How about picking a sample of albums and checking the sites manually.
Or is that just crazy?
The following can help semi-automate that, but itâs sometimes not up to date. For example, it shows Joshua Redmanâs recent Come What May as only available on AcousticSounds in the US, but Iâve seen it elsewhere too (I got it on Qobuz, BTW).
1 Like
This is a great approach, thanks for sharing
Btw, I really like the concept of Biophilia records from the look of it
Good idea, therefore I hope to make a small list of online stores to have them in one place. However, it is growing quickly, and comparing will take a while 
Well, thats what self-help is all about, to reach an aim its effort.
This is a very useful web site to finding high res downloads
http://www.findhdmusic.com/
Just enter search terms and it will come up with albums and for each sites that offer downloads of various resolutions from DSD to FLAC
It always depends on your residence because pricing of HiRes albums can be very different from country to country, even within the EU up to 800 % with the same store due to specifications from the labels. Best example, âThe Doors Complete Studio Albumsâ at Qobuz, in Germany ⏠237.49, in France ⏠95.99 and in the UK ÂŁ 26.49. Simply weird!
Iâm downloading music, HiRes if available, since 2014 and always compare prices and catalog of all vendors in Germany and sometimes cross borders or continents, just for interest. Beside Qobuz, 7Digital (OnkyoMusic), TIDAL and Bandcamp, download stores offers only HiRes and or lossy MQA quality.
Bandcamp is nice and cheap, I download frequently there, but youâll never know before purchase, the resolution youâll get. Usually itâs not HiRes.
In my experience, comparing the multi-genre HiRes download stores, in my country Qobuz has the broadest overall catalog, except Classical and Jazz, where Highresaudio.com has a better line-up. Neither HDtracks nor 7Digital can compare with both. In the US, the order is different because of HDtracks dominant position there currently.
Comparing prices without special discounts, in Germany Highresaudio is usually the best vendor, followed by Qobuz and then with a significant distance 7Digital and HDtracks.
This view is varying when you consider discounts. The usual 10% discount for new albums or the complete catalog at HDtracks in Europe are just âpeanutsâ, but the Qobuz discount offers for a special selection in genres, artists or labels are significant.
Really interesting for consumers who like to âownâ their library but want to evaluate purchases before by listening to an album via a streaming service. Then the offers of Qobuz and Hiresaudio with a discount between 30 and 50% to are unbeatable with a slight advantage for Qobuz.
Personally, I have an old Qobuz Sublime subscription (CD quality, HD streaming just for purchases) charged ⏠200 per year. This âinvestementâ usually amortized within a view months with the discounts I get on my purchases.
IMO, another important aspect for HiRes download services is reliability. Most download stores cannot guarantee that youâll really get the resolution youâve payed for because of a not existing quality control. They just forward the files they get from the labels without any check if the labeled resolution is correct. Especially for many Rock/Pop albums, it is not. A notable exception here is Hiresaudio.com. They automatically check each incomming album and guarantee that the labeled resolution for the FLAC or DSD albums is correct.
For most other download stores, I recommend to check all purchased HiRes files with an established analysing tool to prove complaints and get a compensation for fakes.
I agree that HighResAudio has a better classical and jazz catalog and do more quality control than some of the others, but unfortunately they have two really bad habits for those of us in the US:
- They announce albums before they are available, and âŚ
- ⌠many of their releases are not available for the US, but you only know when you try to buy them
After way too much of the above I just gave up. And Iâm a considerable spender in digital downloads (262 albums just in the last 12 months).