I'm looking for a new place to purchase music. For many years I've used the iTunes store but I keep getting errors from the store and I'm ready to move on. Ultimately whatever I buy will go into my iTunes library. It's important that the downloaded music be high quality but as I mentioned it will go into iTunes so the format needs to be compatible. Where would you recommend?

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Ukulele music I couldn't find anywhere else.
[colquhoun.info]

Qobuz, without a doubt.

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Amazon.com?

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San Antonio, TX (in the old city)


"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." - Eli Weisel

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt (1918)

"I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it." - Billy Graham 1981

"Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise" - Barry Goldwater

For non-mainstream music that directly supports the artists you might check out BandCamp

Their music formats support MP3 V0, MP3 320, FLAC, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, ALAC, WAV, AIFF.

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"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

How "high quality" are we talking about? Like $1000 earphone quality?

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

For many years I've used the iTunes store but I keep getting errors from the store and I'm ready to move on.

What errors? it may be easier to figure out what the issues is than switch platforms.

I use Bandcamp, but not every more "mainstream" artist is there; it's more of an "indie" site.

Otherwise, go directly to the artist's page.

Edit: I see what I wrote was covered above



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2021 06:37AM by mrbigstuff.

I use Bandcamp primarily. iTunes and Amazon for everything else.

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MacResource User Map: [www.zeemaps.com]#

.....tried to use Bandcamp.....but this one time....at Bandcamp.....

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_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Non main stream music ---> Bandcamp

iTunes and Amazon were the go to "stores" for digital music, as others have mentioned Bandcamp is also an option.

There is a site called Beatport that deals primarily with EDM and Dance music but recently they started a streaming service catered to DJs so "eventually" their offerings for purchase may expand to more mainstream offerings.

Thank you for all of the good suggestions. I'm going to explore each one.

jdc, my speakers are Magnepan 3.7i with an Accuphase P-300 amplifier. I'm not sure where this falls on the hifi spectrum. I've been happy with the quality of Apple's AAC files but I've been hesitant about returning to MP3 files as I've read they are not as good unless the bitrate is very high.

space-time, when I purchase music I'm getting an error that says I don't have permission to save the file (my paraphrase). I've checked the permissions on my Synology NAS using their software and they are set correctly. I've used the Finder to check permissions and they are set correctly. I've tried resetting the permissions on all folders and files using both of those utilities with no luck. I've run both DiskUtility and DiskWarrior with no luck.

What appears to happen is iTunes downloads the audio file to /Volumes/Media/iTunes/Downloads/Folder with name of song/file with generic name.aac . Once the song completes downloading iTunes attempts to do something with the file (rename, move possibly both) that fails and it then displays the error. Strangely movies and tv shows purchased from iTunes don't have any problems at all. Only music has a problem. If I get my media from someplace other than the iTunes store the import never hits the Downloads folder but instead goes directly where it should go with no errors.

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Ukulele music I couldn't find anywhere else.
[colquhoun.info]

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davemchine
I've been hesitant about returning to MP3 files as I've read they are not as good unless the bitrate is very high.

True. But can you HEAR it? With my ears, I know I can't. It's a cheap test to try it.

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bazookaman

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davemchine
I've been hesitant about returning to MP3 files as I've read they are not as good unless the bitrate is very high.

True. But can you HEAR it? With my ears, I know I can't. It's a cheap test to try it.

In my experience as someone who deals with audio all day, 256kbps stereo mp3 are fine for listening, assuming 16-bit 44.1K, or better of course.

If I'm only playing music in the background, and not really "listening", then a 320 kb/s mp3 is okay. However, if I'm truly listening, then I can easily discern the fact that it's a lousy mp3.

Im with S-t, maybe there is a way to chat with apple and see if the problem can be fixed, before trying an entirely new system?

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freeradical
If I'm only playing music in the background, and not really "listening", then a 320 kb/s mp3 is okay. However, if I'm truly listening, then I can easily discern the fact that it's a lousy mp3.

I know this might be blasphemy -- but have you thought about Spotify? You can download 10,000 songs on their premium plan. Im not sure the bitrate, but they stream at 320. I only have $100 Klipsch Promeidas -- so nothing too fancy, but sound is great to my ears.

