Grateful Dead

Here are some links explaining in detail issues with the difference between 16 bit and 24 bit (and 44.1 vs 96khz), the abilities of the human ear and lots of other technical info. I will get links to the university studies themselves when I have time to find them again. http://www.sonicscoop.com/2013/08/29/why-almost-everything-you-thought-… http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html http://hothardware.com/News/Research-Data-Suggests-Higher-Music-Fidelit…

I just improved my delivery day by 1 day (delivery now tomorrow!!!), by creating a UPS My Choice account and then upgrading from the UPS>USPS to UPS Ground for $3.50. UPS Cust Svc said I made the change in time - just did it. Bob

Makes me remember going down to the stereo shop, if you're old enough to remember those, hahaAnd having the salesman do his thing with all the setups they had. Man that was always a blast. And after you spent hundreds or thousands you'd get home and set the new rig up. And possibly think you know it just doesn't sound as good as down in the showroom!

Anybody know any links to the cover art of the individual shows? not the box cover. I would like to put each show with its individual art. thankswhat a great box!! I've made it through the 3/21 show so far, plenty of highlights The 3/21 Wharf Rat WoW!! now back to listening...

Could it be that you would want those frequencies in there even though the ear can't hear them as to provide separation between the instruments to give it more detail and a wider sound-stage.

Just received the BOX. First class job all the way! Did anyone mention the DEAD dice set that was included?

I saw that upgrade a day sooner deal, but didn't want to open an account. Finally got a shipping notice on my box last night, first said by Friday 8 PM, then they updated that to Saturday at 8 PM. Hand-off to the USPS carrier. UPSMI is a pain, especially when a UPS truck goes down my street at least once a day. Last time they shipped out Dave's 11 I got it the next day it was released. So you never know. I guess they gave overseas and Canada priority on this box since many are listening to theirs while I wait days longer here in Dallas.

@fourwindsblow - that could be. I just think that, because many of the folks in the studies I read were audiophiles very familiar with the best audio equipment/technology who are familiar with and listen to 24bit music, it seems to me that if they still get about a 50% success rate in picking out the 24 bit versus 16 bit recording of the same music samples then there can't really be more detail or a wider sound-stage that is discernible (by ears as opposed to electronic analysis equipment). Also, it's not just a larger range of frequencies involved (although, as you indicated, those frequencies are generally beyond human hearing), it's also more frequent digital sampling (slices as it were) of the music (44.1khz versus 96 khz)) - more points in time; other stuff also. My main point is that if a particular person can't tell the difference (can't detect the wider soundstage, more detail, etc) then the difference isn't really there for all intents and purposes - certainly not to pay for. And, to my knowledge, no one particular person in any of the studies when put through double blind testing was able to get anything statistically significatnly higher than 50% which indicates no discernible difference. Obviously, when run through sound analysis equipment there is a difference, but that's moot to the listener. Most people I have spoken to gauge their preference for 24 bit, etc., by their use of SACD or DVD audio, and as I mentioned before, that's not apples to apples because the SACD and DVD audio are almost always made from different masters, have different mixes, etc., not to mention able to be played back in more than two channels. So, first of all, they hear an immediate difference, and secondly, it DOES sound better but it sounds better because of those other things not related to the higher bit rate or sampling frequency. Of course, I'm sure there are hearing savants out there. But, another, thing to consider - if you have exposed yourself to high volumes of music or are older than say 30ish then the issue really is moot because the odds of you're retaining the ability to hear that level of nuance when so very very few people indicate ANY ability to tell the difference under controlled conditions seems to me to be very low. One last thing. It seems to me that rather than spend money on higher bit higher sampling frequency recordings, given the dubious nature of the difference it makes to the human ear, it would be a far better investment to make one time investments in superior playback equipment (particularly speakers and headphones, but other equipment as well) rather than pay more for each recording. A pair of $500 Grado headphones is going to do WAY more for the quality of your music experience than spending $5-$10 more for every recording you buy. And no, I do not own a pair like that, but have listened with them extensively (extended family). One day maybe...

I got myself a Marantz receiver sr7005 it has M-DAX expander. When I first got it I didn't use it much because I didn't hear much of a difference at first, but now I can't listen without it especially at a higher volumes. Makes the 16/44 files sound like a record when set on mid setting. Nice talking with ya bro

My box arrived today here in Birmingham, AL. I'm looking forward to having time to listen to all of it soon... Jessica Dessner's artwork is great - heck, all the GD artwork in the past few years has been impressive, but the artwork on the individual show digipaks and elsewhere in this set really brought a smile to my face. And the box's design really complements the artwork well. The smaller book was a nifty idea. Great job all 'round, folks.

