IMPORTANT: Thoughts please regarding legit 5.1 downloads

[olgitnorm]

Would purchase downloads based on availability and price difference over physical media. If physical option is readily available at similar price I would be more likely to purchase the physical option, however if able to get just the required multi channel mix as opposed to a full box set or an overpriced out of print title a download would be totally acceptable.

 

[MrSmithers]

YES!

Absolutely! Would be very happy to purchase MCH downloads as I listen to everything ripped into FLAC/DSD via a hard drive already...

They just need to get the pricing structure right!!!

I find HDtracks to be overpriced already... For example they are selling the stereo only John Lennon Imagine - Ultimate Collection for £56.50, which is just £5 cheaper then the boxset - which makes no sense at all?! The costs of manufacturing, logistics etc have to come into force otherwise you're just ripping people off and they either won't bite or find other means... I always check 7 Digital as well and they seem to be better value but don't have as many titles. It may just be a licensing thing in the U.K.

On Acoustic Sounds they offer stereo SACD's for download and some of those 5.1 titles went OOP years ago and go for megabucks nowadays. In all the years since they've been OOP the artists and record companies have got zilch. So really they should be doing it. Storage is not an issue nowadays.

I personally would never go for a streaming option though. I have to own it. It just doesn't matter to me whether it's on a disc or a hard drive. I get the physical thing on vinyl but with digital stuff it's just a matter of how you deliver those 1's and 0's...

The ironic thing is I'm now buying albums on CD that I had previously bought lossy on iTunes, just to rip again. But those CD's are almost half the price at Amazon then they are as lossy downloads! Get the pricing right and they wouldn't have any problems at all...

Anyway, good debate. It's a win win situation if they were to do it.

 

[mlrocker]

yes - also multis - before they die in some archive fire set for insurance purposes.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Due to my internet connection...... downloads are not a possibility...but I must say that from my observations...HD tracks is a mixed bag when it comes to sound quality....some of the ones I have heard aren't nearly as good as the "vintage" cd version of the same album....

 

[peterzach]

Jon, thanks for this and and it would be a big YES. I have way to much physical product and if a download is priced fairly I would be all over it as I have finally come around to what a easy and wonderful way to be able to listen via quality flac files off a hard drive plugged into Oppo player.
I wish the industry would at least give this a trial to see what response what be as what do they have to lose, NOTHING. They are sitting on all this music and so many surrounds that are completed and aren't doing any one any good just sitting in some music vaults collecting dust.

 

[Jerfo]

As long as the pricing structure is acceptable, I'm all for paid multichannel downloads. I like the idea of having access to a legitimate copy of something that would otherwise be completely unavailable or only available in a $100+ box set. That said, there's already some precedent for multichannel download pricing, and I don't find it to be encouraging. For example. there's lots of great multichannel classical (and some jazz) available at NativeDSD, but the pricing is almost always more than the physical media (usually SACD). At least for me, this means that the physical media wins out every time.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Jon, thanks for this and and it would be a big YES. I have way to much physical product and if a download is priced fairly I would be all over it as I have finally come around to what a easy and wonderful way to be able to listen via quality flac files off a hard drive plugged into Oppo player.
I wish the industry would at least give this a trial to see what response what be as what do they have to lose, NOTHING. They are sitting on all this music and so many surrounds that are completed and aren't doing any one any good just sitting in some music vaults collecting dust.

I too have been exposed to the storage device/Oppo way of listening to music and it's great...and I'm in your same situation...I have just run out of space for all the physical discs...I do believe that it's the next "frontier"....storage vs discs....you can see examples of it creeping into play...the Grateful Dead has offered a USB stick in their more expensive box sets...and Guns n Roses has too....I think these are trial ballons to see if they are accepted...

 

[edisonbaggins]

As long as the pricing structure is acceptable, I'm all for paid multichannel downloads. I like the idea of having access to a legitimate copy of something that would otherwise be completely unavailable or only available in a $100+ box set. That said, there's already some precedent for multichannel download pricing, and I don't find it to be encouraging.

Then again, there is the price model at SM1, where the artists set the price (which I think tends to keep prices somewhere in the "priced to sell" range).
Maybe if SM1 does well, majors might see the light and set more tempting prices.
https://surroundmusic.one

 

[LennonCobain]

An important consideration for downloads would be the ability to purchase individual tracks (al a carte) rather than being required to purchase entire albums.

 

[MCDave]

One old school collector here. Not got into downloading yet but I know the day will come, when even this dinosaur will have to bend to the new ways.

So a slightly reluctant 'Yes' from me.

But that day is a LONG way off!! Don't give in! RESIST!!!

