High-end audio manufacturer Onkyo is launching a high-quality music store for Japanese customers, offering up Dolby TrueHD 5.1-surround tracks as well as surround sound WAV and FLAC options. Named “e-onkyo music,” the store will offer around 1,000 songs when it launches on May 30th, most of which are classical recordings, with more to follow soon.
e-Onkyo Music to offer high-definition downloads starting May 30th in Japan
High-end audio manufacturer Onkyo has announced a new music store that will sell high quality surround-encoded tracks in Japan, though they come at a price.
High-end audio manufacturer Onkyo has announced a new music store that will sell high quality surround-encoded tracks in Japan, though they come at a price.
All of the formats are DRM-free, though to play the TrueHD tracks you’ll need one of Onkyo’s newly released TX-NR818 or TX-NR717 AV receivers. You’ll also need a fairly hefty broadband connection — each 96kHz TrueHD track will be around 200MB to download, with the 192kHz TrueHD option coming in at around 800MB per track. They don’t come cheap, either: a single track will be 400 yen (around $5) with albums costing 3,000 yen (almost $40).
A number of prominent figures have expressed dissatisfaction over the current music store offerings recently, including Neil Young and Jimmy Iovine, so it’s unsurprising that a brand catering to audiophiles would be making its own push into the market. AV Watch says that e-onkyo music will also be launching worldwide later this year.
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