Where To Download High Res Audio

[Kenya Ahyet]

Afteryears of niche positioning in the music world, high-resolution audio (or 'hi-res audio') finally hit the mainstream thanks to a huge raft of support from streaming services (such as Apple Music, Tidal and Amazon Music) and products (from smartphones to pretty much every digital hi-fi component) alike.

But should you care about hi-res audio? If you want the best digital music experience possible or at least better sound quality than you're currently used to (and why wouldn't you?), then yes; hi-res audio is definitely worth investigating.

It can be a daunting prospect. After all, what exactly constitutes hi-res audio? How does it differ from 'lossless' audio? What do all the different file formats and numbers mean, and what do you need to play it?

That's where we come in. Our handy guide will take you through the ins and outs of hi-res audio. By the end, we hope you'll know everything you need to know (and then some) and will be well on your way to enjoying your new and improved music-listening lifestyle.

In its simplest terms, hi-res audio tends to refer to music files that have a higher bit depth and/or sampling frequency than CD, which is specified at 16-bit/44.1kHz. This definition of 'CD quality' is now commonly referred to as 'lossless', too.

Sampling frequency (or sample rate) refers to the number of times samples of the signal are taken per second during the analogue-to-digital conversion process. The more bits there are, the more accurately the signal can be measured in the first instance, so going from 16-bit to 24-bit can deliver a noticeable leap in quality. Hi-res audio files usually use a sampling frequency of 48kHz, 96kHz or 192kHz at 24-bit, but you can also have 88.2kHz and 176.4kHz files.

Hi-res audio does come with a downside, though: file size. A hi-res file can typically be tens of megabytes in size, and a few tracks can quickly eat up the storage on your device. They can be cumbersome to stream over your wi-fi or mobile network, though internet bandwidth has generally improved in recent years and this is less of an issue nowadays. These larger file sizes have, however, been why Bluetooth hasn't been able to pass through hi-res audio losslessly (i.e. without lossy compression) yet.

Thankfully, storage is much cheaper than it used to be, so it's easier to get higher-capacity devices. Streaming technologies like MQA (see below) cleverly found a way to make packaging and streaming hi-res audio more efficient, though again streaming hi-res audio is less of an issue nowadays.

They include the popular FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) and ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) formats, both of which are compressed but in a way that means that, in theory, no information is lost. They are 'lossless' as opposed to 'lossy'. Other formats include the uncompressed WAV and AIFF formats, DSD (the format used for Super Audio CDs), and the more recent MQA (Master Quality Authenticated).

MP3 (not hi-res): Popular, lossy compressed format ensures small file size, but far from the best sound quality. Convenient for storing music on smartphones and iPods, but doesn't support hi-res.

WAV (hi-res): The standard format all CDs are encoded in. Great sound quality but it's uncompressed, meaning huge file sizes (especially for hi-res files). It has poor metadata support (that is, album artwork, artist and song title information).

FLAC (hi-res): This lossless compression format supports hi-res sample rates, takes up about half the space of WAV, and stores metadata. It's royalty-free and widely supported (though not by Apple) and is considered the preferred format for downloading and storing hi-res albums.

MQA (hi-res): A lossless compression format that efficiently packages hi-res files with a high emphasis on retaining quality. Used for Tidal Masters hi-res streams, with increasingly high product support in the digital hi-fi domain. MQA Ltd was recently acquired by Canadian firm Lenbrook, who also owns Bluesound and NAD.

Downloads from sites such as Amazon, as well as the Spotify streaming service, use compressed file formats with relatively low bitrates. For example, Spotify (which unlike Amazon Music and Apple Music has still not delivered its promise of CD-quality streams, via Spotify Hi-Fi) uses 320kbps Ogg Vorbis streams.

The hi-res 24-bit/96kHz or 24-bit/192kHz files should, therefore, more closely replicate the sound quality the musicians and engineers were working with in the studio. And they could be that very same recorded file, too. These files are labelled as "Studio Masters" in some cases.

There's a huge variety of products that can play hi-res audio these days. It's never been easier to get involved, now that the digital and streaming audio ecosystem almost universally supports hi-res, including popular streaming platforms such as Sonos and Google Chromecast (although not AirPlay 2, which currently has a limit of 16-bit/44.1kHz). Apple products are increasingly hi-res compatible following the addition of a hi-res library to Apple Music, too.

