Linn Free Hi Res Download

Lost my post!

There is a free hi res download daily up to christmas.

Chance to sample something different and see what hires is like.

Got a good dawm langstroth (never heard of) track which is nice. Getting a lot more bottom end presence and music is quite immersive.

Yup.......and you've missed all the fun (post 6 and on, and on, and on):

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/better-mastered-music-could-be-on-th...

Will be interesting to see how it all pans out, as Linn does have a case to answer....and the longer they leave it......

I've just contacted Linn via their forum.

http://forums.linn.co.uk/bb/showthread.php?tid=20029&pid=230536#pid230536

I saw that, and admire your tenacity.

Thanks Cno.

I don't want to cause any forum unfriendliness there. I also expect that Linn are a good company and wouldn't want to cause them too much trouble but it's only fair that I share what I've discoverd and ask them about it.

TBF I have always found your approach polite and far from confrontational.

Despite the scepticism about my tech ability, I seriously find the whole thing very daunting.....so I'm happy for you to do the hard work.

I am watching with interest.

Cno

Replies given or not, I'd be very suprised if Linn were not already well aware of the question or questions raised, both here and elsewhere.

Situations like this would probably need time to produce the correctly worded response.

Agreed.

They need to get this one right first time.....though it would be nice if they acknowledged Oldic's email.

Cripes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well that was some reading, as you guessed not been following thread LOL

It makes you very suspicious about the whole hires thing. Some recordings I have sound amazing on standard cd such as jethro tull 40th edition and the who whos next mca version 008811126926 (had imported and is very good) but cannot be sure if the mastering on 24 bit hi res is masked by the quality of the recording rather than hires making sound superior.

A few free downloads I have in hi res do all sound impressive (some more than others).

Did anyone compare the dawn langstroth versions on Linn DL out of interest?

Good on Steve for spotting anomolies, although I find it all confusing.

The thing that gets me the most is all the versions and re-releases of cds and varying differences and how the original ones seem to be better in some cases.

What is the opinions on Audio Fidelity? I have one gold 24k cd - dio holy diver and there is most definately more clarity here than the other 3 odd versions I have. Just wish there wasn't all this rubbish to filter through when all you want it to pay a fair(ish) price for a decent recording of the music you love.

Yes, I am an optimist!!!!!

Ambrose

Re Linn,

I contacted them questioning the mastering of The Rolling Stones - Grrr! and was told that they were simply using the files supplied by the record company and couldn't answer the question.

Therefore it sounds as if they are simply a middle man and it is the record companies that we have to pressurise but at least Linn had the courtesy to reply to the query. FWIW - Universal never replied to my e-mail. Read into that what you will. 

There is no record shop in the country that sits down and analyzes band width and depth. However recordings can be returned as I have been reimbursed a good few times from HDtracks on some of the quality of their 24bit recordings.

However Linn ‘s own recordings are a different matter from the Linn music store. You won’t find a bad Linn recording all will be top notch recordings as they have one of the most advanced recording studios in Europe never mind the UK with a sting of awards. 

Certainly opened a hornets nest

I've been looking at Steve's Audacity screenshots with interest. I can only assume that Linn has tried to make the MP3 versions sound more at home on an average MP3 player, whose volume output is limited by European law and which are often listened to in noisy environments. If that's the case, Linn should at least be up-front about it on their website and explain that the two files are mastered differently, to appeal to what they perceive are different tastes and needs.

I can't personally see what all the fuss is about. It's nothing new for studio's to do different mixes depending on where they are used. They will quite often do a cd mix, radio mix etc. As far as this is concerned its simply an mp3 mix which would not be purchased by audiophile's but by someone who wants it for a portable audio device.

All of the different Linn files that I've listened to have sounded exellent. Even the MP3 versions that had the dynamic range compressed still sound very good quality.

When comparing the files visually it's easy to spot any differences between them but when comparing them just by listening it's very difficult to tell them apart. If it wasn't for the apparent difference in the volume levels then I doubt that I'd have ever noticed that they're not the same.

I think the issue is this......how much of the difference heard  is down to the resolution, and how much is down to the way it was mixed. ie. Does 24 bit stand on it's own two feet, or does it need the "lesser" bit rate alternatives altered to make it sound better.