HD Tracks - Yes Close to the Edge and Fragile??

[astrostar59]

Hi all

I was kicking myself, as I just bought the remastered versions of these classic albums on CD at 8US each. Then I thought, hey, the HD Tracks on offer from this week are the OLD masters, not the REMASTERED versions.

 

So, I am wondering what actually HD Tracks got hold of to do these 'HD' tracks. Maybe they are ripped from SACHs? It really annoys me why they don't declare where the masters came from and what state / resolution they are BEFORE that flog these expensive 'hi-resolution' copies.

 

I would not recommend buying any until that was cleared up personally. Kinda like buying a painting without actually viewing it first....

 

I KNOW the HD versions are the old copies, not remastered, as the extra tracks and demo tracks are not on the albums but ARE on the remasters.

[HiResSteve]

There is quite a bit of information in this thread here.

[Robert Hutton]

Hi all

I was kicking myself, as I just bought the remastered versions of these classic albums on CD at 8US each. Then I thought, hey, the HD Tracks on offer from this week are the OLD masters, not the REMASTERED versions.

 

So, I am wondering what actually HD Tracks got hold of to do these 'HD' tracks. Maybe they are ripped from SACHs? It really annoys me why they don't declare where the masters came from and what state / resolution they are BEFORE that flog these expensive 'hi-resolution' copies.

 

I would not recommend buying any until that was cleared up personally. Kinda like buying a painting without actually viewing it first....

 

I KNOW the HD versions are the old copies, not remastered, as the extra tracks and demo tracks are not on the albums but ARE on the remasters.

 

Geez, Astro, that is a whopping amount of assumptions mixed in with a big dose of angst there.

 

My versions of The Yes Album and Going For The One were very clearly marked on the HD Tracks site as 24 bits at 192k sampling. The also state on my copies that they were sourced from the flat analog masters. I don't know why the site shows something different for you.

 

I guess that nothing will ever be good enough for some people. I guess when you buy a painting you need to bring in an expert in dating and authenticating roman frescoes first, and even then, go online to bitch.

 

Sure, you are right. They ARE "old copies", in fact, they are SO old THEY ARE THE VERY FIRST ONES EVER MADE. The frikkin' masters.

 

Yup, there are NO bonus or demo tracks. That is actually more proof that they ARE freshly remastered and not just an upsampling or recycling of a previous CD edition. Bonus tracks and demos are NEVER on the master tape. Why? Because they aren't part of the master, obviously.

 

This is getting beyond nutty.

[astrostar59]

Sorry, not saying that for Going for the One or Fragile...

 

https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=catalogdetail&valbum_code=HD603497941735

 

https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=catalogdetail&valbum_code=HX603497924547

 

only the Close to the Edge at 192/24 is marked as sourced from 'flat masters'

 

Makes me wonder if they are either slack with their facts or just lying????

[Robert Hutton]

Sorry, not saying that for Going for the One or Fragile...

 

https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=catalogdetail&valbum_code=HD603497941735

 

https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=catalogdetail&valbum_code=HX603497924547

 

only the Close to the Edge at 192/24 is marked as sourced from 'flat masters'

 

Makes me wonder if they are either slack with their facts or just lying????

 

Fragile isn't one of the new titles just posted, it has been on HD Tracks for a couple of years now. Almost certainly taken from the (excellent) DVD-A that Warners did.

 

This is getting ridiculous.

[astrostar59]

Ok. Maybe Going for the one is an issue then? Seriously though, HD Tracks should TELL buyers of the source for each issue. They are charging big bucks. I have a nice tube based hifi and would / have bought from these guys. But am not happy without the source notes. I have read some have bought from HD tracks and that the high res is not always a better copy, .... makes me nervous.

[Robert Hutton]

Ok. Maybe Going for the one is an issue then? Seriously though, HD Tracks should TELL buyers of the source for each issue. They are charging big bucks. I have a nice tube based hifi and would / have bought from these guys. But am not happy without the source notes. I have read some have bought from HD tracks and that the high res is not always a better copy, .... makes me nervous.

