Where can you buy hi-res music? Here are the top download ...

In its simplest terms, hi-res audio refers to music files that have a higher sampling frequency and/or bit depth than CD (16-bit/44.1kHz), ... Skiptomaincontent WhatHi-Fi?THEWORLD'S#1TECHBUYER'SGUIDE Search Subscribe RSS UKUSCanadaAustralia WhatHi-FiMagazineSubscriptionWhatHi-FiMagazine...Whysubscribe?ThebesthomeentertainmentbuyingadviceIn-depth,unbiased,expertreviewsIssuesdeliveredstraighttoyourdoorFrom£4.99View News Reviews BestBuys Deals Advice Features Awards Forum More Awards Subscribe Newsletter Sound+Image AustralianHi-Fi trendingSkyGlassBestwirelessearbudsSpotifyHiFiPS5stockBestTV WhatHi-Fi?issupportedbyitsaudience.Whenyoupurchasethroughlinksonoursite,wemayearnanaffiliatecommission.Learnmore (Imagecredit:HDtracks) Wanttobuildalibraryofhigh-resolutionmusicbutdon'tknowwheretostart?Whetheryou'veonlyjusttakentheplungeintohi-resaudio,orarewonderingwhatotheronlinestoreshavetooffer,we'veroundedupsomeofourfavouritehi-resdownloadwebsites.Initssimplestterms,hi-resaudioreferstomusicfilesthathaveahighersamplingfrequencyand/orbitdepththanCD(16-bit/44.1kHz),givingthepotentialforbettersoundquality(withtheappropriatelisteningequipment,ofcourse).WithmajormusiclabelssuchasSony,WarnerandUniversalmakingtheirextensivemusiccataloguesavailabletothesehi-resdownloadservices,there'sahugevarietyofgenres,fileformatsanddownloadoptionsavailableforfansofhigh-resolutionaudio.We'vefocusedonthebiggestandmostpopulardownloadsitesthatletyoubuyanddownloadsingletracksandfullalbumsinvarioushi-resformats.Eachhasitsowndistinctflavour,bitratesandfeaturestooffer.Youmayultimatelyendupwithafavouritego-tosite,buteventhen,it'sworthcheckingacrossthedifferentsitesforthesamealbumortrack,too,assomestorescanofferbetterpricesthanothers.Ofcourse,ifyou'dratherstreamhi-resthanpurchaseanddownloadit,youcandosoviaTidal,AmazonMusicHD,QobuzandnowAppleMusic.HDtracks(Imagecredit:HDtracks)Hi-ressamplingratesavailable:24-bit/44.1kHzto24-bit/192kHzHi-resfileformatsavailable:FLAC,WAV,AIFF,ALAC,DSD2.8and5.6MHzHDtracksisoneofthemoreestablishedhi-resdownloadstores,andit'sneverbeenstronger. We'veknockedHDtracksinthepastforshunningmorecurrentorpopularmusicinfavourofjazz,classicalanddad-rock,butglanceatthehomescreenandtheTopNewReleasestabnowincludesthelikesofBillieEilish,PrinceandP!nkremixes. Youcan'treallybuyindividualtracksandhi-resalbumscanbepricey,buttheinterfaceisfuss-freeandeasytonavigate,andyoucansample30secondsofanyalbumtrackbeforeyoubuy.Anotherplusistheformatandbitrateselectiononoffer.WhereotherdownloadsitesoftenofferFLACasdefault(andinsomecases,onlyFLACisavailable),HDtracksletsyouchoosebetweenFLAC,WAV,AIFFandALACformats–andthesamplingrateswithineach–beforedownloading.There'saselectionoftunesinDSDanddoubleDSD,too,whichisgreatforaudiophiles.OneissueisthatHDtracksrestrictspurchasestocertaincountries,butthatshouldn'tprovetoodifficulttoworkaroundwithoneofthebestVPNs.ViewtheHDtrackswebsiteQobuz(Imagecredit:Qobuz)Hi-ressamplingratesavailable:24-bit/44.1kHzto24-bit/192kHzHi-resfileformatsavailable:FLAC,WAV,AIFF,ALACThedownloadstoreattachedtotheQobuzstreamingservicegetsfullmarksformusicdiscoveryandfront-endintuitiveness.Andwithmorethan220,000albumsavailablein hi-res 