...less than 24 hours of receiving an email letting me know it had shipped!! I got lucky on this "other one." I'm always blown away by the attention to detail on these sets. Even the box it's shipped in is cool,

The person who scans the cover art on at this link is usually pretty quick about putting up the updated cover art, including the bonus discs... https://plus.google.com/photos/106465427611350658328/albums/59784616720… ...but seems to only be updated through Dave's Picks Volume 10.

Your comments about higher res formats sound right on. At one time, I had a 320Kbps MP3 of a show which I had enjoyed thoroughly, but found the recording lifeless, unengaging, frustrating, unpleasant and quite difficult to listen to all the way through. After repeatedly being unable to enjoy it for nearly a year, I finally purchased the FLACs, taken from the exact same source recording, and now enjoy listening to and being surrounded by all or even just portions of it to no end. There's no comparison. You will never convince people who don't get it, because while you're listening to the music, they are analyzing data as they listen to it. Their opinion on how the music sounds is utterly pointless because they don't know how to LISTEN to music in the first place. Kinda makes you wonder why they even bother in the first place sometimes.

I've made some attempts to hear a difference between a 16-bit and a 24-bit version of the same source material, and I'll be darned if I can hear any. I use decent equipment, and second the opinion to get some nice Grado headphones. I went to a site that supposedly tested my hearing abilities, and it seems that I don't have the capacity to hear much difference in anything, and I've somewhat babied my ears over my 44 years. I had my wife randomly play me a Joshua Redman track that was in lossless FLAC and in 256 mp3. I guessed correctly five times out of ten. Others swear by hi-rez, and I'm certainly no expert, but I would ignore the format and use the savings for more recordings you don't already have, plus some good ($100-300) headphones. One additional problem with the hi-rez version of older recordings is that they rarely state which source and process was used, so you're probably getting nothing more than you've already owned all these years. That, and you don't even get liner notes for your $20/disc! AND, they usually don't include the bonus tracks that were included on your remastered CD version! And then your hard drive crashes . . .

I'm 44 years old and I was just GIGGLING listening to the Branford show. It's redonckulus....just silly how awesome this is....:) Re:listening to the listening party....picking up the set first thing @ the P.O.!

