The highest level Qobuz sub used to be 16/44.1 ‘CD quality’ but as they started to add 24 bit material they made it available at no extra cost, so where available you get 24/44.1, 24/96 or 24/192.
I would add that more and more of the weekly new material is 24 bit. It is at least half and probably more. Percentage of 24bit seems to gradually increasing.
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Yes, I couldn’t put a figure on it, but there has been a steady increase in the amount of 24 bit material that’s available.
For example 12 of the 14 (85%) new jazz albums this week are 24 bit releases.
Yeah, the Sublime subscription is pretty great if you’re interested in growing your hi res digital collection. I’ve been on a buying spree since I switched over in January.
Only just seen this thread. This may be of interest:
I don’t subscribe to any online streaming service, essentially only playing my own locally stored music, just using free online services such as Spotify and uTube to sample possible new music, buying if I like.
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Where in the country are you @TerribleTanker?
There’s a chap in Sheffield that services older CD players so he’d be a great option if he’s vaguely local to you.
Kent I’m afraid.
If that’s Class A Audio, they also do a collect and return courier service.
Just used them and it worked well.
DG…
That’s not who I was referring to (more of a one-man band working from home) but Class A might be an option too.
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May I suggest using an old iPad & a 30-pin AV cable to play CDs ripped in lossless?
You’ll not miss the CD player.
I still have a CD transport going into a good DAC. I now have a cheap streamer BlueSound Node for listening to Spotify to try out new music before I ask for the CD for Christmas/birthday (yes everyone complains they are too cheap for a present but I am happy to get them!).
Problem is recently I’ve heard some classical stuff on R3 and have tried to buy the CD to discover it isn’t available.
this seems to be increasingly the case - although in some cases it is just that the download/stream is released first followed a few days later by the cd - my guess is that just as classical led the way in dropping vinyl in favour of cd it may now be moving on again - i guess it makes economic sense for lower volume releases
Which Classical stuff ? Generally, in the Classical music world, CD is massive.
A few times now they’ve played stuff on R3 and when I’ve looked on Amazon CD not available.
There are other sources of CDs than Amazon. Presto Classical is an excellent company, which offers a large range of classical and also does other things like reviewing new releases on its website. Often cheaper than Amazon, too, though you need to spend £25 to get free postage.
Some record companies, Hyperion for example, also sell CDs directly.
But I do find downloading offers other advantages. Nearly all recent classical releases are available in better than CD quality, it avoids the admittedly minor faff of ripping and no extra physical storage space is required. And if you’re impatient, you get to hear your purchase immediately. But that’s just me.
Roger
Thanks Roger. It certainly presents a dilemma. I’m reluctant to shift to streaming because that would involve selling the CDS3 to make room for a streamer, and to these ears I’m yet to hear a streamer that gets near the CDS3 in terms of performance, but that’s another issue! I’ll check out Hyperion, Presto etc.
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I faced that dilemma last year Lindsay. I sold my CDS3 but kept the XPS for a new NDX2. I also bought a Core at the same time to go with a Qobuz subscription. I loved the CD player but really enjoy streaming against all expectations. It was honestly a difficult call but now delighted that I made it…
