A 24-bit label doesn’t guarantee a 24-bit recording.
High-resolution music promises better detail, more clarity, and a closer experience to what artists intended. But most of the time, it’s just hype.
Investigations into some of the biggest platforms show that nearly all hi-res downloads (up to 99.8% in certain catalogs) are just CD tracks dressed up to look like something more.
Here’s what that means, why it matters, and how you can protect yourself.
Real Examples of Fake High-Resolution Music
The problem with hi-res audio isn’t limited to a few bad files slipping through. For years, huge streaming platforms and record labels have been selling CD-quality tracks disguised as high-resolution.
And, these aren’t rare cases anymore. They show up everywhere, including major music stores and well-known artists.
Here are some of the most well-known examples:
- Pono Music was mostly CD rips
- Mislabeled tracks in the Qobuz catalog
- Sony/RCA’s 777 “high-res” album scam
- Early mistakes and replacements in HDTracks
- MQA’s interpolated frequencies
Pono Music was mostly CD rips
Pono Music, once advertised as the “world’s largest hi-res music store,” had over two million tracks in its catalog. But according to recording engineer Mark Waldrep, only about 4,500 of those were true analog tape transfers done at higher bit rates. The rest? Plain old CD rips passed off as hi-res.
Mislabeled tracks in the Qobuz catalog
In 2019, users on audio forums noticed something odd with many so-called hi-res tracks on Qobuz.
Spectral analyses revealed that some of these files had no musical content above 22 kHz, which is the same cutoff you’d expect from a standard CD. That was a strong sign that they were upsampled.
Qobuz has since improved quality control, but mislabeled files still occasionally show up.
Sony/RCA’s 777 “high-res” album scam
Sony/RCA’s release of 777 by rapper Latto was sold as a 24-bit/176.4 kHz hi-res download. But when users ran a spectral analysis, they found no audio content above 22 kHz. That points to a CD-quality source.
In other words, there were no extra detail, just a bigger file and a higher price tag.
To be fair, not every song will have content beyond 22 kHz, especially modern pop. However, when the label sells it as hi-res without confirming the source, it raises red flags.
Early mistakes and replacements in HDTracks
HDTracks faced similar issues. In its early days, customers flagged many so-called hi-res files that turned out to be upsampled. After enough complaints, HDTracks removed and replaced many of them.
That said, even now, some questionable files slip through. It’s a reminder that buying from a “hi-res” store doesn’t guarantee better quality.
MQA’s interpolated frequencies
MQA, the format once used on Tidal’s “Master” tier, added even more confusion. It promised high-quality sound in small file sizes using a process called “audio origami.”
But when people tested it, they found that anything above 48 kHz wasn’t actual recorded music. Basically, it was just noise created by the decoder.
Even MQA’s own team admitted the upper frequencies were “interpolated,” meaning they weren’t part of the original recording. That didn’t stop companies from advertising those files using high sample rates, which made them seem more impressive than they really were.
How the Music Industry Profits From Upsampling
The reason fake hi-res audio keeps showing up is simple: it makes money. Upsampling CD-quality files to look like high-resolution costs almost nothing, but labels and retailers can charge more for them.
In an interview, Waldrep explains that the whole system is built on consumer confusion and industry standards that were never meant to protect the listener.
Record labels often sign licensing deals with download stores, sometimes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. In some cases, fees can reach close to a million.
What are they selling in return? Many times, it’s the same old CD-quality masters, just upsampled to meet the label’s “hi-res” requirements.
Actually making real high-resolution versions takes time and equipment. Waldrep says the mastering teams at Warner, Universal, and Sony combined produce only about 10 genuine hi-res transfers per week. At that pace, converting their entire catalogs would take decades.
There’s also a problem with the standards used to label music. Two official logos exist:
- Hi-Res Audio: This is a hardware logo created by Sony. Devices like headphones, DACs, or amps need to support 24-bit audio at 40 kHz or higher to use it.
- Hi-Res Music: This logo was introduced by the RIAA and DEG. It only requires that music be encoded at 48 kHz/24-bit or more—regardless of what resolution the source file was originally recorded in.
That second logo leaves a giant loophole. Any file can be upsampled to hit 48/24 and still be labeled as hi-res, even if it was made from an old CD or tape.
And, it gets even worse.
In industry metadata systems, there’s a category called MQ-C. This tag lets labels mark CD-quality sources as hi-res for distribution purposes.
According to Waldrep, labels have used this loophole often. When asked why the industry promotes this, one exec told Waldrep: “If we were to tell people the truth, it’s bad for commerce.”
The mechanics of it are simple. Upsampling a CD file takes minutes, costs next to nothing, and creates bigger files that sell for a premium, even though there’s no new musical detail added.
Unfortunately, most streaming platforms don’t verify what’s in the files. They rely on the labels to deliver “hi-res” versions and pass them along as-is. That setup gives the industry plausible deniability, while keeping the money flowing.
Why Higher Sample Rates Don’t Always Mean Better Sound
Most hi-res files contain no extra musical content because they don’t need to. Once you understand the basics of human hearing and digital audio, the whole scam becomes obvious.
