You are right, they are mostly the demo files I have downloaded like a decade ago when I accidently stumbled into the DeWolfe library and it was the very first library music website that had stereo, watermark-free files in full length (and no voice saying "demo" every 10 seconds).
The reason why I wrote that novel above is that many of you spend so much money for obtaining vinyls and CDs and then I come here and just say "give me that for free". I think it's rude to just present a list of albums that you have to zip together and all that and I can't give anything back in return as I only collect digital media. That you'd do that for all free is outstanding, but puts me a bit into a "guilt" situation. I've just not been raised that way to demand without anything to offer myself
I also think those 128 kBit/s wouldn't be too bad but I am sure KPM wanted to be fast (as they are just demo files and not the real, paid-for deal and they have thousands in stock) so they set up the encoder to the "fast"est setting (instead of "quality") or using the bad (at that time awesome) plugins. The worst thing is that they use the Frauenhofer codec (FhG), which is the oldest, less optimized MP3 (VLC even says it's MPEG 1/2, thus mid-90s) encoder - the last version is from 2001.. It butchers hi-hats and things on the very side of the stereo spectrum so hard it's disgusting, whilst a LAME encoded file with 128 kBit/s keeps those frequencies far better. In short: KPM demos are rushed and using a bad, probably mid-1990s encoder in contant bitrate ... Even for me as a MP3 Devil's Advocate that is scratching my tolerance level..
I know that you might not have all of them, but every file, every cover I can improve is worth the hunt, so here are the album my favourite KPMs are in:
KPM 1268 - FUTURES
KPM 1277 - FUTURE PERSPECTIVES
KPM 1299 - CLASSICAL FUSION
KPM 1304 - CONTACT
KPM 1313 - FACE TO FACE
KPM 1321 - VIDEO GENERATION
KPM 1338 - THE MAIN CHANCE
KPM 1342 - OUT OF THE DARK
KPM 1347 - COMPULSION
KPM 1349 - POSITIVE IMAGE (Bob Foster's "Overview" gets tears in my eyes every time.. the melody and the pads are both so sad and optimistic at the same time, especially the eerie underscore..!)
KPM 1351 - INSPIRATION
KPM 1352 - FIRST GENERATION
KPM 1357 - DON'T TALK, DANCE
KPM 1364 - FUTURE POSITIVE
KPM 1378 - INNOVATIONS
KPM 1379 - FRESH AND CRAZY
KPM 1388 - MEDIA SPEAK
Ooof. As said, I take every single upgrade I can get, even if it's just one track I can replace.
Thank you in advance.
I fully understand your concerns, but I doubt there's a single person here who hasn't felt the same way at some point in their endeavour to obtain some of the titles they're looking for. We simply have to entrust that there's going to be someone willing to share. And, if there isn't, (which is their prerogative, seeing as, as you say, they've paid for the privilege of owning it for themselves), then we simply accept it and move on. The process of ZIP-ing really doesn't take that long and most already have most titles in ZIP, (or RAR), file format in their archives, anyway. It's little more than uploading files that can take a little while. But, even that's no great burden. Depending on your circumstances, you could consider buying a few titles of your own if you feel you're not contributing as much as you'd like, but I can empathise if you can't.
Those APM MP3s are indeed, 'preview', versions of the tracks on their albums. They often omit a few of them, too! But, there were once considered as being better than nothing. The bit rate quality on them is a compromise. It's good enough quality to be able to hear them clearly, but not so much that the file sizes are too big. You seem to know more about the technical side of MP3's than me. I remember years ago, when MP3s were all the rage, ripping CDS via the LAME codec with the standard, (as it was back then), 128kps bitrate. But, with the internet being so much faster now, people having much bigger capacity hard-drives, and the differences between MP3s and FLAC, (which is the equivalent of WAV files), in sound quality being quite evident, (I used to think there wasn't any real difference until I listened through a proper pair of headphones), a lot of people want to find the best quality rip they can. We don't always succeed, but it's nice when it happens!
So, anyway, on to the titles in question;-
KPM 1268 - Futureshtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/G2BoJUxW
KPM 1277 - Future Perspectiveshtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/iFQYkGQZ
KPM 1299 - Classical Fusion Volume 1htxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/5hAW31HS
KPM 1304 - Contacthtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/dd31mdwh
KPM 1313 - Face To Facehtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/D5bS9zB3
KPM 1321 - Video Connectionhtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/cfAUAvet
KPM 1338 - The Main Chancehtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/wBr7JqpT
KPM 1342 - Out Of The Darkhtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/4iHTaX1L
KPM 1347 - Compulsionhtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/eAhExpxG
KPM 1349 - Positive Imagehtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/TT3Fcy35
KPM 1351 - Inspirationhtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/UF8qTS5d
KPM 1352 - First Generationhtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/9uraek4J
KPM 1357 - Don't Talk, Dancehtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/ryCi6wTi
KPM 1364 - Future Positivehtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/s6zkvjF7
KPM 1378 - Innovationshtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/3P6ZNiMX
KPM 1379 - Fresh And Crazyhtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/bbWMvseu
KPM 1388 - Media Speakhtxxs://pixeldrain.com/u/coyqLTDY