Barbara Barbara Pushing The Limits..

[jetpig]

Originally Posted by King of Snake

well to be fair, making music for ads was part of Underworld from the beginning, since they were basically part of Tomato, an ad agency (but also a creative outlet for non-commercial work by various artists). Being part of that actually was one of the reasons they could continue to make the music they wanted as Underworld, because it gave them a financial security they otherwise would have had to get from a big label.
So I think that's different from playing commissioned gigs that are really just marketing events for corporations as opposed to an artistic endeavour for people who love the music.

The fact that they've been making music for ads and other such corporate endeavors since the early 90s was my point. They've not gone so far as to sacrifice their artistic integrity even through all the stuff they've done lately. VW, that super exclusive abbey road vinyl gig, a silent show on top of a sky scraper being beamed to people in VR headsets, none of it really screams sell-out to me so much as a seasoned band able to make use of their many connections to do some cool things.

[Troy McClure]

Originally Posted by ultradave

You believe correctly. I purchased the vinyl from Amazon and was surprised when a nice little card slipped out with a link to download the 24 or 16 bit flac from B&W.

This version did NOT include Twenty Three Blue though...

I will have to say this much when it comes to 24 bit - I have listened to Barbara Barbara now in iTunes Plus, Apple Lossless 16 bit and Apple Lossless 24 bit. I don't have expensive speakers, just some Bose desktop speakers and also some Bose over ear headphones. I only notice minimal difference between the iTunes Plus and 16 bit lossless, but when I listened to the 24 bit lossless I was blown away at the detail. Unfortunately I can only play 24 bit from my computer with my current setup and devices, but it's totally worth it if you can spare the extra quid for it.

They did release Dubno in 24 bit. Sounds amazing too. Just wish they would have released STITI in 24 bit. It's still by far my favourite UW release.

Do you need any special software to playback 'Dubno...' or 'Barbara, Barbara...' at the 24 bit?

Thanks,
Jason

[jetpig]

As for software, just a player that can play it, which VLC and foobar2k (both free) can do. The real trick is having the hardware to play it. Most commonly found PC sound devices only do 16bit /44khz as opposed to 24bit/48khz so the software ends up downsampling the file, which can lead to worse quality than just playing a straight 16/44 file. Most modern home theater stereos can decode 24 bit audio and PC focused devices that support 24 bit files can be had as low as $100. Portable devices that support it will be more pricey. How much of a quality increase you will hear will vary wildly based on a bunch of factors, of course, and those cheapest devices may not even realize any increased quality from higher bitrates at all.

It'll be nice to have for archival, but I doubt I will be able to hear a difference with my listening setups.

[Troy McClure]

Originally Posted by jetpig

As for software, just a player that can play it, which VLC and foobar2k (both free) can do. The real trick is having the hardware to play it. Most commonly found PC sound devices only do 16bit /44khz as opposed to 24bit/48khz so the software ends up downsampling the file, which can lead to worse quality than just playing a straight 16/44 file. Most modern home theater stereos can decode 24 bit audio and PC focused devices that support 24 bit files can be had as low as $100. Portable devices that support it will be more pricey. How much of a quality increase you will hear will vary wildly based on a bunch of factors, of course, and those cheapest devices may not even realize any increased quality from higher bitrates at all.

It'll be nice to have for archival, but I doubt I will be able to hear a difference with my listening setups.

Thanks for the info.... I have a portable headphone amplifier that I enjoy using, but I mistakenly thought it was also had DAC capabilities. I wasn't wowed like I was expecting, but now I know why.

Jason

[joethelion]

Originally Posted by TheBang

holden pointed this out earlier, I believe you can buy it here:

https://www.wasabeat.com/tracks/1206...japan-original

So I finally registered to that webpage... and frustratingly - every time I try to put "Twenty Three Blue" in the cart, a pop-up saying that it can't be added to my cart comes up...



it's just absurd that in today's market, they're still doing "Japan Only Bonus Tracks"
when they could easily... VERY EASILY have it as a pay download on Underworldlive.com