They also have a new service coming out called "hifi" that will stream at 1440, same as amazon.

Spotify premium is free for 3 months? Their library is massive...

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

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jdc
Im with S-t, maybe there is a way to chat with apple and see if the problem can be fixed, before trying an entirely new system?

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freeradical
If I'm only playing music in the background, and not really "listening", then a 320 kb/s mp3 is okay. However, if I'm truly listening, then I can easily discern the fact that it's a lousy mp3.

I know this might be blasphemy -- but have you thought about Spotify? You can download 10,000 songs on their premium plan. Im not sure the bitrate, but they stream at 320. I only have $100 Klipsch Promeidas -- so nothing too fancy, but sound is great to my ears.

They also have a new service coming out called "hifi" that will stream at 1440, same as amazon.

Spotify premium is free for 3 months? Their library is massive...

The classical streaming service I subscribe to, Idagio, streams lossless. There's another classical streaming service that streams at high resolution better than CD quality. Why don't pop streaming services do this? Maybe they figure that everyone is using earbuds and can't tell the difference? I don't know. I listen to the classical streaming service on my planar magnetic headphones. Quite nice it is...

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Yoyodyne ArtWorks
Qobuz, without a doubt.

Why without a doubt?

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It is what it is.

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jdc
I know this might be blasphemy -- but have you thought about Spotify? You can download 10,000 songs on their premium plan. Im not sure the bitrate, but they stream at 320. I only have $100 Klipsch Promeidas -- so nothing too fancy, but sound is great to my ears.

They also have a new service coming out called "hifi" that will stream at 1440, same as amazon.

I've been working on a project that has had me doing a lot of close listening to tracks on Spotify. Some of those tracks I'm extremely familiar with because they are mine. Although I use Spotify a lot I have realized it really is close to crappy which is saying a lot because I'm practically deaf in one ear. Yes, i have premium.

It's fine for in the room while doing something else, though.

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"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

I subscribe to Pandora, Spotify, Tidal and Youtube Music but I mostly use them for music discovery. I still purchase the music that I enjoy most. Thank you for all of the help. It will take me a minute to go thru these download services.

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Ukulele music I couldn't find anywhere else.
[colquhoun.info]

Quote
davemchine
I subscribe to Pandora, Spotify, Tidal and Youtube Music but I mostly use them for music discovery. I still purchase the music that I enjoy most. Thank you for all of the help. It will take me a minute to go thru these download services.

LOL, think you should have lead with this... =)

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

......will listen to some music from the library [ depending on what they have available ].......

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_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!

I am fortunate in that my hearing pretty much sucks these days so I am fine with Apple Music.

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“Live your life, love your life, don’t regret…live, learn and move forward positively.” – CR Johnson
Loving life in Lake Tahoe, CA

The thing about compressed music is you don't realize it unless you've been exposed to the good stuff.

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mrbigstuff
The thing about compressed music is you don't realize it unless you've been exposed to the good stuff.

When I used to sell stereo systems and the customer's budget was for for $200 speakers we never played the ones that cost $1000 unless we wanted to send them home with nothing, feeling dejected. ;)

But overall, listeners need to CARE about any differences they detect, otherwise not-caring tends to turn into not-hearing.

It's the same with other hobbies, cars, hookers 'n booze, vacations, houses: Before you can contemplate spending money you need money, but even if you have money you need to then care about spending it.

Back when I collected music I bought LPs if a best-quality LP existed, or high-res files if that was best. For everything else a standard 16/44 file or CD often does the job. But no, I never chose to spend money on lossy files unless that was the only option.

I don't know how discerning my listening skills are. Probably not all that great. I chose the Magnepan speakers because they sound transparent and the Accuphase because it was gifted to me.

I tried comparing Apple's AAC to a lossless format a few years ago but since then I've updated my DAC and my speakers. I'd have to repeat that experiment to see if it's worthwhile. I suspect for my ears it isn't. What I do hear on a regular basis is the difference in mastering. Some "albums" sound amazing while others are only so-so sounding (even if the songs are great). That's frustrating but that's the way it is.

