TN John or anyone else, I'm just curious what program you use to rip your CDs. Me, I'm using EAC. But I usually wait a few days so a few people can submit their data first so that there's data for my own rips to be compared against. Selfish of me, but there it is...

(asking bc you mentioned a potential problem with that Around n Around)

Lawdrone I hope you get your miracle today! Mine showed up yesterday and I was genuinely but happily surprised.

Separately -- sometimes I think #10000 (or 12000 or 13000 or whatever the "last" box in the run is numbered) is a unicorn, a myth, a fever dream. No one ever seems to acknowledge being the person in receipt; I've never seen one offered for sale. So if you're out there with such a box - hey, I'll broaden the inquiry to ANY Grateful Dead box going back roughly 20 years now - please step forward to satisfy my gratuitous curiosity. Thankee

Listening to my set, so far two discs have had problems. Disc one dropped the sound a couple of times. On Disc 3, Peggy-O became a garbled mess (for lack of a better description) and then jumped to the following track. Has anyone else had problems? There isn’t a physical problem I can see on either disc.

About an hour ago. Was supposed to be yesterday.
Glad FedEx now does Sunday delivery.

First listen will be tonight.

I play all CD’s first with a Cambridge Audio AXC35 CD player to make sure they play.
I then copy to a HD and check those files since there have been many instances where the same CD plays in a player but then has defects after ripping. Sometimes I get different ripping results with different burners.
I no longer use ripping software as I’ve found that to also introduce errors.
Using a Mac I mount the CD on the desktop then just drag the files to a folder. I then play those files with a portable music player to confirm an accurate copy.

I did see a #6789 May 77 box.

How the heck are you guys getting weekend delivery? My box blew right on by to Syracuse on Friday and is just sitting there.

There was a #2 Dave's Picks 3 on Ebay for a long time.

which is not #1 or 10,000

On CD1.
Will go in order.

Betty
Plangent
Norman
!!!!!

Glad I upgraded my speakers and subwoofer this week.
I hear stuff with these Klipsch speakers that I never heard with my Bose 301’s that are 12 years old.
And a 12-inch sub. I was on my deck last night while the sub was thumping inside and the siding on my house was vibrating.

Day 29: Jam from September 1, 1968.

This sounds like some of the Clementine jams I've heard. Anyone have any further info on this wonderful little jam?

....what I do know, is drumming my fingers on this box set drum is therapeutic.

Cone Kid has a better setup than me. I'm just using Windows Media Player.

The issue with Around And Around on the 4-6 show appears to have been on stage that night, as it is present on all versions of the show that are on the archive.

I just converted all eight concerts to mp3's and am finding out that every concert has corrupted flac files. I have a list of over 28 songs over the eight concerts that sound like they ripped them from a CD that was damaged and skipping.

Agree. Problem is at 1030 AM they knew there was a problem why is anybody still able at 434 PM to still purchase known defective product? glitches all over these files and straight up starts and stops mid songs like someone hits pause.

4-6-78 Tampa. Must have been the headphones, or the Indica/Sativa hybrid, but this was way better than I expected. The band was a cohesive unit with no one detracting in any way. Jerry was somewhat reserved which came off as just exactly perfect with what everyone else was doing. Bob especially was fitting in so well and not going off on his own thing. Great sound quality too after the 1st song glitches were cleared up. I hope the rest of the box can live up to this start and from what I've read Duke is stellar. Onward!
Cheers
Speaking of stereos (I know, wrong thread, that's over on listening to now) the headphones verified what I have feared for a couple years now. The vintage killer ESS speakers need recapped for sure. Been wishfully thinking the muddy sound was possibly a component but I tried the headphones straight out of both the CD player (too loud, no variable output) and the pre-amp and they both sounded phenomenal. Main problem is there is no tech anywhere near me and the floor standing speakers weigh 60 lbs. each (more than my lifting limits, previous hernias). Think I need some spares until I can get them recapped. No room so I'm thinking some 8" woofer two-way bookshelfs can fit somewhere. Here I go down the audio rabbit hole again, lol.

check out simply speakers, one word and dot something.

They offer different speaker materials and instructions or you can simply send the speakers to them and they will come back cherry! Of course, remove speaker from cabinet to ship.

G

Edit:

Checked they do have ESS speaker components. I have some old Canon-TLS speakers that need refoam and rear passive radiator kits. The Canon's were made by ESS. My speakers runneth over. Should I re-do the Canon's, not sure. Pyt Pyle-Driver woofers in them in 1987. Been using all JBL for 20 years.

