DSD Downloads?

Randy Myers

Randy Myers

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I am wondering if anyone can direct me to any other decent DSD download sites.

I know of:
1) Acoustic Sounds; probably best selection I have found but still rather limiting in pop/rock/classic rock/folk categories.
2) HDTracks is starting to carry some, but very few.

Any other suggestions on sites for DSD downloads?
 
I am sure that I could find a ton more great recordings if I were into a different type of music :)....

Hopefully more and more master tapes and albums that were made in sacd will soon be offered in DSD downloads...
 
Randy Myers said:
I am sure that I could find a ton more great recordings if I were into a different type of music :)....

Hopefully more and more master tapes and albums that were made in sacd will soon be offered in DSD downloads...
Click to expand...

no doubt that in terms of the highest quality recordings and cutting edge technology you will find that in classical mostly as that is ambient music and those artists care a lot about having their music sound live......as opposed to sounding great on a car radio, laptop or over cheap headphones. so native dsd recordings tend mostly to be classical and small combo jazz.

OTOH as our systems get better and we all expand our musical horizons we do tend to gravitate toward more acoustic music and toward classical. I know that 20 years ago I was into rock and pop and starting to get into jazz. Classical was a whole new thing. over that 20 year stretch I'm now about 75% classical listening. who knew?

so maybe consider trying some of 'that' music; when it sounds great you never know......you might like it.
 
Back in my previous life, when I was heavily into audiophile analog I did enjoy some classical pieces. Try as I might I never did gain a taste for Jazz.

I certainly would be open to eventually try some good classical, but when I look at them I am lost. I know I enjoyed some Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue if I recall. I had a few other pieces, but when I look at classical albums in these listings I feel completely out of my element and lost :)
 
When I was younger I was mostly into heavy metal but now my musical horizons have widened to include some jazz and classical. I like to play classical guitar so acoustic music and flamenco are some of my favourites as well. Thanks for the links, I am going to have to start exploring the world of downloading dsd files.
 
Ok, I purchased a couple of pieces that are a little different to try out. Shelby Lynne A little Lovin' and Arthur fielder Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris. The Shelby Lynne reviews were saying it may well be the best DSD recording ever. The Gershwin was the first master release in dsd from the rca library, or so they said. Just to broaden my horizons a little. Now I can't wait to get my DSD DAC and really give these titles a good listen.
 
All I have to say is HOLY SHIT..... I just purchased Eric Clapton Slowhand in DSD. I already own it in HD PCM but I really wanted to do a direct comparison. In JRiver it is currently playing the FLAC and then the DSF file. No comparison. WOW.... I will delete out the PCM version but I was just running the comparison and I can not believe the difference. More than I thought possible.

More open, clearer, sharper, better imagining, smoother... The PCM almost sounds subdued compared to the DSD... this is as direct comparison as I can possibly do. It is like the PCM, while good, is a very nice digital recording while the DSD sounds like Clapton is in my room playing the songs to me.

I was thinking about grabbing the Roger Waters Amused by Death album to do this comparison, but then I read the description.... "DSD file created from the 192/24 digital master using Meitner DSD converters." Crying shame
frown.gif
....

One thing I like about DSD is they usually include some tech description of how the album is created.
 
"DSD file created from the 192/24 digital master using Meitner DSD converters." Crying shame
Click to expand...

Don’t think it is a shame, it is simply honest.

The problem with DSD is that you can’t edit it.
Simple thing like mixing, fade out, etc are not possible with a single bit format.
Hence al the post-processing is done in PCM.
Wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of what is sold as DSD is PCM converted to DSD.
 
I very much prefer honestly. Many, such as the Clapton album mention that they were created from the original DSD files used to create the SACD, which came from the original master tape.
 
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