance to me, flac files. And if you're interested in converting lp's to digital the Metric Halo is a great tool. You can connect directly to the mic pres of the ADC, apply the RIAA, and capture on your computer in 24/192.

I dl'd Gaucho from HDTracks and it sounds fantastic. I have never before heard so much detail. I have two different vinyl copies and an early CD and the backup singers and Michael Brecker's sax just never sounded right to me on any of them. Kind of muffled and in the case of the sax shrill and lacking detail. On the 24/96 it sounds like they are standing in front of me playing. I can really hear every little nuance from all the vocalists and musicians. No more muffled and shrill. It really blows away all the other recordings.

I will second the recommendation for Westone UM3X. My search for great portable sound is over. I went through lots of headphones and iem's but always wondered what "better" sounded like and finally got the UM3X. If you can save the money for those you will experience amazing sound. If you can't wait, then buy Westone UM1's (well within your price range). They are made in Colorado Springs, have a great guarantee, and sound excellent. And if you want to upgrade down the road you shouldn't have any trouble selling them if you take good care of them. I have bought from earphonesolutions.com and they have treated me very well. Occasionally they run discount specials on Westone products. And to keep them safe I just run the wire down my back to my pants pocket where I keep my Sansa Fuze. They stay on my person all day. When I'm not listening or in a meeting I take them out of my ears and just tuck the iem's below the collar of my shirt. That way there is no possibility of loss or theft.

Kind of surprised to see all these download problems at HDTracks. I've dl'd quite a bit from them on a PC Win XP sp3 with no problems. Also no problems at HDTT and iTrax. Guess I've been lucky. My Mac Mini stays off line and I transfer all my downloads to several different external HD's to use for playback with the Mini.

Ted B, Barrows, you guys are right on. Music needs to breathe and swing to groove. As a musician I can tell you it's no fun to play to a click track. I practice with a click or drum machine when my drummer is not around but I never record or play live that way. If you happen to be working with Will Lee and Anton Fig in the studio then you will probably still get a great track if you make them play to a click. But there is no doubt it would be a lot better if you tell them to just go for it. And I would love to have heard what Lowell George would have said if a producer had ever told him he had to play to a click!<br /> <br /> Fortunately, I mainly listen to jazz and classical these days and there are many great artists making quality recordings. Some of those recordings are captured entirely live in the studio or on stage and are not overly compressed or mastered hot.<br /> <br /> However, it's really appalling to me what has happened to our music in general in this country. Like Bill said a lot of the artistry has been destroyed. And why have people accepted such crappy quality in the writing, production, and playback of our music? Why are we not supporting artists who are writing and performing great original works and the live sound and recording engineers who help us to appreciate the artists creations? How sad is it, as Bill said, that an artist or engineer can be at the top of their profession and not be able to make a living?<br /> <br /> I don't have any answers to my questions and I'm sure this isn't the place for it anyway. The only thing I can do is to say a huge thank you to Bill for taking a stand for quality and artistry. I will be buying all your work and making sure that everyone I know who enjoys great music (which is just about everyone I know) also purchases your recordings.

Thanks Chris for this great interview and thanks to Bill for his incredible recordings. I to this day cannot listen to just one song off Gaucho or Aja, or for that matter any truly great recording. Once I start listening I am practically held captive by the music. And though my kids have their iPOds and usually buy one song at a time I have introduced them to the joy of listening to entire recordings as well. We will sit on the couch and listen all the way through a Diana Krall or Steely Dan album and they love it. Many thanks to Bill for bucking the trend of mediocrity and "making his footprint". I look forward to becoming immersed in his high res recordings, from start to finish, for many years to come.

I fortunately have not experienced this but am thankful for the heads up Chris. However, I also use a passive attenuator to control volume between my DA and amp. Here's a link to the product which has been excellent in my system;<br /> <br /> http://luminousaudio.com/axiom.php<br /> <br /> I think this eliminates any possibility of a full power transient being transmitted to my speakers. It also eliminates using any digital signal attenuation, which from what I understand decreases the quality of the audio signal.<br /> <br /> My signal path is Win XP PC using Foobar 0.8.3 ASIO out via RME 9652 spdif to AVA Insight+ DA to Axiom passive attenuator to DAC 4800A amp to SP Tech Continuum speakers.