Hope that helps.

I've seen them before as a parts house. Problem is the caps are attached to the circuit board on the crossover network that is inside behind the speaker binding posts and the mfg. didn't mount it from the outside. Someone will have to remove the woofer, and the insulation just to get to it. Not a fun or easy job. Soldering and spec-ing new caps is well beyond me. So, I will keep searching for that old guy who still does bench work in his spare time hobby.
Then I'll get a helper to get them in my car, lol. It's worth it as I can't buy new for what that repair will cost and any used vintage may have the same issue as capacitors have a useful life of as little as 10-20 years and these are almost 50 now. But boy do they sound good when working well. Shipping speakers is expensive when they are this size so many sellers of refurbished ones only offer local pick-up. Temporary bookshelf speakers will also fit into a possible 5.1 surround if I ever go there. And who doesn't need more toys?
Thanks and cheers

Gotcha. Sux though

Package has been sitting in OH since the 20th. Was scheduled for delivery on the 21st but now just says "we'll update delivery information when package starts moving". Can't get through to anyone at FedEx who can tell me what is happening w it. Delivery on these box sets is always stressful. Going on vacation in 2 weeks and would love to have it before then to listen on the 12 hour plane ride. Hope y'all been enjoying it so far and hopefully I'll be joining soon!

Has arrived in the Mohawk Valley, one day ahead of schedule and early in the day, but still not on Friday.

I did not know there was another "T" in SporTatorium, which makes a lot more sense now.

Anyone have a link to digital cover art? CDs played fine, iTunes extraction went fine, sorry to hear there are issues, is it just downloads?

Just posting to second Icecrmcnkd's praise of Klipsch speakers. Picked up a pair of RP280 floorstanding speakers at the end of 2017 or so and have been using them hard since. Crystal clear sound at any volume, bass sounds solid even at low volumes, and no distortion even at extreme volumes when coupled with a good receiver with low distortion (currently paired with a Yamaha Aventage RX-A1060). No subwoofer as they bother my ears, and with the range of the speakers it is not necessary as they put out deep bass tones effortlessly. They replaced a pair of vintage 1970s Genesis Speakers that had the woofers re-coned once in the '90s and the inverted dome tweeters eventually just disintegrated by 2017. I got them when my father upgraded in the early '80s and I used them up until 2017, pretty good lifespan for a pair of speakers. I liked the Genesis speakers a lot, but the Klipsch just take it to another level. Your appreciation may differ.
Eagerly watching this box creep towards delivery.

Thanks for those replies - all appreciated!

Someone posted the front and back scans to the Grateful Dead Reddit page. I just Googled Friend of the Devils cover art and it was the first link.

EDIT: strike that. The colors of the posted scans don’t match what’s in the box set.

I’ll eventually get around to scanning the covers. Probable not til this weekend though.

People are ready for you...

My box has now arrived in Germany, sez the DHL tracking. Hopefully it'll be delivered this week.

We watched the Duke 78 Video on deadnet youtube last night, that was fun. It seemed like a student production, poor camera work, and an annoying directorial tendency to create messy supers frequently during the first set. They layed off this super business in the second set which made it more enjoyable visually. Video is my background, so I'm familiar with creating this kind of effect. Jerry was really excited during the end of the second set dancing around and doing windmills. That was enjoyable. I never saw him do that in 1978.

The same amount of time to get to NYC.

The same amount of time to get to NYC.

....180g vinyl shipped.
Spinning the Sportatorium on my Sennheisers tonight.

Hey Gary & Everybody, Kinda bad timing. We're leaving for a long-postponed & long-saved-up-for, three week odyssey from Athens to Rome. Unless Copperdomebodhi hooks me up with his always excellent cover art while we're gone, I won't be able to send links until mid October. My box may not arrive until after we leave, but I'll take the flacs along thanks to a longstanding and "must-remain-un-named" benefactor. Onward!

Mine has arrived in the UK but is currently being assessed by customs. I’ll probably get a letter in a couple of days and have to pay tax before the Parcelforce lottery begins. My Neil Young box should have arrived yesterday but it is sitting in the Parcelforce local depot not moving. I ‘phoned and was told that they should have delivered it that day, I said ‘I know’! Let’s hope it arrives today and that customs are efficient in getting their post out so I don’t wait over another weekend for the GD box. Best wishes to the others still waiting.

.....very nice Jeff. My cousin and his wife are heading to Rome to see David Gilmour. I'm jealous on both fronts.
Be safe.

