avi

Would be nice !

"1. VAT has to be paid in the country of the recipient. That means they would have to add the VAT of the country where the recipient is located and add that on top and then transfer this amount to that country. That may be possible somehow but is nothing a small venture should set out to do." HDTracks are happy to sell some titles just not others so I don't think VAT/duty is their issue. Plus in the UK there's no VAT or customs/import duty unless the value of goods are greater than £15 or £40 a gift. Other countries may operate similar policies. 2.3 What are the limits for customs duty and import VAT? Commercial consignments of £15 or less are free from customs duty and import VAT. For example, goods purchased over the internet with an intrinsic value not exceeding £15, will not be charged any duty or VAT but this does not include alcohol, tobacco products, perfume or toilet waters. See paragraph 2.6, 2.7 and section 3. If you are sent a gift with a value of £40 or less, and which complies with the rules shown in paragraph 2.5, it will be free from customs duty and import VAT, but this does not include alcohol, tobacco, perfumes and toilet waters. Customs duty becomes payable if the value of the goods is over £135 but duty is waived if the amount of duty calculated is less than £9. Avi

"As somebody living outside the US, in Germany, I find it increasingly annoying that many HD files that are sold on HDtracks are blocked for somebody with a foreign IP address like mine" Try using a US proxy IP and pay via paypal.

"Try it using your overseas CC and a US address (e.g. HDtracks offices) and it should work ..." You're missing the point. HDTacks now filter IP's before you log in so what you can even select is restricted. If your IP doesn't pass their filter you're presented with "No album available" when selecting certain artists. If you use a search engine and find the HDtracks album page you're presented with the message shown in the screen caps above if you attempt to add to basket again without being logged in. At this points they have no idea what your address is apart from your IP or if you plan to pay by CC. The only solution is to use a proxy IP from a country that isn't currently restricted.

"have been purchasing from HDtracks with a non-US IP for years using my US credit card. Ive never had any problems." I've also purchased using paypal with a non-US IP for years without issue. This is a recent development and it's not about how you pay but simply if your IP passes the HDTracks filter. If people are using non US IP's and can still purchase anything it appears some countries are still ok to purchase but some counties aren't. I'm still able to purchase "some" titles from HDtracks using a UK IP via paypal without issue.

I doubt it's a UK ISP/HD tracks issue because it only applies to certain albums i.e. I can still buy using a UK IP via paypal just as before apart from the albums blocked by HDtracks.

To avoid any confusion this is not related to paying i.e. must be a US registered credit. If you notice the screen cap above I'm simply attempting to add the album to the basket but I'm not logged in and therefore not attempting to pay. I've used paypal with HDtracks to avoid the US credit card issue in the past. This is different and related to what country your "IP" registers at HDtracks i.e. if it shows as outside the territories they are allowed to sell to you can't purchase period. The solution is to use a US proxy IP.

"Thats an iPhone and iPad screen cap. Have you tried from a computer?" It was just easier to screen capture with iphone. I've tried using several different windows based PC's. Using a UK IP rather than a proxy results in the same as shown in the iphone photo.

"If you have entered a profile into hdtracks with address, etc then login" No profile data entered and not logged in. The geo limit appears based the location of the "IP" being used. Is the IP you're using a US (or other allowed) proxy or UK etc ?

It appears the geographic limitation is related to certain albums, artists or labels if your IP is detected as outside certain territories. For example using a UK IP and searching within HD Tracks website on the artist "Stevie Wonder" indicates there are no albums available. Using a US IP and performing the same search brings up the Innervisions 96/24 album. This is before any attempt to purchase is made. If you link to HDtracks via a search engine for the above title it will show up using a UK IP. However if you attempt to add to basket the following message appears - "Based on your territory as determined by your IP address, we are unable to sell you this album due to restrictions imposed on us by the record label. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for shopping at HDtracks!" It still appears possible to purchase some titles using paypal.

You may find more info here - http://www.linnrecords.com/linn-formats.aspx

Some of Linn's titles are offered as "Studio Master" in high resolution WMA format in addition to flac. Just trying to work out if they simply allowed you to download a different format of the same studio master you paid for or gave you a free upgrade from CD level WMA to high res version. Avi

This feature from Bob Katz may be of interest - Avi

What operating system and DAC are you using ? Some DAC's and versions of OSx i.e. Lion don't support integer mode. Some background on integer mode here - http://www.amr-audio.co.uk/large_image/MAC%20OSX%20audio%20players%20&%20Integer%20Mode.pdf

Hi Barry Thanks and I understand. I also use iZotope's SRC/mbit solution and found the results of applying different filter characteristics are interesting hence the question.