 

[marpow]

I am the future and the future is now. My future is all music listened to through JRiver. It is a beautiful thing to not have the clutter of physical discs. I still have them and wonder, will I sell them?
Disappointments with downloads: sometimes the only version is a compressed copy and the original CD sounds better, no liner notes, nothing to hold on to.
The best thing about downloads or ripping, storing, playing is the ease of playback.
I have purchased from Acoustic Sounds, HDTracks and NativeDSD, the price point of NativeDSD is the best because you can purchase the MCH release and all the single/double DSD rates for the one price. The problem with NativeDSD is it is a Classical based site and I do not listen to Classical. Native DSD also includes artwork and liner notes that you can download or you can just open your account and read, very good idea and very simple.
Acoustic Sounds and HDTracks are equal.
To answer your question, yes I would purchase MCH downloads and stereo/mono downloads also.
In my collection as I am sure in others, there is always that disc you never listen to for whatever reason, by having a stored/downloaded/ripped collection every tune is at your finger tips. If you really want to learn about the artist you are listening to then open Wikipedia and read.
I am reading all these posts and I gather that most who don't wish they could but the thought of learning and doing is intimidating, therefore they say NO. I say baby steps. I started on this new adventure in sound 2 years ago and I still am learning and even doing it wrong sometimes. It is my hobby and I have fun doing my hobby, so if it was easy and went fast, what would be the point of that.

 

[GaryG]

No from me. I am not setup to rip, play, or store multi-channel audio. That being said I do have most of my 3000+ stereo cds in the Google Play cloud. For multi-channel I prefer physical media. I feel it would be a huge investment of money and time on my part to get setup for multi-channel audio downloads.

 

[kokishin]

I would/have purchase DL's from HDTracks, 2L, and some other site which I can't remember the name atm. Given the opportunity, I would purchase quality MCH over stereo DL's everytime. Wish they would include the liner notes as a pdf - what's another few MB's?

By offering MCH DL's, the MCH 5.1 and Quad mixes could be sold as separate entities from the Blu-ray typically sold only with box sets. Potentially more profits for the artists and the label.

Since physical MCH discs have finite production runs, MCH DL's could stay available online long after the physical discs have dried up and have become overpriced "collector" items which do not generate any profits for the artists and the label in the after market.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

I would/have purchase DL's from HDTracks, 2L, and some other site which I can't remember the name atm. Given the opportunity, I would purchase quality MCH over stereo DL's everytime. Wish they would include the liner notes as a pdf - what's another few MB's?

By offering MCH DL's, the MCH 5.1 and Quad mixes could be sold as separate entities from the Blu-ray typically sold only with box sets. Potentially more profits for the artists and the label.

Since physical MCH discs have finite production runs, MCH DL's could stay available online long after the physical discs have dried up and have become overpriced "collector" items which do not generate any profits for the artists and the label in the after market.

Welcome to the forum...are you from the US?

 

[JanBakker]

Yes but prefer discs even though I listen to music mostly from pc.

 

[jimfisheye]

I voted yes but HDtracks is notorious for complete lack of providence. I'd have to have some disclaimer or preview option to know it was a genuine HD release and not merely a more crude copy masquerading in a HD format. Especially the way they like to hike up their prices! HDtracks have earned themselves a pretty bad reputation for that at this point.

In concept, I absolutely prefer digital downloads though. I'll take clean 24 bit files with checksums to verify against errors over error riddled physical discs any day! Ripping some of the disc formats can be a PITA too and takes time. That can go away forever.

 

[skherbeck]

Maybe think of it this way: your favorite album of all time is released in 5.1 as a download only for $30... would you buy it?
(For me it’s a huge YES! )

 

[milt]

Certainly not early to the download thing but over 3 years into it.
Like others have said, it ain't rocket science.
HDTracks is not the only place to get downloads and there are other places that have long offered MCH music files.
The ability to compose playlists or just quickly access music on a whim or to follow a mood or to listen to an album straight through is fantastic.

I got over the album art thing in 1983 when I started the switch to CDs.

The time will come when the only way for businesses to survive will be with downloads or the exact opposite, vinyl.

 

[georgeshannon]

Yes, I will buy downloads of multi-channel, high quality audio, desirable titles. They must be convertible so I can put them on a thumb drive or on a disc. They must be reasonably priced.

 

[skherbeck]

Certainly not early to the download thing but over 3 years into it.
Like others have said, it ain't rocket science.
HDTracks is not the only place to get downloads and there are other places that have long offered MCH music files.
The ability to compose playlists or just quickly access music on a whim or to follow a mood or to listen to an album straight through is fantastic.

I got over the album art thing in 1983 when I started the switch to CDs.

The time will come when the only way for businesses to survive will be with downloads or the exact opposite, vinyl.

I actually like the album art BETTER on a flac file vs an LP because it shows up HUGE on my big screen (when making my own files I search for high quality artwork whenever possible)