By Matthew Perpetua
March 2, 2011 4:00 PM ET
High-end digital retailer HDtracks announced today that they are now selling the music of the Rolling Stones as high-resolution audio downloads. As of now, the UK version of The Rolling Stones, The Rolling Stones No. 2, 12 X 5, Big Hits and Through the Past Darkly are available in the store, with 22 more titles including Let It Bleed, Beggars Banquet and Between the Buttons due in the spring and summer.

Photos: The Rolling Stones on the Cover of 'Rolling Stone'

The high-resolution audio files were remastered by the acclaimed mastering engineer Bob Ludwig from the original mono and stereo analog tapes. As a result of using the first-generation tapes, some minor changes will be heard on these high-quality downloads. For example, Beggars Banquet will pitched up to its correct playback speed despite being available for decades at a slightly slower speed, and Let It Bleed will match the splicing from the original master indicating that there should be longer spaces between the songs.


Along with the recent news that Apple and other digital retailers are considering selling HD tracks in their stores, the availability of the Stones catalog in 24-bit sound indicates that digital audiophile sound may be inching ever closer to the mainstream.

The Rolling Stones Now Available From HDtracks at 24/88.2 and 24/176.4 [Computer Audiophile]

The question I guess is what is the bit rate?.....highest mp3 I think is 320?.....so would these be uncompressed WAV or FLAC files?.....maybe an audiophile here could help us?