Elvis In Hi-Res Audio (24/96)

[JimmyCool]

Another question that needs to be asked is whether when the record label hands over the tapes, does someone at HDTracks or whoever work on them to remaster or take them as is. Or has the record label worked on them because they know they are being put out in Hi Res sound. I know someone who was asked to work on some Dylan stuff because the label wanted to put it out in better quality for a new Hi Res CD release possibly Blu Spec.

There something I don't understand about those Hi-Res files.
What's all the fuss about? The only thing I can hear is a little more hiss:

01 - Wearin' That Loved On Look.flac.png

Apart from that, not much difference really... or am I missing something?

That's why I don't trust any of these unless they are from Sony, because without the actual masters you cannot have true HD - only up-converts which is exactly what you are showing on the spectrum here. People who don't understand audio and don't know any better are being ripped off on a regular basis at some of these download sites.

If you posess HD tracks you can see by yourself that they are not files converted from normal files.

I already have shown that point.

It's impossible to convert a normal sound file to real HD-res.

Here is blues suede shoes from The complete master converted to HD-res:

Size: 66.6 MB (69,902,346 bytes)




Here Blue suede shoes in real HD-res

HD Blue suede shoes size 67.6 MB (70,960,112 bytes)




Complete masters Blue suede shoes size 20.4 MB (21,471,018 bytes)



You can see the difference between a real HD and a normal file converted in HD.

When you look at the HD graph don't forget that the vertical scale is different.

One point I agree: there is no way that Sony will give the master tape to somebody else and I think that nobody will think that.

Sony makes the HD and give them to the company who sell the HD tracks.


Technically there is an improvment between a normal track and a HD track. I don't say it's a big improvement and I also believe that some people will not ear any difference. Second to better see the difference you need better material.


By the way I don't have spek anymore and with Windows 10 it's impossible to install it.

Phil, I have Windows 10 too and Spek works just fine.

[emjel]

At the moment, I do not have the facility of playing these albums over my hi fi unless I copy the songs to a DVD disc. So if listening on my laptop through my Sennheiser headphones, I assume that the built in sound-card plays just an important part as listening through a good amp. It would be interesting to know what equipments other members use who have downloaded these Hi Res albums.

[Lohmax]

It would be interesting to know what equipments other members use who have downloaded these Hi Res albums.

-JRiver media Center software on my laptop together with Sony HiRes headphones MDR-1A DAC
- Sony NWZ-A15 Walkman, came with 16gigabyte chip but I exchanged that for a 64gigabyte chip manually
-stereo with Arcam irDAC connected to a Synology DiskStation with a 2TB drive

[Phil]

thank you Jimmycool.

I had the error message Installation Directory must be on a local hard drive.

As I had installed Windows 10 I though that it was that the problem.

I have found on the net how to make to correction and it's fine now.

[Claus]

Isn't that the opposite of what is being said on this video. This person is working in conjunction with HDTracks or maybe he is employed by them and does work on the tapes if required but seems to do it in conjunction with someone who has specialist knowledge of the artists catalogue if appropriate.

Kevin Reeves has previously worked at Universal Mastering East so he has a lot of experience working with their catalog. The artists/labels he mentions in the video are all owned by Universal. HDTracks has nothing to do with the files. I wish they did, because hthen they could be held responsible if an album sounds bad.

[TCK_KING]

Someone wrote in this (?) topic that he had the A-15 player from Sony but I dont remember the headset he used?

[emjel]

Are you thinking of the Sony HAP-S1? Just ordered mine.

[Robert]

Are you thinking of the Sony HAP-S1? Just ordered mine.

Let us know how it is.
How much did you pay?
I'm interested to get this..

[TCK_KING]

Are you thinking of the Sony HAP-S1? Just ordered mine.

Yes it was a Sony headset so this could be right.
Thanks for reply and please post comments when you get it

[Scoobie]

Are you thinking of the Sony HAP-S1? Just ordered mine.

Yes it was a Sony headset so this could be right.
Thanks for reply and please post comments when you get it

The HAP-S1 is not a headphone set, it is a high resolution music player....

[Lohmax]

Three posts above yours I said that I used Sony HiRes headphones MDR-1A DAC.

[TCK_KING]

Three posts above yours I said that I used Sony HiRes headphones MDR-1A DAC.

Thanks ,for some reason I was sure your reply was much older and therefore not just above my post

[Lohmax]

Thanks ,for some reason I was sure your reply was much older and therefore not just above my post

I may have posted it before, so no worries

[emjel]

Anyone got any thoughts on Speedway. I felt marginal improvement on the soundtrack elements but a better sound was on the bonus tracks.