@HighThyme- hey now! First, I apologize to anyone to whom I came off as preaching. I just think that if they put up 24 bit flacs, they will probably charge more (I think they said $200?). That's a lot of money compared to $160 for the same music, I assure you that i am thinking of NONE of that technical stuff when I am being transported to those magical places music takes us, whether jamming with thousands, or alone with my "deck". In fact, somewhere around half my music collection consists of music recorded before stereo was invented, and I have and enjoy and love a substantial number of recordings I have from before the electrical microphone was invented. The very opposite of hi-fi. I, for one, will ALWAYS opt for a mediocre recording of great music over a great recording of good music. And I would certainly never judge who does and who does not know how to listen to music by what can be gleaned from comments on a message board. I was trying to save people money by explaining what they're not getting with their higher priced 24 bit file. I think I managed to do that without insulting any one, and certainly not aiming insults directly AT a particular person. Was that really necessary? While I may have been over-technical, I wasn't bringing any one down or tearing anyone down. Were you trying to make me feel like shit? Maybe you just had a crappy day. It happens. To your point, though. I don't think you completely understand the issue (no big deal, though). Mp3 (and AAC files) even of 320kbs, are "lossy" formats meaning that a lot (a LOT) of music information is lost from the file in order to compress it down in size (by 70-90%!) from the original file it is created from. Most people will hear a significant difference between the original music file and an mp3, and virtually everyone will hear the loss in sound quality when comparing them on excellent equipment. There's no comparison. But, that has nothing at all to do with fourwinds' or my points. The flacs, and alac files that we are talking about are "lossless" files. This means that no music data from the original file they are created from is lost (they only compress the original by about 50%), and are decoded to the exact original as they play, or you can decode them yourself and then convert to flac again over and over with zero loss in quality each time. When you create an mp3, though, you are throwing out a ton of music data that is gone forever. If you decode it to a wav, the wav is still missing what you threw out. If you compress to mp3 again you will degrade it even further, etc, What we were discussing is the difference between digital recordings that are 16 bit and 44.1 kHz (what a CD uses), and 24 bit 96khz recordings. The bits refers to the number of data bits used to store each "unit" of music information sampled from the incoming analog electronic signal, and the kHz refers to how often "snapshots" of the incoming signal are captured (44,100 times per second vs. 96,000 times per second). Most studies show no one can really distinguish between two music samples where one is 16/44.1 and the other 24/96 when created from the same source. Most people CAN readily distinguish the poorer sound quality of an mp3 and the original 16bit or 24bit it came from. A substantial sacrifice in sound quality has been made to create a MUCH smaller file. I only brought this up because many people have been jumping on the "hi Rez" bandwagon, paying substantially more for 24bit files while I was aware that the university studies done to date indicate that people can't hear the difference between a 16 bit file and a 24 bit file (which has nothing to do with mp3 degraded encoding). Let's say they were offering a gd movie on actual film, one that plays at 72 frames per second and another at 144 frames per second, but they're charging a lot more for the 144. If I've just read that no one who watches both can tell which is which, I'm gonna come on here and suggest that people don't waste their hard earned money. And, to do that I'm going to have to explain the difference between the two and why having all those extra frames doesn't actually matter. Just trying to save some friends some scratch. By all means, when they put up the 16 bit alac file (they already have) which can be converted to 16 bit flac with no loss, and then they put up 24 bit flac and charge $40 more for it, then, because you can hear the difference between an mp3 and a flac (which most everyone can) by all means go ahead and get the 24 bit file if that somehow makes logical sense to you. It's like you're saying, " since I can hear the difference between a crappy mp3 and a perfect lossless 16 bit flac, well then I might as well pay even more for this 24 bit hi res flac!" I could just say "that's fine with me, no skin off my nose", especially after your purposely insulting and condescending comment, but it actually DOES bother me that you, someone who obviously loves music or you wouldn't be here and who I am sure knows how to LISTEN to music just fine, might be convinced to pay more for something without getting anything of any additional real value when that money could be going to more music that you love or other meaningful places. In any case, I honestly do hope you just have great times with the music in whatever form you get it. Long live the omnipotent Grateful Dead.

@fourwinds- thanks, you too. I remember when most music junkies would get the best equipment they could afford. Huge floor standing speakers with the latest in tweeter and woofer technology, cool receivers, amps and pre-amps, turntables with the coolest new types of needle cartridges, and we were so careful to make sure it was spinning at 33 1/3 after we used those velvet things to gently remove the dust from the precious vinyl as it spun........

@deadheadbrewer- aren't those grado's something? The warmth of sound, the 3 dimensionalilty, the clarity, and the feeling of space is like nothing I've ever heard in any other phones. I saw they have come out with ear buds. When I do finally take the plunge I think I will have to go with one of the full size phones, but I'd like to find out if their buds sound similar. They have 3 types of buds, but their lowest price one is the only thing they sell that isn't handmade in Brooklyn. The other two, though are $300 and $400. Can't do that and the regular headphones also.

@jrf68- they put the 2nd set of that show up with the two listening parties. The exact same giggling thing happened to me. It WAS redonckulus!!!!!! Also, after that whole Clint Eastwood DVD thing, I just got notification that my box should get here by end of day today. YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also received my order on September 9th. I was really amazed to receive it so quickly - especially after the delays with the first Spring 1990 box which saw all Australian deliveries sent via Germany. And these sound REAL GOOD! What's lined up as the Box Set release for 2015 I wonder.

All along the tracking for my set has shown Friday 9/12. I just looked at it again. and it now says UPS is NOT going to turn it over to USPS and that they will deliver it today!!Doing the happy dance as I try to type this. Tonite is going to be heaven! Rock on

1. Congrats to all those who have already received their box sets.2. My set should arrive sometime today-can't wait. 3. Re: big stereos and vinyl ritual-I plead quilty to all of it. 4. I don't know about hi-rez downloads-don't have any of them but I definitely think MP3 is virtually worthless for music enjoyment. I like HDCD, vinyl and SACD. I also have some excellent sounding modern CDs. 5. I agree however that I will listen to an ancient lo-fi recording of a brilliant performance over a state of art recording of a mediocre performance-I have many CD issues of historical classical (Furtwangler, etc) that I would not part with.

