[DavidJ1973]

  one question though. cd quality is in mp3/m4a format right? can it be converted to flac since flac isn't readily available as releases

 
I don't think the throughput of a mp3 can handle CD quality. If you see someone claiming a mp3 is CD quality, I think the person is confused. If I recall, in a Windows or Linux environment, mp3s top out at 320kbps, but a CD is a CBR at 1,411 kbps, a factor of a little over 4x. FLAC acts like a VBR lossless, so it can handle up to 1,411 (and beyond, if the bitrate is over 16). So to answer the question, while you technically CAN convert a mp3 to FLAC, you're not gaining additional quality by doing so, and so the difference is just "air," so to speak (and also a larger file size on your hard-drive/device).
 
Or did I misunderstand the question?

 

[hogger129]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought FLAC was still a CBR 1411kbps when it is unpacked, not VBR.  It just shows lower bit rate because it's compressed for storage. 
 
And yeah you are right, converting lower quality into FLAC you're not gaining anything.

 

[DavidJ1973]

I'm pretty sure FLAC is VBR. I've got 24/96 rips of Bluray audio discs from Dvorak's 9th symphony that are much less than the CD throughput bitrate when the quiet parts are playing (just have to keep an eye on the kbps meter), and JRiver shows the average kbps for the whole track as under 1,411. In fact, I thought the whole point of FLAC was to create a non-proprietary lossless VBR codec, no?

 

[DavidJ1973]

And yeah you are right, converting lower quality into FLAC you're not gaining anything.

...except wasted hard-drive space.

 

[DavidJ1973]

And yeah you are right, converting lower quality into FLAC you're not gaining anything.

I was also under the impression that FLAC's "compression" was not from it's file format, but rather it's unallocation of unused throughput, hence VBR. I'm pretty sure that when I'm playing a FLAC file, I can watch the kbps bounce around (depending upon my meter's refresh rate, set to 0.5/second right now) depending upon the files's throughput requirement. With WAV or a CBR MP3, the kbps meter holds the entire time, which I thought meant that throughput was constant no matter what. I could be wrong though.

 

[Rob49]

Hi guys, was trying to find out if anyone ( outside of Japan ) has ever downloaded hi res music from mora.jp, and if so, what were your experiences ??

 

[Mahay]

Just learned my lesson today that it's not because it is a FLAC file that it is always good. I think the most important is to know the source where you get the music. I bought some FLAC song from melodishop.com and now I regret it all. Waste of money. They sell FLAC but apparently their flac file are poor quality and no wonder if it is cheap.
So here is the story. I have a CD of the french singer "Patricia Kaas" album "Mademoiselle Chante..." that I ripped with dbpoweramp as flac.
Melodishop has the same album in Flac version. So I downloaded a couple file to test the quality of their FLAC.
I compared their spectrogram using the program Spek 0.8.2 (Freeware). Obviously the FLAC from the melodishop is a real flac not a flac from MP3 (See first picture of track 01- "Mon Mec A Moi"). The maxima are slightly above 20khz which confirm that the source is not an MP3. Usually a 320kbp MP3 is between 17 to 18KHZ.
 
Now when I compare the spectrogram to the one I ripped myself directly from the CD (track 01), I obtained the second picture. Maxima 22KHZ and the spectrogram looks more complete.
 
I played the musics on my computer. The one from melodishop has poor sound quality and grainy compared to the one from the one from the  CD which is very clear and well presented. This is not the case of the one track but the entire album. You can hear the difference that is actually huuuge.
 
 

 
Now I raise the question of how do you recognize a good FLAC quality. Both of them are FLAC but the difference is very noticeable (visually and SQ wise) . My recommendation from now is to rip your own CD. That way you are sure you have the quality you are looking for unless you trust the website you are downloading from...
Another song from the same site "Dire Straits" - "Once upon a time in the west". The spectrogram is as follow. 
 

What the heck do I see in this spectrogram ????????? Like I said I just learned my lesson and from now on I won't trust this site anymore.

 

[wuwhere]

I was going to buy from them too, their prices seem reasonably low so I searched first for any comments about them.
I found this http://www.avforums.com/threads/melodysale-legit-download-company.1682809/ so I stayed away.

 

[DavidJ1973]

I hear you. In some countries, it is so difficult to buy music legally without being tempted by sites like these. In the end, I think your comment about going with the CD is best, despite being more expensive (sometimes it is less expensive, though).
 
On my own part, I am fortunate enough to be able to find the CDs I want for about $5 USD or less, sometimes with free shipping. To date, I'm approaching 700 CDs, and I plan to keep them. Not only do they serve as a physical backup option, but I like the artwork, liner notes, and the look of it all on my bookshelves. On top of that, I can rip or transcode to whatever format I want. I'm a FLAC user because I like lossless, I like that it can also carry a 5.1 signal, and its low footprint on my hard-drive (vs. WAV). I've tried a few albums from hdtracks.com, but I do a lot of research before I pull the trigger. I got burned pretty bad with Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors," which was mastered horribly.

 

[ppdv]

  Sure. Check these:
 
http://www.qobuz.com/interprete/rihanna/telechargement-ecoute-albums
http://www.qobuz.com/interprete/chris-brown/telechargement-ecoute-albums
 
All CD quality downloads.

 
QoBUZ seems to be a fantastic solution for HD quality songs. i will be seeing more purchases off this site Tho, like David i too prefer buying CD's when i get the ones i am looking for and that most of the times ends up in a mess since the quality of pressings (for my local language) are crap since they are only out to make money and dont even bother as to what people are listening to.
 
Thanks much to everyone who has posted a links to various sources here

 

[dc-k]

Just found the following, pretty good range of classical music in FLAC at various rates, though not always very high resolution. One of the things I like about the site is that the samples allow you to choose between different recordings of the same piece before buying; the three versions of Charles Ives' Symphony no. 4 are quite different and I was glad I heard samples from all three before I bought one. As well as having a good selection of pieces, the prices are very reasonable...
 
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk

 

[chronos1]

  HDTracks  ---------->    https://www.hdtracks.com/
 
Beatport -------------->   https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html/content/home/detail/1/beatport#app=5663&a486-index=0
 
Rhino ------------------>  http://www.rhino.com/index.php
 
Music Is Here ------->   http://musicishere.com/
 
ADDICTECH -------->  http://www.addictech.com/store/
 
Junodownload ------>  http://www.junodownload.com/
 
MUSICZEIT ---------> http://www.musiczeit.com/
 
Magnatune ----------> http://magnatune.com/
 
Channel Classics----> http://www.channelclassics.com/
 
Hyperion---------------> http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/
 
DG-----------------------> http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/
 
etree --------------------> http://bt.etree.org/
 
tapers ------------------> http://tapers.org/
 
archive ----------------> http://www.archive.org/details/etree
 
illegal art net----------> http://illegal-art.net/shop/
 

Awesome post! Added a few new websites to my list of places to go to. You can sometimes find high quality torrets of music too. 

 

[DavidJ1973]

I cannot discourage the downloading of torrents enough. Many ISPs are now tracking customers who download them, and occasionally report misuse to the legal firms representing the interests of the one who holds the rights to the content within the torrent. These legal firms can and actively do press for legal action or out-of-court settlement through the mail or other means.

 

[chris-]

moder electronic right from canada
http://www.ektoplazm.com

 

[dc-k]

Is there a hi res search engine, where you can find a source of a particular track/album?