 

I have probably around 150 titles I have bought from HD Tracks. I can say that maybe 1 or 2 I am not thrilled with, and in those cases I should have known better. In every other case, I got what I paid for - a significantly superior sounding transfer.

 

Don't believe everything you read online. There is a massive amount of misinformed whining, and conjecture from those who like to jump in but have no first hand listening knowledge.

 

Nobody posts POSITIVE comments online, just whining.

 

I'll try one.

 

I think HD Tracks is fabulous. They made a big improvement with their new download manager, have a greater range and depth to their offerings than any other competing site, their pricing is comparable at least - better in many cases (especially with the frequent discount coupons). It's not perfect at HD Tracks - nothing is. But they are going in the right direction. If HD Tracks didn't exist, my musical journey would be much less rewarding.

[astrostar59]

Fair enough. Without HD tracks there would be a bit of a void on HD downloads I agree.

Still think they should clean up their clarifications though, before I / others spend there hard earned cash.

 

Hey Robert, cool system. I have 300b Audio Note Amps, and a 3.1 Audio Note which is none oversampling like your 47 Labs? I use a Mac Mini and M2Tech full stack for a source (plus a CEC belt drive CDP gathering dust).

[Julf]

I have probably around 150 titles I have bought from HD Tracks

 

I assume "Son of Rogues Gallery - Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys" wasn't one of them?

 

I think HD Tracks is fabulous. They made a big improvement with their new download manager

 

Not such a big improvement if you are a Linux user and prefer to use open web standards.

[firedog]

I have probably around 150 titles I have bought from HD Tracks. I can say that maybe 1 or 2 I am not thrilled with, and in those cases I should have known better. In every other case, I got what I paid for - a significantly superior sounding transfer.

 

Don't believe everything you read online. There is a massive amount of misinformed whining, and conjecture from those who like to jump in but have no first hand listening knowledge.

 

 

Nobody posts POSITIVE comments online, just whining.

 

I'll try one.

 

I think HD Tracks is fabulous. They made a big improvement with their new download manager, have a greater range and depth to their offerings than any other competing site, their pricing is comparable at least - better in many cases (especially with the frequent discount coupons). It's not perfect at HD Tracks - nothing is. But they are going in the right direction. If HD Tracks didn't exist, my musical journey would be much less rewarding.

 

Agree with this, maybe with slightly less enthusiasm. I've bought about 35 albums and only one really disappointed me. That's because the remaster was volume compressed more than my tastes allow. But HDT isn't responsible for that, at least not directly.

[Julf]

I've bought about 35 albums and only one really disappointed me.

 

Out of the 16 albums I have downloaded, 3 were clearly upsampled and one was zero-padded from 16 to 24 bits. Out of the rest, some where probably resampled from DSD/SACD, others were from recordings too old to contain significant HF energy anyway, but some were clearly real hi-res recordings. So your mileage varies, and you take your chances.

[vinylphile]

I come down somewhere in the middle on this HDTracks debate. I am thankful they they exist and use their service frequently. I am encouraged with the ever-increasing selection of quality high resolution downloads in multiple genres available on their site and look forward to the day where they receive high res masters of all new releases on a weekly basis (wishful thinking perhaps but not out of the realm of possibility). I also like their new downloader and appreciate the new file format options.

 

However, I do think it is a bit dishonest for them not to come clean on the sources of their material - which ones are upsampled redbook, for example. Either that or don't bother selling upsampled material. I wish discussions like this weren't necessary and that I didn't have to research before jumping in to purchase the 24/192 of Close to the Edge, one of my all-time favs. If they would just be more transparent about this stuff I'd like them even more.

[chriss71]

However, I do think it is a bit dishonest for them not to come clean on the sources of their material - which ones are upsampled redbook, for example. Either that or don't bother selling upsampled material. I wish discussions like this weren't necessary and that I didn't have to research before jumping in to purchase the 24/192 of Close to the Edge, one of my all-time favs. If they would just be more transparent about this stuff I'd like them even more.

 

Yep, 100% your opinion (especially that bold one)...