Nitreb
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Converting 24 bits-96 mHz file to 16 bit wav file
jazzfan
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Without going to deeply into all that's involved in producing a modern digital recording suffice it to say that most of what you're confused about is just marketing hype. If the files are going to be played back using a standard CD player than save your money and buy the CD compatible files. Buying the higher resolution files and converting those higher resolution files back to standard CD resolution files will only yield a CD which will sound the same as one made from the CD resolution files, which i assume are less expensive than the hi-rez files.

Edit: should you still choose to purchase the hi-rez then may I suugest that you purchase a copy of the dbPowerAmp software (windows only) to use when converting the hi-rez files to CD resolution and for burning the files to CD. http://www.dbpoweramp.com/

Demondog
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If all I was doing was converting to standard CD format, I would save my money, and just get the files in CD format. I don't believe there is any real advantage to starting with higher resolution.  ( unless you plan at some point to use your computer as a music source )

I also save my money by doing any conversion with Foobar2000 for free.
 

Nitreb
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Thanks for your reply. From what I can see, the price for the file is the same, wheter it's Studio Master, True CD or MP3 quality. So I think I would go for the best format anyway since I'll eventually get a DAC.

Now, about the CD marketing hype, are you basically telling me that the quality of the master used by a studio has no bearing on the quality of the sound from a commercial CD?

About conversion software, does any of you have experience with Easy CD-DA Extractor (http://www.poikosoft.com)?

jazzfan
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Nitreb wrote:

Thanks for your reply. From what I can see, the price for the file is the same, wheter it's Studio Master, True CD or MP3 quality. So I think I would go for the best format anyway since I'll eventually get a DAC.

That's odd that all formats/resolutions are priced the same but if so then by all means go for the highest quality and do the conversion yourself. Just don't forget to save a copy of the original high resolution files.

Nitreb wrote:

Now, about the CD marketing hype, are you basically telling me that the quality of the master used by a studio has no bearing on the quality of the sound from a commercial CD?

Not exactly. Most modern day digital recordings are made using 24 bit depth and with a sample rate above 44.1kHz. The 24 bit depth allows the music to be edited in the digital domain with minimal losses. Once the music has been fully edited a CD master at 16bit/44.1kHz is created. Since all CDs are 16bit/44.1kHz the higher bit depths and resolutions never show up on a CD.

I know that it's a little confusing but think of it this way: it's not the bit depth or sample rate of the master that matter but rather the how well the master was recorded that really matters. In other words a Cd made from high resolution master of a crappy sounding recording will still sound crappy whereas a CD made from a CD resolution master of a good sounding recording will most likely sound good.

Nitreb wrote:

About conversion software, does any of you have experience with Easy CD-DA Extractor (http://www.poikosoft.com)?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: I do have lots of experience with dbPowerAmp and it is an excellent piece of software. As mentioned by Demondog Foobar2000 is another worthwhile option.

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