These are among few of online music stores I often browsed and purchase songs/albums from. Well to begin with, these online store sells digital version of an album. Some of shops listed here do offer physical album even iTunes has some vinyls offering. You gotta have a credit/debit card to deal with these store.

What is Hi-Res Audio?

1. http://www.highresaudio.com/
A german based/language store with collections starting from 44/24bit to DSD. High reputation in sense there's no complaint received/found on the net. Purchased 2 albums (Cat Steven's Tillerman and CCR from this site using a workaround since albums are regional/territorial limited. No Paypal but once purchase is made, the card information is stored. Has a mobile version site. The purchased album/file link can be accessed multiple time for direct download.

2. iTunes (Need iTunes client installed PC, Mac and iPhone etc only. No Linux/Android support)
Maybe the biggest catalog out there. No Paypal support and only m4a (AAC 250kbps average) format offered. I got my LOSO album and some other songs from there but sadly no Mr Children. If quality is not a concern then be prepared to be bankrupt because it got almost everything you can dreamed of. No Paypal. Found out that iTunes injected your email and purchase date into song's metadata.

3. HDTracks
Paypal support. Large library, second only to iTunes perhaps, with controversial reputation due to upsampling (Owner claimed it's the recording company who supplied the bogus files). Bought Toni Braxton's Love, Marriage & Divorce album from it and boy it scales beyond 20kHz on Foobar's spectrum (Doesn't mean it's good or authentic since my CCR hardly breaks beyond 17kHz) . No regional limitation (well, don't know much since I only purchased one album). Download only once using only HDTrack's own downloader (no direct download) so if you accidentally downloaded it at the wrong place/misdeleted, you have to purchase the files again (booo!)

4. www.prostudiomasters.com
Almost like HighResAudio store but though to bypass. Just get your friend in US/Canada to purchase from you.

5. www.linnrecords.com
No Paypal, no region/territory limitation. I just stole a song from that freaking expensive Mark Knopfler's Privateering album, a USD4.00 song. Yes they allow single file purchase and download. Seems like it functions like HIghResAudio so once purchased you can download it more than one time.

6. Beatport Pro
Another library full of electronic/dance songs available in mp3, WAV and AIFF 16bit 44khz. DRM report is not impressive but that's what you got from dance music. Paypal supported.

The rest can be found at HD Res Audio stores

Happy downloading but proceed with care as I have very limited/short experience with the link.

This post has been edited by PedangGila: Sep 13 2015, 10:45 PM

Good info, support!

http://www.sony.jp/high-resolution/
more of High-Resolution Audio store

From Sony

http://www.sony-asia.com/microsite/hiresaudio/



This post has been edited by wkkm007: Aug 10 2014, 09:46 PM

Thanks for the heads up. But I never intended this thread to focus mainly on hi res audio but generally it's for online music store hence iTunes (although it's gearing for Hi Res also this year 3rd quarter soonest).

This post has been edited by PedangGila: Aug 10 2014, 10:27 PM

http://www.amazon.com/MP3-Music-Download/b...11&redirected=1

Amazon MP3 LOL

maybe u can split into 2 category

This post has been edited by wkkm007: Aug 10 2014, 11:37 PM

Yea, sometimes I do browse Amazon's mp3 store but iTunes is better despite not supporting android.

Funny but it seems that MJ Thriller album is missing from HighresAudio, ProStudioMasters and LinnRecord listing. I thought I've seen it before in them.

FYI, if you guys ever listened to and a fan of a guy name Naudo Rodrigues, there's an album in iTunes and Amazon MP3 but personally I don't like the sound I'm hearing maybe it's a result of crappy engineering or Naudo insisted for absolute raw one shot rambo recording.