24-bitquality,it'sworthtakingalook. Boththewebsiteanddedicatedappareeasytonavigate.Hi-resalbumsareclearlylabelled,andyoucansearchbygenreornewreleases,whichcanbesortedbysamplerate.Hi-resalbumsin5.1surroundsoundareavailabletoo.ThereisastrongFrancophilefocus,althoughthehi-rescatalogueisgrowingmorevariedeveryday.It'sworthnotingthatyouchoosethefileformatandsamplingrateyouwanttodownloadyourhi-resalbuminaftermakingyourpurchase,andalsothatyoucan'tbuyindividualtracks.Pricingiscompetitive,andifyouoptforthehybriddownload-and-streamingSublime+service(£250/$250peryear)youcangetdiscountsonhi-resalbums.ReadourfullQobuzreviewViewtheQobuzdownloadstore7digital(Imagecredit:7digital)Hi-ressamplingratesavailable:24-bit/44.1kHzto24-bit/192kHzHi-resfileformatsavailable:FLACWithastrongcatalogueofhi-resmusicfromallgenresandawebsitethatmakesbuyingmusiceasy,7digitalisagoodall-rounder.Ahelpfulsearchbarrunsacrossthetopoftheinterfacetohelpyoufindexactlywhatyou'reafterandthewebsiteissimpletonavigate.Youcaneasilyspothi-resrecordingsthankstoayellow'24bitFLAC'badgeonanalbumorsong'sthumbnail,andthere'salsoadedicatedhi-ressectionforsomefocusedbrowsing.Youcanpreview30secondsofasongbeforebuyingit,too.Onedrawbackisthatitonlyoffershi-resdownloadsintheFLACformat(whileit'snowpossibletoselect'MQA'asafilteroption,wecouldn'tfindanytracksintheformat).Pricesareaffordable,though,andyoucanbuyindividualtracksaswellasfullalbums–somethingthatnoteverysiteoffers.Viewthe7digitaldownloadsstoreNativeDSD(Imagecredit:NativeDSD)Hi-ressamplingratesavailable:DSD64(2.8MHz/64fs),DSD128(5.6MHz/128fs)DSD256(11.2MHz/256fs)Hi-resfileformatsavailable:DSD,DXD,WAV,FLACIfyourecentlypurchasedaportablemusicplayerfromthelikesofAstell&Kern(plusanSDcardtoboostitsstorage)andyou'reprimarilylookingforclassicalmusic,thissitemaywellbecomeyournewone-stopshop.Asthenamesuggests,Sony'sproprietarymid-90s–butnowverymuchbackinfashion–DirectSingleDigital(DSD)formatisthefocushere,butthere'sadecentcatalogueofWAVandFLACfilestoo. ThosewhowanttrackstoplayoniTunesmayhavetoshopelsewhere,anddon'texpecttofindKanyeWest'slatestworkhere–NativeDSD'sbest-sellersincludeVivaldi,DebussyandBeethoven–butsearcharoundandyoucanevendownloadsomecomplimentary'StarterPack'selections,intwoandfivechannels,instandardDSD64.NotsureifyourDACcanplayquadDSD,akaDSD256?There'sahelpfulDACchecker–andifyourscomesupshort,youcanevenbuyonefromNativeDSD'sgeartab.ViewtheNativeDSDdownloadsstoreMORE:Preferstreaming?SeeHi-resmusicstreamingservicescompared:whichshouldyousignupfor?Confused?Youneedhigh-resolutionaudio:everythingyouknow...andhowtoplayhi-resmusiconyouriPhoneFurtherreading:WhatisDSDaudio?Howitworks,wheretodownloadfiles,andmore TomParsons TomParsonshasbeenwritingaboutTV,AVandhi-fiproducts(nottomentionplentyofother'gadgets'andevencars)forover15years.HebeganhiscareerasWhatHi-Fi?'sStaffWriterandisnowtheTVandAVEditor.Inbetween,heworkedasReviewsEditorandthenDeputyEditoratStuff,andovertheyearshashadhisworkfeaturedinpublicationssuchasT3,TheTelegraphandLouder.He'salsoappearedonBBCNews,BBCWorldService,BBCRadio4andSkySwipe.InhissparetimeTomisarunnerandgamer. Seeallcomments(1) 1Comment Commentfromtheforums Can'tbuyindividualhi-restracksfromQobuz?Eryesyoucan! Reply ViewAll1Comment WhatHi-Fi?Newsletter SignupbelowtogetthelatestfromWhatHi-Fi?,plusexclusivespecialoffers,directtoyourinbox! ContactmewithnewsandoffersfromotherFuturebrands Receiveemailfromusonbehalfofourtrustedpartnersorsponsors ThankyouforsigninguptoWhatHi-Fi?.Youwillreceiveaverificationemailshortly. Therewasaproblem.Pleaserefreshthepageandtryagain. FINDAPRODUCT TV Headphones Earbuds Soundbars AVreceivers Projectors Turntables StereoAmps MostPopular BestAirPlayspeakers2021:wirelessstreamingforAppledevices Bestfreemusicapps:freemusiconAndroidandiPhone BestAlexaspeakers2021:thebestAlexa-enabledsmartspeakers MOSTPOPULAR1CES2022preview:whattoexpectastheworld'sbiggesttechshowreturns2ThisSamsungGalaxytabletcouldbeagreatbudgetalternativetoaniPad3SamsungQE65QN94A65-inchNeoQLEDTVreview4Save34%oncheapfive-starSonyWF-C500wirelessearbudsonAmazontoday5Bestrecordplayers2021:bestturntablesforeverybudget WhatHi-FiMagazineSubscription●●WhatHi-FiMagazine...ThebesthomeentertainmentbuyingadviceFrom£4.99ViewAmazonUKViewSimilar●●AmazonUKViewSimilarCheckAmazon