Cool Musically, my other complete obsessions besides the Grateful Dead are Furtwangler and Callas. I have virtually every performance, offical and bootlegged, that can be found (I'm sure i'm missing a few). I have told many people that Furwangler is like the Grateful Dead of classical music. He would rehearse the orchestra (at least his own Berlin and Vienna) over and over and over, takingn input from orchestra, playing the same piece in many different ways with different emotional content in different places. That way, when in performance, he could go with whatever he was feeling, changing what he was doing by how he felt at the moment and knowing that the band would be right there with him able to emotionally follow where he was going and play it that way. He could IMPROVISE the emotional content of the piece on the fly and sometimes magic would happen. One of my absolute favorite recordings of all time is the December 1944 Beethoven Eroica Symphony with the Vienna. The peak moment about 2/3 of the way through the slow movement, is one of the most intense musical moments I've ever heard. Ever. Makes the hair on my neck stand up every time. Anyway, gotta get back to work.

2763 has been delivered by UPS - doing the $3.50 shipping upgrade was worth it to me. For those trying to figure the numbering system, I ordered mine the day before Meet Up At The Movies, I picked the cheapest shipping option and my last name is in the middle of the alphabet... Looking forward to listening to it!

the Furtwangler Ring Cycle avail on the big Membran box is amazing. To me the Ring cycle is another musical obsession comparable to seeking out contrasting GD performances.

Hey there Volcano - Oops, I forgot to add one more obsession (really) - Wagner. I have both Furtwangler's complete cycles, the recently (sort of) released Keilberth from 1955 (first stereo recording of it ever made, not released for ages), the Solti, the Barenboim, the Karajan, and the decca Bohm set. Also have lots of versions of all the rest of the main canon (I especially like Kubelik's Die Meistersinger), as well as one copy of each of his first three, Die Feen, Das Liebesverbot, and Rienzi. When I first started listening to opera, it was all Italian and French. I thought I couldn't stand Wagner. I kind of liked Flying Dutchman, and it kept growing on me, so I moved on to osome of his others. I found his music to be completely addictive, to the point that for a while I wasn't listening to anything else (obsession). It is literally a physical pleasure, very hedonistic. For such an asshole, he was without a doubt one of the most amazing geniuses to ever live.

Checked my shipping status: "A late UPS trailer arrival has caused a delay. We're adjusting plans to deliver your package as quickly as possible." BOOOOO! Ah well, what's another day or two for one of my favorite tours. As long as all the contents and discs are correct this time (they were not on the first box) it sounds like I'll be one happy head the way everyone keeps raving about the sound quality. I cut my Dead teeth on this tour, this is where it all came together after seeing my first show in the summer of '89. This is like 80's Dead, but better for lovers of that era.

A late UPS trailer arrival has caused a delay. We're adjusting plans to deliver your package as quickly as possible. So close yet so far.

6024 arrived in Philly today. Happy Thursday, Deadland!!!

I live in colorado and got the late trailer delay message on the ups tracking page. must be out of Commerce City. hopefully there will be no damage to the box! can't wait! gonna be a midi drenched weekend!

Perhaps this has been addressed before, but could someone tell me where the album art for the individual shows from the Spring 1990 TOO box is located? Many Mahslo's!!

#2550 just arrived here in Western MA! All I can say is: Beautiful! Just beautiful! Great packaging all around, certainly worth the $ no doubt! The book, the prints, even the coin and dice are cool! Got a couple things to do on this glorious day off and then I will let the music play!! I'm going to go right in order, off to the Cap Centre it will be!! Take care folks! Hope everyone gets theirs soon!!!

has landed. Almost didn't make it-USPS truck burned right by the house-I got on the phone and made some calls trying to figure what went wrong-getting ready to saddle up and go chase the truck-when ding-dong went the bell-carrier out front holding the box and saying gee I forgot I had it in the back of the jeep. Ah well-tragedy narrowly averted! What a MAGNIFICENT box-no time yet to listen-had to get back to work-but the box as a collectible object is really desirable. I won't spoil for those still waiting and who have avoided the pre-views( as I had done). Suffice it to say that this is a fitting presentation for this great band. If you are on the fence-don't hesitate to pull the trigger. Thanks to all for realizing this product.

Nice posts. I've had the same discussion here before about how 44.1/16 is as high-def as the human ear can possibly hear. I appreciate that you are just trying to help people out and save them from spending extra on something that is essentially unnecessary. One of the links you posted (Xith.org) is also from the same folks who are the developers and maintainers of the FLAC file format. Seems to me they might know a little bit (pun intended) what they're talking about on this issue. fourwindsblow: "Could it be that you would want those frequencies in there even though the ear can't hear them as to provide separation between the instruments to give it more detail and a wider sound-stage." Actually, it's the opposite. You don't want those frequencies, as some inaudible ultrasonics could cause distortion in the audible range, resulting in the "high-def" recording having poorer fidelity during playback than the CD standard.

