Differences among various masterings and digital downloads, etc

[RBFC]

How much variation have you guys experienced in the sound quality of various digital download versions of an album? Is it wise to simply search for the least expensive version of an album (listed bit depth/sampling rate the same)? So, do files of the same album from HDTracks, Pono, etc. all sound the same? Are there any measured comparisons that document differences or similarity?

Lee

 

[amirm]

I think all new releases are identical bits but I have not verified it. By accident and stupidity, I bought two copies of Sia latest album, one from HDTracks and one from Prostudiomasters. I can do a comparison if there is interest.

I certainly operate under that rule and shop for the lowest price.

 

[garylkoh]

Even with files from the same vendor, the same album could sound different at different bit depths.

In the early days of HDTracks, there was a album that blew this up - Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan: In Session.

HDTracks ended up sending all of us who bought and complained a new 192/24 download.

 

[asiufy]

I think Bruce Brown has tipped us that that's not always the case. An album he has prepared and submitted, once downloaded from different services, sounded (and measured) differently!

That might've been just with Bruce's albums, but I don't know...

 

[RBFC]

Haven't watched yet, but Dr. Mark Waldrep (AIX Records) is a voice of sanity in the high-res morass. His stance against DSD is controversial, but his insistence on defined standards for a "high-resolution" recording is admirable. My original post was not specifically aimed at high-res products, but rather at quality differences between different vendors of digital music. So, is a $9.99 16/44.1 download from iTunes always as good as a $15.99 16/44.1 download from another vendor?

In the analog era, great energy has been expended to locate the optimal masterings and pressings of a given album. Do any of these concerns apply to digital downloads, or is the cheapest (with same advertised resolution specs) the way to go?

Has there been any evidence of digital downloads being upsampled from mp3 files, etc that could reduce playback fidelity?

Lee