Hi everyone,
I was wondering if there was a website that compared prices across several download services (HDtracks, Qobuz etc.)?
Second question: what is a good website for buying CD quality downloads? I know of Qobuz, HDTracks, HighResAudio.com. What else is there?
I should mention I listen to Jazz, but also Rap and Electronic Music.
Thanks
PS: I find most of the music I like in the Qobuz store, but I was wondering whether there are other stores as well? And I found HighResAudio super expensive, wow.
In the US and Canada, 7digital.com sometimes has lower prices, and albums others don’t (yet?) have. Like @anon47919701, I buy from Bandcamp (a lot), partly because more of what I pay goes to the artist. I also have Qobuz Sublime+, so I stream from there, but also buy discounted downloads from there for my offline collections (work and travel systems).
I was referring to buying CDs, which are cheaper than downloads from Qobuz, or anywhere else for that matter.
Question - I canceled my Qobuz sub because it didn’t have all the music I had collected on Tidal. I seem to remember that there was a warning about if one cancel Qobuz membership, then one’s downloads would no longer be available.
Is this true or am I mis-remembering (as usual) the warning?
It seems absurd that buying CDs is oftentimes cheaper than downloading. I hope this will change soon.
Production cost and transport cost (assuing you order it online) for CDs should be prized higher than running a download server.
As I have just finished ripping all my CDs and selling them or giving them away, I don’t want to start buying CDs again
I am implying that downloading is less wasteful, especially if you use the CD only for ripping it once and then not using it anymore. But hey, all good…
3 month ago I had about 1000Cds and only an Amp and CD player. Now I have a core, streamer, Dac, and amp. So my energy consumption has gone up, but I stopped buying Cds. I justify the higher energy consumption for myself with the fact that I subscribed to renewable energies…
In the end I don’t know what is more wasteful, and I am happy with roon and my music…
That’s the idea of Biophilia Records. If you want a physical object, you get beautiful (recycled) paper art with a download code for the music. Otherwise, just download on Bandcamp.
Manufacturing your equipment, and using it to listen to music on a regular basis, uses more energy than it would take to manufacture 10,000 CDs.
As far as throwing away CDs after ripping and thereby misusing landfill, whether the original owner throws them away or someone else does, eventually it ends up in a landfill.
It’s been my observation that someone’s supposed environmental consciousness usually doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. It is convenient to invoke environmental concerns to buttress an action one was going to uindertake anyway; not saying that’s happening here.
Presto Music in the UK - known for its extensive classical stock - has begun stocking a significant amount of jazz, most of it in downloadable form as well as on cd. The downloads are almost always availale as CD quality FLAC and often better. I have found them especially useful for ECM as their prices are slightly lower than HD tracks on many releases. The FLAC prices are usually a few bucks less than a cd and on ocassion the hi-res flac will be cheaper than the cd. However, every once in a while Presto decides to free up some warehouse space and discounts the CD price (but almost never the download price) for some labels. I wonder why Arkivjazz has not started offering downloads; its owner - Naxos - does offer downloads for its own labels and those it distributes on its own site. And as others have, I heartily endorse Bandcamp (flac at the same price as MP3).
Interesting on ECM @ Presto, that’s a change from when I was getting more downloads from them last year. As I have Qobuz Sublime+ now, I get a very nice discount there on new ECM that I want to have offline, so I don’t shop around for ECM releases any more. In the US, ProStudioMasters would have 20% discounted ECM at release, but that is still a lot more than what I pay on Sublime+, which also allows me to sample a big range of other music that I don’t necessarily want for repeated use offline. Here’s my current flow for a new release I become aware of via reviews or mailing lists, and want for offline use (as well as Roon use):
Is it on Bandcamp? If yes, get it there so the artist gets more of the $$.
Is it on Qobuz for download purchase. If so, get it there with the Sublime+ discount.
Look elsewhere, starting on 7digital, then ProStudioMasters, then Presto, then HDtracks.
Try label site (there are a few that provide lossless sometimes, eg. CAM JAZZ).
Add to the CD wishlist, and order from Amazon when list is big enough to zero shipping cost.
)
Haven’t really listened to it since 
