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Head-Fi and HDtracks (David Chesky) Collaborate to Assemble A Headphone System Test Album! - Page 3

post #31 of 271
3/6/10 at 3:54am
It is wonderful idea !!
And who said that you do not benefit from being head-fi member

Just wondering is it worth to buy 24/96 tracks if DAC supports only 16/48 ?
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post #32 of 271
3/6/10 at 4:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by R_burke View Post
Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be available as a CD
Fortunately you can make a CD of your download!
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post #33 of 271
3/6/10 at 10:05am
I downloaded the Flac files, very impressive audio. The download totals 1.26 gigs, so I guesss it means 3 cds, or compress the files. Is this right or have I missed something?
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post #34 of 271
3/6/10 at 10:45am
I think the big size is due to the 24 bit format. The total length of all track is 1:05 h so regular tracks should fit on a CD.
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post #35 of 271
3/6/10 at 12:03pm
Interesting, I still prefer CD though. I don't even mind paying more for an official CD if it's really worth it.

For the sake of curiosity I'll check out the web site though...
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post #36 of 271
3/6/10 at 12:23pm
Not a US resident anymore, unfortunately.
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post #37 of 271
3/6/10 at 12:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ypoknons View Post
Not a US resident anymore, unfortunately.
You can still download the album if you use the Paypal checkout button to pay.
Worked for me and I'm located in Germany!
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post #38 of 271
3/6/10 at 12:34pm
Does iPod support 24-bit/96kHz?
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post #39 of 271
3/6/10 at 12:52pm
Is the album really worth it? It might not be expensive but if my own music collection is just as good, which has just expanded I need some convincing.
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post #40 of 271
3/6/10 at 1:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jude View Post
CLICK HERE to go to the The Head-Fi/HDtracks Open Your Ears Sampler page. (You can also listen to samples of the tracks on that page.)

With the The Head-Fi/ HDtracks Open Your Ears Sampler, you'll be able to put your headphone audio rig through its paces, and enjoy some absolutely terrific music while doing it!
I just get empty pages with both links.

Are these recordings specially treated for headphone listening (i.e. somehow «crossfeeded» or «binauralized»)? I would consider this essential, at least for my ears.

EDIT: Finally I could get the first link to work! – Unfortunately the recordings are not adapted to headphone listening. These are normal, speaker-based recordings. That's disappointing and a gross flaw in my book.
.
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post #41 of 271
3/6/10 at 1:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by .Sup View Post
Does iPod support 24-bit/96kHz?
unfortunately it only supports a maximum of 24/48.

I just downloaded the flac files even thought my current Dac the Hifiman doesn't support 24/96 in Dac mode. Thankfully it can play them from the sd card and they sound stunning
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post #42 of 271
3/6/10 at 1:47pm
I'd be happy to purchase this but can someone let me know whether the tracks used are different from the Ultimate Test Disk which I already own.
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post #43 of 271
3/6/10 at 1:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kernmac View Post
I downloaded the Flac files, very impressive audio. The download totals 1.26 gigs, so I guesss it means 3 cds, or compress the files. Is this right or have I missed something?
What fits on an audio CD (Red Book) is determined by playing time, not file size. Since this album have a playing time of 65 minutes it should easily fit on a single CD.

Quote:
Originally Posted by .Sup View Post
Does iPod support 24-bit/96kHz?
No! They support 24-bit, but not a sampling rate above 48kHz.
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post #44 of 271
3/6/10 at 2:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kool bubba ice View Post
This really is a great idea.. Reminds me of a calibrating disc for your TV. How do I buy the CD? 24bit/96 version.
This is a download-only album. However, nowadays, it's very easy to burn a CD version in minutes (for most, it would probably take longer to download the high-res tracks than to burn a CD).

To burn a CD from 24/96, you'll have to use a utility that will convert the 24/96 FLAC files to CD quality (16/44.1). On my Mac, I use Max.

Quote:
Originally Posted by nnotis View Post
Fantastic!

This is a subjective matter, but I hope the work is still music first, test material second.
Yes, this is definitely music first, with the liner notes explaining why each track was chosen, and what to listen for. There are a couple of dedicated test tracks, though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by R_burke View Post
Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be available as a CD
Again, burning the album to CD is a breeze.