Human hearing covers roughly 20 Hz to 20 kHz, and that’s under ideal lab conditions. The upper limit isn’t some magic boundary of extra detail; it’s the point where the quietest sound you can barely detect meets sounds so loud they’d cause pain.
Dynamic range is just as misunderstood.
People hear “16-bit” and assume it’s limited to 96 dB, but that’s only where the background noise floor starts. With proper dithering and noise shaping, the ear can pick out sounds below that threshold, because we hear in narrow frequency bands. In other words, 16-bit audio already stores more dynamic range than we can realistically use.
Every additional bit adds about 6 dB of dynamic range. So, 16 bits gives you 96 dB. But again, that’s not a hard ceiling.
Now look at the frequency side. Real hi-res recordings will show content that extends past 22 kHz. Fakes, on the other hand, hit a brick wall between 20 and 22 kHz. That’s the hard cutoff of CD audio. Beyond that, you’ll see either dead silence or random noise added during upsampling.
This isn’t just about missing high frequencies. Digital audio theory shows that any frequency above half the recording rate has to be filtered out, or you get distortion. That’s why a 44.1 kHz recording can only capture up to 22.05 kHz.
No upsampling trick can invent content that wasn’t there to begin with.
And pumping frequencies above 20 kHz into your system can actually degrade what you do hear. Many amps and tweeters react badly to ultrasonics, producing intermodulation distortion that muddies up the audible range.
If that weren’t enough, blind tests drive the point home. The Boston Audio Society ran 554 controlled trials comparing high-rate DVD-A and SACD content to the same tracks resampled to CD quality. Listeners scored exactly 49.8% accuracy, as no one could reliably tell which was which.
How to Tell Real Hi-Res From Fake
There’s good news: with the right tools and a bit of knowledge, you can protect yourself from wasting money on fake hi-res. The audiophile community has built some very effective ways to check whether a file is really high-res before you drop premium prices on it.
One of the best methods is frequency analysis. Real hi-res files show musical content (or at least background noise) extending well beyond 22 kHz. If you see a sharp cutoff around 20–22 kHz, that’s a red flag for an upsampled CD file.
You don’t need fancy software to do this. Popular tools include:
- Spek (simple, free frequency viewer)
- Audacity (free audio editor with spectrum tools)
- Any pro audio software with spectrograms
In other words, you can load a FLAC into a spectrogram viewer and see what’s going on in seconds.
There are also handy tools that can scan your whole library for fake files. Programs like Fakin’ The Funk analyze your music and report if a supposed hi-res track is really just a lower-quality source dressed up. These aren’t perfect, but they catch the obvious fakes most of the time.
Another great resource is the Dynamic Range Database. Albums that are crushed in mastering (DR10 or lower) won’t benefit from hi-res no matter what the sample rate is. If you’re going to pay for hi-res, look for albums with higher DR scores (DR12+ is a solid target).
Audiophile forums are another great source of info. Many have lists of known fake hi-res downloads. People routinely post spectrograms of new releases to warn others about problems.
Some stores are also more careful than others. For example, HighResAudio has a good reputation for rejecting upsampled material. If you see that HRA isn’t offering a hi-res version of a popular album that’s “hi-res” on Qobuz or Tidal, there’s a good chance the other version is fake.
What to check before buying hi-res audio
When buying, always look for source documentation. Real hi-res releases will often note things like “96 kHz transfer from original analog tapes” or “recorded in 24/96 from the start.” If that info is missing, especially for older albums, be skeptical.
Some music genres also genuinely benefit more from hi-res than others. Focus on:
- Acoustic music recorded with high-quality gear
- Classical recordings in controlled spaces
- Jazz and instrumental music with natural dynamics
- Recent studio recordings made with modern hi-res equipment
By contrast, electronic music, modern pop (often brickwalled), and noisy live albums generally won’t gain much from hi-res formats.
Also pay attention to the recording’s vintage. Anything made before the mid-1990s predates the widespread use of 24-bit recording. Older analog recordings may have some extended frequency content, but they’re still limited by the dynamic range of tape.
Finally, demand transparency. The more buyers push for labels and retailers to disclose source details, the better. Some stores are starting to provide provenance info because of community pressure—keep that momentum going.
Bottom line is, trust but verify. True hi-res can sound fantastic when done right, but the market is full of fakes. If you want to avoid paying hi-res prices for CD-quality sound, a little due diligence goes a long way.
For easier reference, here’s a quick buyer’s checklist to run through before you buy hi-res downloads:
- Check spectrograms: Look for content above 22 kHz
- Use detection tools: Run files through Fakin’ The Funk or similar
- Verify dynamic range: Aim for DR12+ on DR Database
- Check forum reports: See if the album is on any known fake lists
- Choose quality stores: Stick with retailers known for verification
- Look for provenance: Technical notes about source and recording chain
- Pick the right genres: Focus on acoustic, classical, and well-recorded jazz
- Consider recording era: Be wary of pre-1990s material claiming hi-res
- Compare prices: If it costs way more than the CD, investigate
- Push for transparency: Ask for source info whenever it’s missing