I did try LP's as an experiment and it didn't take very long to determine they are inferior in almost every way possible. I'm glad I tried it as now whenever I see those hifi threads about how great LP's are I can discount them. One good quality of LP's is that some music is only available on LP. Wish I had time to spend on that.

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Ukulele music I couldn't find anywhere else.
[colquhoun.info]

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N-OS X-tasy!

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Yoyodyne ArtWorks
Qobuz, without a doubt.

Why without a doubt?

No MQA crap, no DRM hassles, great sound quality, great pricing, wide variety of downloadable file formats (including Apple Lossless), and Qobuz is not a monopolistic wannabe like Amazon or Apple.

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Apple Music is available in AppleLossless as well (Stream, not purchase, AFAIK).

You can turn Spatial Audio on/off.

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San Antonio, TX (in the old city)


"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." - Eli Weisel

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt (1918)

"I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it." - Billy Graham 1981

"Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise" - Barry Goldwater

.....I buy of my buttercup.....poor little butter cup......though I can never say why......

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_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!

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davemchine

... I'm glad I tried it as now whenever I see those hifi threads about how great LP's are I can discount them ...

LPs can be the worst, or the best depending on implementation.

It’s weird to see LP @walmart

If I'm only playing music in the background, and not really "listening", then a 320 kb/s mp3 is okay. However, if I'm truly listening, then I can easily discern the fact that it's a lousy mp3.


This is I.

And I often just kick back and listen to music, so I want ALAC at a minimum.


The thing about compressed music is you don't realize it unless you've been exposed to the good stuff.


This, too.

Often, differences can be discerned with a simple A/B comparison.

Then there's blind and double-blind comparisons for tougher differentiation.



But overall, listeners need to CARE about any differences they detect, otherwise not-caring tends to turn into not-hearing.


This.

This is where good enough is good enough where good isn't very good, but it's all relative if one doesn't really care.

I've not invested much money in speakers, which generally should be about half the cost of one music system, if audio quality is an actual consideration.

At least that's a common recommendation, and I tend to agree as it's not particularly productive to send an arguably pristine single down the chain only to exit via inferior speakers.

When I wanted to upgrade from my Advent Larger speakers, I went to an audio store in Berkeley (there was a lot of them at the time) and their sound room had several brand they sold along with popular brands for comparison, and the Larger Advents were one of those.

So we did a quick A/B and I heard little difference, and I suspect that was to judge my appreciation of better speakers.

But after listening to a lot of music that I was familiar with, for an extended time (30min) on a pair of Epicure (long out of business) speakers, going back to the Advents was a disappointment.

Their deficiencies were obvious, though after I noted that, the Demo Guy articulated what I was hearing, and why I didn't hear them in the Epics.

After that, the differences were obvious even when A/B-ing the speakers at 15s intervals.

So while A/B can demonstrate gross differences, long term listen may be needed to provide some level of self-education and appreciate better sound.

That's especially true of auditioning high-end speakers where differences may exist only on a chart or 'scope, or about one's range of hearing.

It may not happen, but one day I'd like to 'level up' my speakers.

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I am that Masked Man.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Hi everyone,

I guess maybe I'm a bit more old-fashioned. I still prefer buying on CD and then ripping it into the format of my choice. That way, I choose the specs of the rip. The only time I buy digital is when the item I want to purchase is digital only. Otherwise, buy the disc and rip.

Back when .mp3 was in its earliest stages, I concerned myself with how much space each file would take up on my mp3 player and found a good balance between file size and audio quality. These days? Storage isn't a concern at all.

The problem is the amount of time it'll take to rip my entire collection again. It'd be _very_ time consuming. Since most of my listening is either in my warehouse while working (where I listen to streaming music or ripped music), the car (where I listen to ripped music) or working out (where I listen to streaming or ripped music), I'm leaving well enough alone. Works for me.

Robert

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rich in distress
It’s weird to see LP @walmart

Walmart? Try seeing them at Bed, Bath & Beyond!

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It is what it is.