Yes, it's on.
Oktoberfest No. 189.
Cheers
G.

"The Waiting Is The Hardest Part".
Could the waiting be shortened with one or more of that specially brewed tasty Oktoberfestbier?
Yes!
Cheers

I made artwork with my phone, I hold it over the cover and press the little scan thing. I have no idea what I'm doing but they come out ok I guess.

Man, if I were Colin I'd have been arrested at the post office.... ;/

Edit: In case anyone is wondering, I grew up in that part of New Jersey that's like a spit from NYC, I think this explains my lack of patience and aggressiveness.
I am at least aware of it... :)

…#9151, which is located on the back cover of the booklet - the new 2024 Boxsets have landed in NJ,on the outskirts of NYC. Bergen County! I received both the CD Boxset as well as the Vinyl Boxset! Once again the art production is primo! The Grateful Dead has done it again! A real work of art and it’s made up from premium quality materials. CD art work is also fantastic! All my CD look perfect except for one disc,#5 has scratches all over the CD. I pray and Hope i can get a replacement CD. I’ll settle for a copy if they aren’t available to mail a replacement. I’m going to try to get help. Otherwise, this year’s box is beautiful in every way! Time to dig in , I always play the music in order for reasons of my own. I enjoy exploring the music as it was originally recorded date wise! I love 1978! Let the magic begin to fill the air with sweet songs & lyrics! Long live the good Ol Grateful Dead!

The Art Production is beyond beautiful, it’s actually a Drum! The box itself is a Drum!!! Totally mind blowing! And also comes with a drum like tambourine rattle!

My copy is in a ‘secure facility’ at a UPS warehouse. Crumbs.

Me too but I am from that little island thang called NYC! Be proud brother!

I love that they released this - but I am very disappointed that digital noise reduction was used - there was absolutely NO reason to do so and it takes away from these perfect Betty Boards.

....🤔

Box was delivered before lunch, which made the rest of my work day excruciatingly long. I opened it at dinner. My wife was patient & made sure we took good care of the wave drum. My daughter was over the moon to hear about a 16+ minute Franklin’s Tower. I guarantee this will get a lot of play time around here.
Thanks Dave! Thanks Steve!
Thanks Jerry, Bobby, Phil, Billy, Mickey, Keith & Donna!

#5468 is in the house. Won't have a chance to start to listen to it until Thursday.
Tapes provided through the assistance of ABCD LLC. They are back. 👍 Such a great story!

Broken drum?

Can't beat that....

Lowest number I’ve gotten on any of the boxes or the Dave’s.

Makes me feel sorta kinda warmish.

How do you know?

Is this why the volume seems lower than other releases?

gettin hey now'd again...thought that had been disposed of.

guess not.

sucky

It doesn't like the colon punctuation mark, that is two dots above each other, as is sometimes used between hours and minutes. I discovered that last week.

....out for delivery.

The packaging fits into a standard book shelf. Standard slip cases for the discs. All of it well made and designed. That alone makes me glad I didn't go with the all digital.

For the artwork, it now makes sense to me and it works. There's a backwoods swamp feel in the imagery that's appropriate for most of the shows being from the deep south during springtime. The devils remind me of what can be found in folk art from that region- just do a google image search 'Florida Georgia folk art devils'. All that Baptist influence on the subconscious, I guess. And then with the drum actually being a rain stick every time you move the box? That's when your imagination pulls all the pieces together to make it come alive! Pretty cool how that happens.

For the music, I've only listened to the first Tampa show but I'm hearing what I heard when listening to some of the DaP releases from the tour after this release was announced. It's a GD where everyone is rhythmically in synch and magically knows how to follow where the beast wants to go. And primarily from having a centering weight through Phil, Mickey and Bill-- which then allows Keith, Jerry and Bob to easily find room to freely do their stuff. Donna too (who does sound great). Quite often I find grateful dead playing to be like a big drum circle and that's indeed the case what's found here.

If all the shows hold to that style, for me personally, I'll place this at the same level as E '72, May '77 and Spring '90. I think the playing is that good and that unique to the GD vault. Case in point, after listening to one of those prior DaP releases this summer, I put in Veneta right afterward and my ears went, nope, better get back to April '78.

Magically showed up at the post office this am.

Spinning Tampa 4/6 right now - In the timbers of Fennario . . .

I know what you mean.. every time I try to launch my new crypto currency and advertise my new Crypto exchange here, I get Hey Now'd.

It's so unfair.

Box is in, haven't opened it yet but that's where I will be going in exactly.... now.

....love.