[Scoobie]

Anyone got any thoughts on Speedway. I felt marginal improvement on the soundtrack elements but a better sound was on the bonus tracks.

Hmm.. So i chose "Your Time Hasn't Come Yet Baby" and played the HD version, then the CD version (16 bit) (from the "Double Features" CD) and the difference was significant, the whole soundstage is wider, and as usual for HD it is lighter, fuller sound. So, i did find quite a difference. Shame about the tape damage at the end of the song, it is even more apparent in HD.

So then I switched to "Western Union" and repeated the process, but with the "For the Asking" album. In this case the difference was significant, more so than on YTHNCYB.
So I tried the version from "Elvis Sings Memphis T. FTD" again a big difference.

There does seem to be slight gain in improvement from the bonus songs, but I would not call it significant.

Overall, HD upgrades are fantastic... Love it! I can see i am going to have to make a lot more purchases...

[emjel]

Anyone got any thoughts on Speedway. I felt marginal improvement on the soundtrack elements but a better sound was on the bonus tracks.

Hmm.. So i chose "Your Time Hasn't Come Yet Baby" and played the HD version, then the CD version (16 bit) (from the "Double Features" CD) and the difference was significant, the whole soundstage is wider, and as usual for HD it is lighter, fuller sound. So, i did find quite a difference. Shame about the tape damage at the end of the song, it is even more apparent in HD.

So then I switched to "Western Union" and repeated the process, but with the "For the Asking" album. In this case the difference was significant, more so than on YTHNCYB.
So I tried the version from "Elvis Sings Memphis T. FTD" again a big difference.

There does seem to be slight gain in improvement from the bonus songs, but I would not call it significant.

Overall, HD upgrades are fantastic... Love it! I can see i am going to have to make a lot more purchases...

Interesting. I did my comparison to The Complete Masters. A lot more purchases on Elvis or in general?

[Scoobie]

Anyone got any thoughts on Speedway. I felt marginal improvement on the soundtrack elements but a better sound was on the bonus tracks.

Hmm.. So i chose "Your Time Hasn't Come Yet Baby" and played the HD version, then the CD version (16 bit) (from the "Double Features" CD) and the difference was significant, the whole soundstage is wider, and as usual for HD it is lighter, fuller sound. So, i did find quite a difference. Shame about the tape damage at the end of the song, it is even more apparent in HD.

So then I switched to "Western Union" and repeated the process, but with the "For the Asking" album. In this case the difference was significant, more so than on YTHNCYB.
So I tried the version from "Elvis Sings Memphis T. FTD" again a big difference.

There does seem to be slight gain in improvement from the bonus songs, but I would not call it significant.

Overall, HD upgrades are fantastic... Love it! I can see i am going to have to make a lot more purchases...

Interesting. I did my comparison to The Complete Masters. A lot more purchases on Elvis or in general?

Elvis first! When it comes to others, CD quality will do just fine

[Scoobie]

For The Essentials Elvis there is 2 CD with 20 tracks each.

For From Elvis in Memphis I would say it's really great

"From Elvis In Memphis".. Well, it benefits from the HD attributes, like all the others. It sounds very good indeed, the best we can get so far for sure. However, the difference between the recent Legacy edition at 16/44.1 and the HD at 24/96 is not as pronounced as other HD albums in my collection. It is very good, but it is not a "night and day" type thing. The difference is subtle, it is in the general atmosphere, the openness of the soundstage and the separation of the instruments.

"NBC TV Special".
It has been many years since I listened to this in this format, but the live sit down / stand up shows benefit the least and the studio recorded segments do show a marked improvement, but it reveals equipment hum and tape hiss, especially at the first bars of say "Nothingville", but once the drums kick in it sounds great. All of track (after a the start of "Nothingville") 6 is super, really great, best I have ever heard it for sure.

I was more aware of the bass guitar in the live segments, but again, that me because I have not listened to this in years opting always to watch it instead.

Cuts and edits really show up, but that may not be anything to to with it being in HD, just my being so used to watching the DVD without these cuts an edits.

Of all the HD albums I have, these 2 show the least improvement from the 16/44.1 (CD rips) I already own.
I am not sorry I have them, because there is some improvement, just not as much as others.

Scoobie, thanks for the info on these albums. If you think that these two albums show the least improvement, in your opinion of all the Elvis Hd albums you have which show the greatest improvement.

Thanks Paul

Paul,

So far the albums showing the most improvement are the soundtracks... Speedway and Spinout both sound fantastic.
FEIM is very, very good too, but less significant improvement. This may be because FEIM has such a good transfer to CD quality in the first place.
Not all CD mastering is done at the same quality, a good CD mastering can really be very close to "HD" it all depends on the quality of each mastering and transfer.
Just my own opinion of course!

