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Mp3's and Amazon.com - how good are they?

Fenixgoon

Fenixgoon

Lifer
I want to buy a cd set that is relatively expensive but cheap for download online. I hate iTunes, but amazon conveniently also features the same set for roughly the same cost. What bitrates are the songs they have? I just don't want to pay for a download only to find out that the quality is crap.
 
256kbps (CBR) mp3

Some are better than others, but for the most part, I haven't had any problems with the few mp3s I downloaded from them.
 
Just a word of warning but make sure you burn them on a cd or something to back them up since last time I checked you are only allowed to download them once and if you loose them you are out the money.
 
I bought a few mp3s from there and its a mixed bag. Of the couple I bought this week...

One sounded like utter shit, even though it was "320k" - Dreamscape (Long Edit) [MP3 Download], Price: $0.89

One had no intro or ending (like it was ripped from a mixtape with no warning) The Name Of The Game [MP3 Download], Price: $0.99

And two others which sounded flawless. Seriously, it's a mixed bag for anything that is not popular music. I asked for a refund on the Name of the Game mp3 since it had no intro, or ending, but their customer service stated that there were no refunds on mp3 purchases.

 
Originally posted by: Newbian
Just a word of warning but make sure you burn them on a cd or something to back them up since last time I checked you are only allowed to download them once and if you loose them you are out the money.
Click to expand...

Not true. You'll have to install the Amazon downloader, but your past purchases are downloadable there.
 
Originally posted by: Brainonska511
256kbps (CBR) mp3

Some are better than others, but for the most part, I haven't had any problems with the few mp3s I downloaded from them.
Click to expand...
I think most are actually 256kbps VBR, although some albums are CBR.

Quality is great and it's DRM free. Now if only someone would start offering FLAC downloads...
 
Originally posted by: frostedflakes
Originally posted by: Brainonska511
256kbps (CBR) mp3

Some are better than others, but for the most part, I haven't had any problems with the few mp3s I downloaded from them.
Click to expand...
I think most are actually 256kbps VBR, although some albums are CBR.

Quality is great and it's DRM free. Now if only someone would start offering FLAC downloads...
Click to expand...

There are a handful of sites that offer FLAC, but they are almost all independent artists. The major labels would prefer that you buy a lossy version of the song.

Audio quality of downloads on Amazon is very good; as stated, most are average 256 KB/s VBR. Some quality problems from the original recording (like crappy mastering) are unavoidable.

Originally posted by: abaez
Originally posted by: Newbian
Just a word of warning but make sure you burn them on a cd or something to back them up since last time I checked you are only allowed to download them once and if you loose them you are out the money.
Click to expand...

Not true. You'll have to install the Amazon downloader, but your past purchases are downloadable there.
Click to expand...

Would be interested in the details here, since their FAQ doesn't mention that as an option.
 
Let's just say they're better than the ones you d/l from iTunes.

Originally posted by: gwai lo
wtf why would they not put FLACs up?
Click to expand...

Because most people can't tell the difference between MP3 and CD, as seen by iTune sales. FLAC is for snobs who buy monster cable.
 
Originally posted by: Baked
Let's just say they're better than the ones you d/l from iTunes.

Originally posted by: gwai lo
wtf why would they not put FLACs up?
Click to expand...

Because most people can't tell the difference between MP3 and CD, as seen by iTune sales. FLAC is for snobs who buy monster cable.
Click to expand...

Or mp3s are for people with $8 headphones who couldn't tell the difference and don't care.
 
Originally posted by: Baked
Let's just say they're better than the ones you d/l from iTunes.

Originally posted by: gwai lo
wtf why would they not put FLACs up?
Click to expand...

Because most people can't tell the difference between MP3 and CD, as seen by iTune sales. FLAC is for snobs who buy monster cable.
Click to expand...
To be honest I can't tell a difference between FLAC and high bitrate MP3 and would hardly consider myself to be a music snob. But it's tough for me to justify paying full price or nearly full price for an MP3 album that is technically far inferior to a CD or other lossless format. I also kind of enjoy flipping through the album art after buying a new CD. I'm probably in the minority on this, though. Most people just want to click the mouse a few times and have the song on their iPod, they don't care too much about that other stuff. 😛

Aluvus: Thanks for the suggestion, I'll have to check some of those sites out. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: abaez
Originally posted by: Newbian
Just a word of warning but make sure you burn them on a cd or something to back them up since last time I checked you are only allowed to download them once and if you loose them you are out the money.
Click to expand...

Not true. You'll have to install the Amazon downloader, but your past purchases are downloadable there.
Click to expand...

Negative, ghostrider. Once you've downloaded it, that's it. I have had downloads that didn't go through (interrupted/etc) and customer service reset it so I could download them again-- but I wouldn't want to rely on that as a backup. 🙂
 
I've bought a couple songs off Amazon. Songs sounded great and have had no problems. DRM free is the biggest reason why I buy from them.
 
Why no Flac? Because 98% of their customers don't want or need it. Not to mention it would require a good 99.9% of people to convert to something that their audio player could support. Would I download FLAC? Absolutely but it would require me to convert it for my iphone. The trade off for perfect archival quality is worth the extra step but isn't for the majorty of the market. If you want that then you might as well get amazon prime and buy the cd.
 
I'll never understand this mp3 buying thing. Are you that low on space at home that you have no space for CD's?
 
Originally posted by: Muadib
I'll never understand this mp3 buying thing. Are you that low on space at home that you have no space for CD's?
Click to expand...

Why buy a CD's worth of music when you only want one or two songs?

If I like most of the album, I'll generally just go buy the CD.
 
Originally posted by: Muadib
I'll never understand this mp3 buying thing. Are you that low on space at home that you have no space for CD's?
Click to expand...
1) The first thing I do when I get a CD is rip all the songs to the computer, and then the CD gets stashed away and never used again.

2) I want it nnnnooooowwwww!!!!!! 😛


 
Originally posted by: Codewiz
Why no Flac? Because 98% of their customers don't want or need it. Not to mention it would require a good 99.9% of people to convert to something that their audio player could support. Would I download FLAC? Absolutely but it would require me to convert it for my iphone. The trade off for perfect archival quality is worth the extra step but isn't for the majorty of the market. If you want that then you might as well get amazon prime and buy the cd.
Click to expand...
Even so, it would cost them next to nothing to offer FLAC downloads to people who want them, which is why there's no reason not to do it IMO. Digital distribution has an extremely long tail, which is why stores like Amazon, iTunes, etc. can offer digital downloads for even small unknown artists who have maybe a few dozen or hundred downloads a month.

Spacehead: You'd have to check the product pages, I'm not sure. I think they usually list the bitrate, but not whether it's CBR or VBR.
 
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