Customers at Buy.com's download store now have the option of downloading higher fidelity tracks. Encoded as WMA files at 256 kbps (kilobits per second), these tracks have better fidelity than Buy.com's standard downloads, which are encoded at 128 kbps.

The downside is that they take up twice as much space on your hard drive or portable music player. The Buy.com Web site claims that while the 128 kbps encoded tracks also sound great, the 256 kbps encoded tracks offer the audiophile customer an opportunity for better sound.

Use of this Windows-based service requires Microsoft’s Explorer 5.01 or higher, and Windows Media Player 9.0 or higher.

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