Underworldlive version 3.0 thread

[Jan]

I don't have golden ears. But I do care for sound quality. If you don't, that's fine.
But that is not the point. The point is that I paid for lossless files but got lossy files that have been converted to lossless. There should be a good reason for that that I'd like to know. I somehow feel ripped off.

[King of Snake]

If you think something is wrong I'd say it would be best to try and contact underworldlive support about it.
They've had to correct files before (one of the Riverrun's had an incorrect bitrate at one point I believe).

[dubman]

schandenfreude!
seriously though if thats the case thats pretty messed up and hard to excuse

[BeautifulBurnout]

A Forest has to be my favourite Cure song. So incredibly atmospheric and evocative.

And timeless, too. As popular today with indie teenagers as it was in its own day. I walked past my 12 yr old's room a little while back and heard it playing - he had found it on YouTube too. He was a tad irritated that I knew it and was singing along....

[patrick]

i figure your song might be a bit of a diamond in the rough with his tastes. I have met very few people my age (25ish) that know it let-a-lone(?) people half my age...

But I agree with you fully that it is top song for the cure!

[mondokat]

Originally Posted by Jan

I've just listened to the lossless Play Pig (Pig & Dan Mix 2) from the store when I noticed some typical MPEG artifacts... The pre-echo artifacts at 0:03 are quite obvious. I'd certainly expect to hear them on the MP3 version but not on the lossless one. It's the same on the promo CDs. Some of the remixes are affected, but the UW tracks seem fine.

In UW's defense, the web site doesn't say they are giving you the "Lossless Masters", they say they are giving you "CD Quality AIFF Files". Considering that AIFF-C is commonly referred to as AIFF in the Mac world, it shouldn't be too completely surprising if they are AIFF-C files, albeit with the compression turned almost off. The files ARE huge, after all.

It sounds like you might be trying to say these AIFF files were created from the mp3's, but I would really doubt that that is the case. UW aren't that heartless. It could be that the samples used in the masters are lossy. These things were sort of created "for fun" anyway. I suppose the real test would be for someone to rip the vinyl and post the waveform like you did for comparison. That's the only way to be sure.

Any takers?

At the same time, I purchased the mp3's and didn't notice any compression artifacts, so obviously my ears are no meter for this level of quality, and I don't have a fancy spectrometer like you... :P

[holden]

Originally Posted by mondokat

It could be that the samples used in the masters are lossy. These things were sort of created "for fun" anyway. I suppose the real test would be for someone to rip the vinyl and post the waveform like you did for comparison. That's the only way to be sure.
...
At the same time, I purchased the mp3's and didn't notice any compression artifacts, so obviously my ears are no meter for this level of quality, and I don't have a fancy spectrometer like you... :P

i think you're onto something with this. The RR songs were supposedly experiments, written on laptops in transit/hotels, etc. I don't think that means they are sub-par sonically or "lossy", but they are by admission of the band, rougher and more immediate. Some of the unusual sounds might reflect this.

Concerning the mp3s, i recall a few compression glitches in "Lovely Broken Thing" when i first downloaded it (wow, was that 10/05? Doesn't seem that long ago!), and later there was a change in the bitrate of PFE (i think). But these certainly didn't distract me from the experience, either. I'm used to hearing mixes in 128 or 160 kb/s, so maybe i'm less critical. Then again, I'm guessing that since many people are listening to mp3 compression of some sort anyway, the lossy artifacts are inherent to their listening experience.

I can see how one might be disappointed to shell out the bucks for the AIFF and hear apparent problems. For me, i'm happy with the 192 kb/s mp3s' burned to CD with the printed out pdf. Feels more homemade, like a personal, somewhat -unexpected (at least back in 05-06) gift from UW.

[TheBang]

It was I'm a Big Sister which was originally posted in 160 Kbps 48.0 KHz. It was reposted the next day at 192 Kbps 44.1 KHz (like the previous releases).

[switchbladesusie]

Re: Today's outlook on news always being negative

Team Underworld need to listen to Carbon/Silicon's The News. Catchy little number!

[Cadevil]

Today: Studios building vibes

Riverrun #4 or a radio show, maybe...