Onkyo Music is bringing high-res audio to the ears of the UK

With the rise of services like iTunes and Spotify, it’s easy to forget that the audio quality we get when we listen to MP3s isn’t very good. That’s why a number of new services have started offering high-quality music, and Onkyo is the latest to come along.

The Japanese firm recently partnered up with 7Digital to rejuvenate its online store ready for expansion into the UK, US, and Germany. The Onkyo Music Store is open for business right now, and lets you buy ‘hundreds of thousand’ of high-resolution 24-bit 44.1kHz-192kHz songs and albums, along with thousands of 16-bit CD quality songs.

Prices for a high-res album start at £12, and CD quality albums are slightly cheaper. Both are more expensive than buying the standard MP3 from competitors like iTunes, but that’s the price you have to pay for good quality music I suppose.

Onkyo has promised that its store will be heading to Android and iOS in the form of an app, and that any music you buy from it will be compatible with all platforms. Sadly Onkyo doesn’t have a streaming service, so if you’re not really a fan of buy individual tracks or albums you’re going to have to look elsewhere.

Be warned, though. Some people have suggested that the human ear is incapable of differentiating between so-called high resolution audio and CD quality FLAC files, so that’s something you might want to consider before you pay a premium for high-res music.