Is HDtracks really selling you Hi-Rez music?


I just purchased Santana Abraxas in 176KHz 24 bit resolution from HDTracks that has just been released this week. It was uploaded in AIFF format.

I purchased the 1998 remastered CD which I uploaded in AIFF format in ITunes for comparison and what a disappointment the HDTracks download was. I could not hear any difference between the 2 versions. Seems that the original master tape was not of great quality to start with. I had the same experience with Beach House 'Bloom' hi-rez download for which I previously purchased the CD version as well.

On the other hand I downloaded great hi-Rez albums from HDTracks which were like having the original master under hand. A good example is Kenny Burrell's 'Midnigth Blue' hi-Rez download that just kills the remastered CD version.

It would be great if HDTracks would publish purchaser's review of their downloads like Amazon.com. This would avoid audiophiles paying top dollars for poor quality downloads. I am really annoyed and feel I was screwed by HDTracks! Any similar experiments?
128x128dasign
Dollysowner - I agree that HDTracks does not do their own remastering and they do not simply up convert CDs. The company that provides the files to HDTracks may up convert, but HDTracks does not do it themselves. And, I think we are seeing less and less of that.

What i would like to see is for HDTracks to provide information on each album as to the history of how it was made. Is is the SACD version converted to 88/24? Or was it a remaster and if so, did they go back to the master tapes? Etc. They mostly seem to just take what the record companies give them without suitable explanations. If you buy a new vinyl or a new CD they usually tout the lineage if it was redone. Unfortunately, HDTracks does not typically provide that information. Doing so would make me much more likely to buy, especially on the older albums.
Markalarsen - yes, Audirvana converts it to 24/88 PCM if you don't have a DSD-capable DAC.

It sounds VERY good.
J River also converts DSD to PCM. The trick is to get a DSD file from a SACD, which is doable but not easy.
I sent a first e-mail to HDtracks about a week ago to complain about the quality of the Santana album without any reply. I have sent them a second e-mail requesting an answer on my first e-mail. Got a reply asking to send them back my first question....

So their official answer is that HDtracks is just a reseller, they do not remaster any records and perform no over sampling.

They offered no excuses, no credit on future purchases, etc. They take absolutely no responsibility in the quality of the product they sell. This is so ironic for a company that bases all of its advertising on improving the audio quality of Red Book CDs when selling you their supposedly hi-Rez version.