Quote:
Originally Posted by squid+ View Post
This is pretty cool. Everyone has a certain set of tracks that they like to test their gear with, maybe this will help people to communicate their opinions using a common denominator.
Yes, while, of course, I do not expect or want this album to be the standard by which we all conduct our reviews, I think it's a great way for many of us to establish one more point of common reference and understanding as we write reviews and post impressions.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tamahome77 View Post
Very nice idea! I will make a purchase tonight. Hope there will be more albums like this.
I hope so, too. It's certainly not out of the question.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kunalraiker View Post
My D4 DAC does not support the hi-res version, I will need to get the 16 bit version, is it any different.
If you don't know how to convert the high-res version to a format compatible with your system(s), I'd suggest going for the 16-bit version. If you do know how to convert, then I'd go for the high-res version, as you can use that to essentially have both versions.

Quote:
Originally Posted by gknix View Post
I'm excited for this! How do these tracks sound?
Also, is there a huge difference between the 16/44.1 and 24/96?

My Dac dosn't support 24/96 either, but would it be okay to burn them on a cd and re-rerip them to 16/44.1?
The tracks sound fantastic, which, given that we pulled from the Chesky library, should be expected.

Yes, if you have a DAC that supports 24/96--and a resolving rig altogether--you'll notice the difference.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Necrolic View Post
....It's a shame they don't have a broader selection of artists, most of the music I listen to isn't sold there, meaning I have no source of FLAC downloads and have to settle for my 320Kbps MP3 source in Millisong.
HDtracks' selection of music is growing, as more labels participate. Click here to see the growing list of participating labels.

Quote:
Originally Posted by carm View Post
It is wonderful idea !!
And who said that you do not benefit from being head-fi member

Just wondering is it worth to buy 24/96 tracks if DAC supports only 16/48 ?
Again, if you know how to convert from 24/96, then I'd recommend going with the 24-bit version, and convert as needed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Deep Funk View Post
Is the album really worth it? It might not be expensive but if my own music collection is just as good, which has just expanded I need some convincing.
You can't beat your own collection for your own familiarity and preferences. This album contains a few tracks I already had on other albums, a couple of which I didn't have in 24/96 until now.

One of the most fun and helpful parts of this album is the liner notes, where Steve Guttenberg (CNET Audiophiliac blog writer) explains why we chose the tracks, and what to listen for.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JaZZ View Post
....Finally I could get the first link to work! – Unfortunately the recordings are not adapted to headphone listening. These are normal, speaker-based recordings. That's disappointing and a gross flaw in my book.
.
Glad the link is now working for you, JaZZ.

Regarding adapting recordings to headphone listening: With 22,000+ tracks ripped/downloaded in my collection (with seemingly countless more CD's left to rip), only a tiny handful that I have are binaural, or specially engineered for headphone use. This album was designed to help listeners understand what they're hearing in the types of recordings they'll currently encounter, which is still overwhelmingly non-binaural, two-channel stereo.

As headphones continue to grow in popularity (and they definitely are), I think we'll likely see more adventures into binaural recordings and/or DSP'd recordings engineered specifically for headphone listening. I wouldn't be surprised if Head-Fi gets involved in projects like that down the road (well down the road, at this point).
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post #45 of 271
3/6/10 at 3:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bastet View Post
You can still download the album if you use the Paypal checkout button to pay.
Worked for me and I'm located in Germany!
Thanks. I was wondering about that but I hadn't had the time to check it out.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jude
As headphones continue to grow in popularity (and they definitely are), I think we'll likely see more adventures into binaural recordings and/or DSP'd recordings engineered specifically for headphone listening. I wouldn't be surprised if Head-Fi gets involved in projects like that down the road (well down the road, at this point).
It's a very exciting prospect - and I'm hoping to see not just music but also innovative uses of headphones in general. Things like the Astro Mixamp and SVS Realizer are beginning to show us the possibilities...
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Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › Head-Fi and HDtracks (David Chesky) Collaborate to Assemble A Headphone System Test Album!