In iTunes, there's an option for converting to WAV from acc and i tried converting one song. I just can't do a proper ABX because well I don't think I can distinguish the two apart clearly. My biggest concern is that the wav file seems to has the original aac as its sounce rather than I'm getting a separate one downloaded from iTunes. Yea Foobar read the wav as 1500 kbps lossless PCM, 48khz sample rate versus aac 44khz lossy but I suspect it's a freaking upsample. ANy comment sifus?

I know an online music store called
http://melodishop.com/

Thanks. I'll add this up.

I have listened lousy sound quality in lossless albums and awrsome sound quality on 192kbps files.

biggest factor for me is the effort of the recording studios and engineers getting high fidelity recordings.

The recording studio that i trust is chesky records.

I'm more to rock/metal stuff so it's not really sensible IMO to invest in higher bitrate/resolution ie DSD because you don't want to listen to high resolution chainsaw sounds and machine gun like drumming.

I'm into rock too, in fact I played in a band (I'm nuub drummer) so I liked to hear clean and clear sounds on drums.

Higher quality recording made the electric guitar have a cool transient attacks as well as nice snare hits, cymbals and hit hats and realistic toms.

I'm a rock and metal fan too.. But unfortunately many rock songs badly recorded, eventho the song is nice.. hence I refrain myself from collecting high resolution audio.. Even if I'm going to i future, I guess I must select sings carefully to avoid disappointment.. Furthermore, the underground rocks can't be found in most common stores..

Yea, that's a point. Sometimes I had problems when they went ballads/slow pace when suddenly the approach requires more complex/better gears. I just can't imagine myself listening to Nirvana's Rape Me flac. I mean, it doesn't deserve such treatment.

Japan can buy HighRes music via Android App

mora ～WALKMAN®公式ミュージックストア～

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?...lgate.moratouch

www01.hqm-store.com/store/catalog_list.php
ototoy.jp/top/
www.e-onkyo.com/music/
mora.jp
www.naimlabel.com
music.naver.com/hd/index.nhn
www.hifitrack.com/zh-hant/ (Chinese songs)
bluecoastrecords.com
www.linnrecords.com
https://shop.klicktrack.com/2l

This post has been edited by wkkm007: Aug 25 2014, 01:28 AM

I've been researching about Daft Funk: Random Access Memories album.

"Random Access Memories is Daft Punk's most critically successful album, scoring 87/100 on Metacritic. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014, it won Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, Best Dance/Electronica Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, and the single "Get Lucky" won for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance."

Now that should get you guys moving eh? What pique me is that Best Engineered Album for Non Classical. Unless the Grammy jury panel is deaf or they're listening to vinyl (which is should sound the best) what caught these people is (probably, IMO) that the album will teleport them to bro E1 David youth days, the 70s to 80s. The feeling, even I can understand why. This dog is funky.

Now which digital version? I've checked with ProStudioMaster, LinnRecords and HighResAudio, they don't offer this Award winning album. Then only two stores do, iTunes and HDTracks, the so called second class of Hi Res offering. People at computeraudiophile and stevehoffman forum says iTunes (this album got Mastered for iTunes) has better DR than HDTracks 88/24 lossless. I checked their proofs and looks like both average DR8 with punches traded well between the two. So this is what I said HDTracks is less reputable, less trusted when it comes to HD offering not because the owner is Jabba the Hut filthy dumbass but the record label (Sony MJ own your ass Music) subbies handed them a poorly coded album, maybe. Of course there's a vinyl album so this 88/24 should came from that source but why it's limited to 88/24 not 192/24 or even 96/24? Dweeb, 88 and 96 is close enough I bet that you can't even decipher a 320kbps mp3 vs flac with your rig. Fine.

iTunes lossy Master = HDTracks lossless, in case of this DF: RAM album. iTunes price is US6.99 and HDTracks' will cost you USD18. Go figure which is.

This post has been edited by PedangGila: Aug 27 2014, 03:19 PM

http://www.mofi.com/

Browsed the site but I can't find any downloadable digital content. There's Dire Straits BIA in there though. Good find.