Beatles: Is the 2009 Special-Edition USB Drive Worth Getting?

My vote is don't get it buy the stereo cd box much better to have a real cd.
No difference in sound forget the FLAC files there not worth the hassle

 

No use if they are not level-matched. Let's see if Dinstun tells us.

 

They sound like they are.

 

Or "Mike Love" Records...the USB would be connected to a hat that was affixed to his bare head.

 

They are level matched. The USB sample was unchanged, while the CD sample was increased by 0.3dB. The CD sample was also upsampled to 24 bits with noise shaped dither.

 

The Beatles Apple USB box set worth owning if...
Similar thread title too.

 

I did A-B comparisons of both 2009 CD remasters and the USB Apple. There is something different about the USB Apple, I can't really describe it. I prefer the USB Apple sound over the 2009 CDs. It was an interesting discovery, because I felt looking at the specs, there was absolutely no reason to buy it. My wife bought it as an anniversary gift for me, and now it is my go to for listening, although I have ALAC files for the 1987, the 20o9 CDs, and the USB Apple all on an iPod Classic. I frequently compare respective albums to each other every now and then when traveling or commuting.

 

That's strange. Theoretically they are the same files, just 16 or 24 bits, and the USB being louder. Maybe they tweaked the EQ a little?

 

Hmmmm, Paulie WAS obsessed with besting whatever "vegetable" song the BB's put out next...!

 

I have similar experience and can't tell if I'm deluding myself, but I enjoy it nonetheless!

 

Maybe I wasn't clear. The USB and CDs are the same, except the USB tracks are slighty louder and 24 bits. So I made the CD sample match the USB sample as best I could. There are no EQ differences.

 

To my ears the USB definitely sounded better, and the blind test proved it. Dinstun, what's your opinion on this issue?

 

Yes, I wasn't implying you had done the tweaking. I was just wondering if they mastered the files differently (apart from the levels).

 

The USB sounds very good to me, but to be honest, I would probably fail a blind test.

The mastering is identical as far as I can tell.

I suppose it's possible there may be some very small limiting differences since the USB is (mostly) slightly louder than the CD. The level difference is usually 0.2dB louder on the USB, but there are exceptions. Rubber Soul on USB is consistently 0.3dB louder than the CD. A few tracks are very slightly quieter than the CD.

 

The difference is very clear to me. The CDs sound like this:-

10101111 00100110

While the USB stick sounds like this:-

10101111 00100110 00000000

I'd even go as far to say that the USB stick sounds 256 times better than the CD, it's that good.

 

The USB is the best thing I have in my vast music collection. Nothing is sweeter than Till There Was You off of the USB.

 

Are you being facetious here or do you actually mean it?

 

What? Two noise-shaped dithers applied to a 16/44 CD version (compared to its 24/44 source)?
Seriously though, where are the successful ABX test reports?..

Here is mine (unsuccessful ):

Code:

foo_abx 2.0.2 report
foobar2000 v1.3.15
2017-08-13 12:58:42

File A: byarm-a.flac
SHA1: eb4ca07c789481d4a7fc49ac4106da21d1c597ba
File B: byarm-b.flac
SHA1: dd6f2a4715f830070110d9571850cd4c48b1c007

Output:
ASIO : ASIO4ALL v2
Crossfading: NO

12:58:42 : Test started.
12:59:38 : 01/01
13:00:04 : 01/02
13:00:32 : 02/03
13:01:11 : 03/04
13:01:26 : 03/05
13:02:04 : 04/06
13:02:24 : 04/07
13:02:48 : 04/08
13:03:40 : 04/09
13:04:16 : 05/10
13:04:16 : Test finished.

 ----------
Total: 5/10
Probability that you were guessing: 62.3%

 -- signature --
39119bacf2a8fe97e72deb1d70aae7e69bd92011

 

Wow, I was not expecting an obvious difference, but there certainly is one. A sounds much smoother with the bass, almost liquidy. Maybe it's too smooth. Lol I'm curious what a less bass heavy track would sound like, but I think I have the gist of the difference anyway.

 

Oh, I mean it, alright.

 

I got mine recently off E-Bay. It's worth it. The music sounds immaculate. Highly recommend it.

 

Can I ask, how much did you pay for it?

 

$150

 

Definitely noticeably better than the CDs. But I still prefer the 87s.

 

I have been listening to the 24-44 files and find them to sound remarkably better than the 2009 CDs. I a/b'd just to make sure I wasn't just "hearing things." I still have mixed feelings about the 2009 remastering, as it's loud and overly compressed IMHO.