These days, you don't even have to completely abandon your vinyl collection to go hi-res, either; turntables such as the Sony PS-HX500 let you digitise your vinyl collection by ripping your record tracks into hi-res audio files.

Hi-res audio can be streamed wirelessly between phones and headphones/speakers that support the latest Bluetooth codecs (such as aptX HD, aptX Adaptive and LDAC)... but not losslessly (i.e. not without compression). Qualcomm claims to have found a way to transmit CD-quality music losslessly with its upcoming Snapdragon Sound aptX Lossless solution, and MQA's SCL6 could also pave the way for better on-the-go quality, but it could be some time before portable hi-res playback over non-wi-fi means materialises.

Desktop

For a desktop solution, your laptop (Windows, Mac, Linux) is a prime source for storing and playing hi-res music. After all, this is where you would download hi-res files from hi-res download sites if you did want to own your music. But make sure the software you use to play music also supports hi-res playback. Apple Music, for instance, doesn't support it, even if your MacBook does, so you'll need to download separate music-playing software. The likes of Channel D's Pure Music and Amarra are worth considering for a Mac. On a PC? Try JRiver Media Center. Roon is an increasingly popular (paid-for) music management platform worth considering if you listen to music from several sources and on various (Roon-compatible) kit.

DACs

We wouldn't just rely on your computer or phone's internal DAC to do hi-res audio justice, either. A USB or desktop DAC (such as the Chord Mojo 2, Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M and AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt) is a good way to get great sound quality out of hi-res files stored on, or streamed from, your computer or smartphone, whose own audio circuits don't tend to be optimised for sound quality. Simply plug a decent digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) in between your source and wired headphones for an instant sonic boost.

Music streamers

If you're after a proper hi-fi setup, you'll need to look into music streamers that support hi-res, or another component that has a streaming module built in (we'll get to that shortly).

Thankfully, even the most budget streamers do, and our highly recommendable picks include the entry-level WiiM Pro Plus, next-level-up Cambridge Audio MXN10, mid-priced Cambridge CXN V2 and high-end Naim ND5 XS 2. This is a particularly recommendable route if you'll be storing your growing hi-res library on a NAS (Network Attached Storage, essentially a hard drive with processing built-in), which we would recommend. That said, all of them also offer direct access to music streaming services, many of which now support hi-res audio.

Even Sonos multi-room systems now support hi-res (via Qobuz and Amazon Music). Rival multi-room brands such as Bluesound and Denon HEOS offer hi-res playback across their range of connected products too. Google Chromecast supports audio transmission up to 24-bit/96kHz.

Wireless speakers

At the higher end of the wireless speaker market, hi-res support is the norm. The likes of the Naim Mu-so 2, Naim Mu-so Qb 2nd Generation, Linn Series 3 and Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin are all able to handle hi-res file playback over wi-fi. And while it isn't a common feature at the lower end of the spectrum and there's a strong argument that they don't have the quality of hardware to warrant it anyway, the HomePod 2, HomePod mini and Sonos Era wireless speakers support 24-bit playback.

Now that you're armed with all this information on hi-res music, your next question should be: where can I get all these glorious hi-res music tracks? The easiest, cheapest and most accessible way is to stream the hi-res libraries of Tidal, Apple, Amazon or Qobuz. More on that below. But if you want to own your own curated hi-res library, there are currently a handful of download sites that let you buy and download single tracks and full albums in various hi-res formats. There are also plenty of US and European sites, though not all of them let you purchase from the UK.

7Digital (UK/US)

With a strong catalogue offering hi-res music from all genres and a website that makes buying music easy, 7digital is an excellent all-rounder. There's an accurate search function and the website is simple to navigate. You can easily spot hi-res recordings thanks to a '24bit FLAC' badge on an album or song's thumbnail, and there's also a dedicated hi-res section. The sole drawback is that it only offers downloads in the FLAC format. Prices are affordable, though, and you can buy individual tracks as well as full albums.

Qobuz (UK/US/AU)

Music discovery and front-end intuitiveness get full marks on French download store Qobuz. Both the website and dedicated app are easy to navigate, and you can search by genre or new releases, which can be sorted by sample rate. There is a strong Francophile focus, although the catalogue is growing more varied every day. Pricing is competitive, but if you opt for the hybrid download-and-streaming Sublime service you do get discounts of up to 60 per cent when buying hi-res albums.

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