Regardless of the chosen audio format, a booklet in the form of a PDF file is included. The booklet can also be downloaded directly from the product page, below the album image.
Standard resolution
This is the audio format with the lowest resolution we have. Still, the sound quality is sufficient for most needs and is identical to iTunes downloads. This audio format renders the smallest files on your computer or smart phone. It is similar to mp3, but with a slightly improved audio quality. The file extension is usually m4a.
For more information see What is mp3 and aac?
Immersive
This is the Next Generation Audio (NGA). The step from Stereo to Immersive is comparable to the transition from Mono to Stereo and the purpose is to achieve a listening experience that is closer to a Live performance. The mix is made in three dimensions and the version available here is a binaural rendering intended for headphone listening, simulating sound sources in a half sphere around the listener. Please contact us if you are interested in Dolby Atmos files in other formats.
The word Binaural simply means that we have two ears, resulting in certain directional properties for our hearing. Within Audio Technology, Binaural Audio is the term used when we simulate that sound is reaching our ears from different directions. The Binaural version is available for some of our albums and this version is rendered from a surround mix in 3 dimensions, speakers at ear level and top level. The listening experience varies between listeners, but the usual perception is that the music is coming from outside your head, in contrast to the in-your-head perception of stereo sound over headphones.
We use the Low resolution format for these files. You can play these files in your favourite music player, but please note that they should preferably be listened to in headphones only. They don’t sound natural over loudspeakers.
High resolution
The high resolution files are comparable to the audio resolution on CDs, but with a better dynamic resolution (24 bits instead of 16 bits). Audio files with this resolution is sometimes referred to as High Definition (HD) Audio. A full album in PCM format normally requires around 1 Gb of storing space. We deliver files converted to FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec), which is a non-destructive audio compression format and the storage requirement is reduced to somewhere between 600 and 800 Mb.
High resolution 24/88 or 24/96
These are high resolution versions with a higher sampling rate, intended for the Audiophiles – people with very high demands on the audio quality. A common description is 24/96, meaning 24 bits of amplitude resolution and 96 kHz sampling frequency.
Extreme resolution
The extreme resolution files, DXD, are today as close as we can get to analog sound. The amplitude resolution is 24 bits, but the sampling frequency is the jaw-dropping 352,8 kHz. With a sampling rate 8 times higher than for the CD, the time resolution is unsurpassed. The file sizes are very big and there can be problems downloading them if you don’t have a stable and fast internet connection. Reproducing DXD audio requires dedicated digital-to-analog converters (DAC) made for DXD.
We use the DXD format when digitizing analog master tapes, such as for the Opus 3 albums you can find in our shop.
Surround formats
We’ve been doing surround versions for very many years and several of our productions are available in this format. However, with the advent of Dolby Atmos Music, we will no longer produce 5.1 versions of our albums. If the settings in your audio gear is correct, the Dolby Atmos version, mixed in 7.1.4 – 7 speakers at ear level, 4 top speakers and LFE – will adapt to the reproduction setup you are using, for example stereo or 5.1.
When listening in headphones, Dolby Atmos produces the binaural version which can actually have a higher spatial resolution than the channel based version. The binaural version found in our shop is rendered from the Dolby Atmos file, but for the present, we are not setting up the full Dolby Atmos files in the shop. If you’re interested, contact us using the form on this website.