[emjel]

I was very impressed with Kissin Cousins. GGG and FiA also good.

[Will]

I was very impressed with Kissin Cousins. GGG and FiA also good.

In HD they are superb examples of how the sound can be improved upon..... they sound great!

[Robert]

I was very impressed with Kissin Cousins. GGG and FiA also good.

How's the Today album sounding in hd, anyone?

[Mike DK]

Anyone got any thoughts on Speedway. I felt marginal improvement on the soundtrack elements but a better sound was on the bonus tracks.

Hmm.. So i chose "Your Time Hasn't Come Yet Baby" and played the HD version, then the CD version (16 bit) (from the "Double Features" CD) and the difference was significant, the whole soundstage is wider, and as usual for HD it is lighter, fuller sound. So, i did find quite a difference. Shame about the tape damage at the end of the song, it is even more apparent in HD.

So then I switched to "Western Union" and repeated the process, but with the "For the Asking" album. In this case the difference was significant, more so than on YTHNCYB.
So I tried the version from "Elvis Sings Memphis T. FTD" again a big difference.

There does seem to be slight gain in improvement from the bonus songs, but I would not call it significant.

Overall, HD upgrades are fantastic... Love it! I can see i am going to have to make a lot more purchases...

I have said this before, but if you want to really compare 16bit with 24bit you need to listen to the same mastering. What you mention above is NOT the difference between 16bit and 24bit but the difference in mastering. Try and compare your HDtracks files with the same songs using the same mastering in 16bit. You will be surprised and in many cases most likely not able to tell them apart.

[emjel]

Anyone got any thoughts on Speedway. I felt marginal improvement on the soundtrack elements but a better sound was on the bonus tracks.

Hmm.. So i chose "Your Time Hasn't Come Yet Baby" and played the HD version, then the CD version (16 bit) (from the "Double Features" CD) and the difference was significant, the whole soundstage is wider, and as usual for HD it is lighter, fuller sound. So, i did find quite a difference. Shame about the tape damage at the end of the song, it is even more apparent in HD.

So then I switched to "Western Union" and repeated the process, but with the "For the Asking" album. In this case the difference was significant, more so than on YTHNCYB.
So I tried the version from "Elvis Sings Memphis T. FTD" again a big difference.

There does seem to be slight gain in improvement from the bonus songs, but I would not call it significant.

Overall, HD upgrades are fantastic... Love it! I can see i am going to have to make a lot more purchases...

I have said this before, but if you want to really compare 16bit with 24bit you need to listen to the same mastering. What you mention above is NOT the difference between 16bit and 24bit but the difference in mastering. Try and compare your HDtracks files with the same songs using the same mastering in 16bit. You will be surprised and in many cases most likely not able to tell them apart.

I can understand the logic in what you are saying ie compate like with like, but there appears to be a suggestion that you are you implying that this is all a bit of a con and rip off or is there a difference but it is somewhat subjective

[Mike DK]

Anyone got any thoughts on Speedway. I felt marginal improvement on the soundtrack elements but a better sound was on the bonus tracks.

Hmm.. So i chose "Your Time Hasn't Come Yet Baby" and played the HD version, then the CD version (16 bit) (from the "Double Features" CD) and the difference was significant, the whole soundstage is wider, and as usual for HD it is lighter, fuller sound. So, i did find quite a difference. Shame about the tape damage at the end of the song, it is even more apparent in HD.

So then I switched to "Western Union" and repeated the process, but with the "For the Asking" album. In this case the difference was significant, more so than on YTHNCYB.
So I tried the version from "Elvis Sings Memphis T. FTD" again a big difference.

There does seem to be slight gain in improvement from the bonus songs, but I would not call it significant.

Overall, HD upgrades are fantastic... Love it! I can see i am going to have to make a lot more purchases...

I have said this before, but if you want to really compare 16bit with 24bit you need to listen to the same mastering. What you mention above is NOT the difference between 16bit and 24bit but the difference in mastering. Try and compare your HDtracks files with the same songs using the same mastering in 16bit. You will be surprised and in many cases most likely not able to tell them apart.

I can understand the logic in what you are saying ie compate like with like, but there appears to be a suggestion that you are you implying that this is all a bit of a con and rip off or is there a difference but it is somewhat subjective

I have many albums in 24bit and enjoy them very much. But to make a comparison between 16bit and 24bit only makes sense if you compare them using the same mastering. It is a lot easier to hear the difference in mastering compared to the difference between 16/24 bit.

[Will]

I was very impressed with Kissin Cousins. GGG and FiA also good.

How's the Today album sounding in hd, anyone?[/quote

]This is one of the best released to date