The HD-Audio Challenge II

[David A]

I don't know if I'm confident that wide bandwidth makes a difference or not, I do think it can, but I do believe that mastering makes a difference. The problem is we've really got no way of telling whether a high res version of an album comes from a different master or if it's an upscaled version of a low resolution master. The original SACD of Norah Jones' "Come Away With Me" apparently used a DSD conversion of the CD master for the SACD layer so there was no audible difference between the layers. I've heard that that SACD has since been reissued with an actual high res mastering for the SACD layer.

What I can say is that if I have a choice between buying a high res download and a 44.1/16 download, I will buy the high res version because of the possibility that it will come from a better quality mastering. I may be wasting money in some or a lot of cases but I don't get the opportunity to compare both before buying and if it's music I like, then I'd rather have it in the best possible version and I've yet to come across a high res version that I thought sounded worse than 44.1/16.

I remember reading a comment by Michael Lavorgna some years ago on Audiostream that what he wanted wasn't high res versions, what he wanted was versions at the original resolution of the recording, whatever that was. I agree with that sentiment, I'd rather have something as close as possible to the original recording/master as possible. Failing that it would be nice to be told whether the 44.1/16 version of an album and the high res version are simply different resolution transfers of the same master or actually derived from different masters.