The phrase typically appears in online music communities (such as forums or Reddit) where users share or request high-fidelity digital audio files . In this context, "hires masters" refers to High-Resolution (24-bit) audio transfers often sourced from the 2015 remasters.
Let’s dissect the phrase piece by piece.
: Engineer Ade Emsley and bassist Steve Harris worked at Abbey Road Studios to capture the original mix tapes using modern high-end A/D converters.
Because the band has been around for decades, there are countless versions of their albums: original vinyl pressings, CD remasters, and the often-criticised "loudness war" modern masters. This leads to the next keyword.
Provides these remasters in Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC), which is equivalent in quality to FLAC. OnkyoMusic