Beatles USB vs CD remasters on an Oppo BDB95 - anyone have an opinion?

Hi,

Looking to purchase the Beatles catalog and am debating whether to purchase the CDs or USB. Was wondering if anyone has done a comparison on an Oppo BDP95.

Thanks!

 

I find the USB files to be a bit louder than the CDs. I listen to the 24 bit versions on my music server via Squeezebox Touch and the CDs via Oppo BDP80. I know that's not what you're looking for exactly but hope it helps a bit.

 

Regarding the first comment. In all respect, the USB Apple is NOT louder than the CD versions. The difference in volume is because of his or her setup. The engineers did not compress the CD versions any more for the USB versions to make it sound louder.

I'd say that if you care about sound quality only, and you don't care about actually owning a box set of CD's, I'd buy the USB Apple. There can only be two outcomes. The first is : "Worst Case Scenario" They don't sound any better than the CD's on your set-up. Second is : "Any Other Scenario" They sound better than the CD versions. You got nothing to lose.

The other matter is, are you familiar enough with "The Beatles"' albums? There are two CD-only box sets, Mono and Stereo versions. The stereo CD box has all their albums, the mono box set has all their albums except the orchestral parts to the "Yellow Submarine" soundtrack, "Abbey Road", and "Let it Be" which you have to buy separate. Some people like the stereo mixes more for their clarity, and their personal preference. Some people [like me], like the mono mixes more because they carry more "slam" in the drums, and sometimes have extra sound effects, or just make the song sound more coherent. I grew up with the Stereo and switched.

Either way, the music rocks, so I'd buy something!

 

Not to mention the USBs cand do double-duty as Christmas ornaments.

 

Beatles stereo versions

I have the mono, stereo, and USB versions.

For my personal listening, I have a directory on my server which mixes the mono and USB versions together into individual "albums" - as I like many of the tracks (up through Revolver) better in Mono, and then listen to the later albums in almost exclusively in stereo.

However, in direct answer to your question, I'd get the USB version. It's 24 bit and IMO sounds slightly superior to the CD version. It's not a huge difference, but it is noticeable. I've successfully picked out the 2 versions from each other in blind testing.

 

I use my USBs with my Oppo. Give the USB a shot. I prefer it personally.

 

USB sounds much better than the cds.......
Lots of good opinions here too:
http://www.amazon.com/Beatles-USB/dp/B002VH7P4O/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1320507646&sr=1-1

 

Nonsense.

 

It does make sense, not all devices have the same output level

 

I've actually compared the USB to the CD on the same device so it's really not that simple. There is a significant amount of information out there regarding this issue; take a look on Google, for instance. The bottom line is that people often believe what they want to believe and hear "evidence" that supports their beliefs. Belief systems are far more powerful than science, it seems. Maybe that sounds cynical but there are always people willing to "drink the Kool-Aid." Just look around.

 

No need to go philosophical pal, I just answered by you comment:

 

Didn't mean to insult you. I was just adding some comments that explain my perspective.

 

I thought I read on another thread that the USB was 0.5dB louder than the CDs. It would be easy to call up a waveform and demonstrate this, if true. I believe it to be true, but have not confirmed it.

 

What Oppo do you have?

 

The BDP-95

 

See this thread, "Quantitative comparison of 16 vs 24 bit Beatles remasters"

Short answer: The redbook releases are basically dithered versions of the 24 bit, although there is a *slight* amplitude difference between the two, and limiting may have been applied slightly differently.

 

Thanks a lot for the feedback. I've ordered up the USB!

 

I flac'd my mono Beatles at 16bit and play them via a USB in the BDP-95 and it sounds great. Haven't done a side by side comparison to the CD's however.

 

One Caveat. The Oppo does not have gapless playback for digital files. So for something like Sgt Pepper and Abby Road, where most of the songs do not have gaps between this may be annoying.

A_L

 

It's not a matter of belief. Either they're louder or they aren't. And it's not difficult to establish objectively whether this is the case or not.

 

Absolutely. The belief part is in reference to the sounding "better" aspect. Sorry for being vague.

 

They are still on Amazon but will likely not be manufactured again once the stock runs out. I combined songs that run together into one track for listening. Works great for shuffle mode and players that don't do gapless. I can't understand why the software player that comes with it plays the USB files rather than the flac. The mp3 files sound harsh in comparison. It should have been designed with a good flac player so you could listen and browse the booklets at the same time. Of course that's not a problem with those of us who already have a good flac player.

I was just looking at it again and thought how cool it would be if the Apple had been made to look as much like the original apple used for the label as possible. You pull it apart to see the split apple and grab the USB from the inside. You would still have "The Beatles" across the front so no one would try to eat it The back could be clean, like the logo.