Wow; Received this on Sept. 8 after just receiving shipping confirmation from Dead.net !!! I can't believe it arrived so fast as I waited 2 weeks for DP 11 to come. At 46 years of age, I have just recently been introduced to the Grateful Dead and I have completely jumped in to their work with both feet. This box set is absolutely glorious and tHe sound is impeccable. I'm sorry it took so long for me to appreciate this band as I would have loved to have had their previous large box sets (Europe '72 most of all). The past being the past, I cannot change that, going forward I will not miss another set like this that gets put out. It has been a great 3 days diving into this so far and I can't believe the differences between shows !!! Please don't let this end...

They haven't updated their sight yet, but this usually will have the individual show art work. They seem to currently be updated through Dave's picks Volume 10, but not Volume 11 yet. I would check the following link periodically... https://plus.google.com/photos/106465427611350658328/albums/59784616720…

Try searching with Google Images. This worked well for me for most GD boxes, individual art for the May 77 box being the exception (probably available now, but weren't back when I ripped the set upon receiving). Have not tried it yet with this release because my box is still in transit.

#3960 arrived at the Isle Of Fehmarn in Northern Germany.Got a shipping note on 9/5, box landed in Germany on 9/6 and first note of UPS in my postbox on 9/8. Was on Holiday in Danmark for a couple of days so I wasn't surprised when on 9/10 the UPS guy appeared on my working place and handled out the box. UPS charged me for taxes EUR 50,45 and an additional UPS charge of EUR 12. All together I've paid about EUR 280. First at all thanx to dead.net for more than fast delivery. And for the first time you could see the tracking online, fantastic. I've just had the pleasure to listen to 3/14 Landover. The sound is fine and I really like it. But what I'm missing a bit is the audience in the mix. One of my favorite tapes is a first gen aud tape of 3/27/93 Knickerbocker Albany and especially the end of the first set. During "Cassidy" and "Casey Jones" as closer the singing of the audience reaches the same level as the music. So this in my opinion is a fine thing of getting a concert at home. What about the release of the Europe 90 shows as the next big box? Anyone remembers the scream "Dunkelstern" during the first notes of "Dark Star" in Berlin 10/20/90? Greeting fron the sunny island and gar-see-ya JJ

Wow!...all I can say is WOW! Great first set from 3/14 and its only the first CD out of 23! Great version of "Big River",very unique. "Loose Lucy" ,"Row Jimmy" and "Let It Grow" also kick ass!I love these box sets! I dont care what year it is(though I have my favorites!), I LOVE the DEAD!!!!!!!!We certainly are a spoiled lot aren't we?! No other group is doing what this band and co. is doing and I love every minute of it!!! Take the dog out, trip to the cellar, back to the tunes!!! Later folks!!!! Did I mention its a great day off?

Looks great !!

Has arrived! Thank you everybody who made this happen for me! Can't wait to dig in!

The link I posted above has the album cover art for all of the "May '77 Box" shows as well as all of the bonus discs. Here's the link again... https://plus.google.com/photos/106465427611350658328/albums/59784616720…

Awesome news man! Glad you got it!!! Mine coming tomorrow!! Taking it on vacation! Good to see you posting. Saw your guilty pleasure post about friends being into metal bands like priest, dio, ozzy, etc. Mine too. Every so often I pop in one of those cds. I doubt my old buddies pop in a Dead tape very often but they all made to a show at least once (even if it was only the lot)! You rock man! Enjoy

Is there some reason why the link on this dead.net page that reads, "Looking for the digital cover art? You can download it here" does not contain the art for each show? Seems like a pretty logical place to hide it rather than have a bunch of folks searching the 'net for it. Maybe MaryE could suggest this to the nice folks behind this web site?

Anyone else notice the unfinished "paint by numbers morning sky" on the cover of 3/25/90? # 1318 just landed in rainy S Florida. Halfway through 3/28/90 (looks like rain!) sounds REALLY GOOD! Thanks for this one!

I got my box today and visually inspected all discs for issues, and noticed a blotch/watermark/defect pressed into Disc 3 of the 4/3/90 Omni show. UGHHH. Played the disc on a few CD players, and just as I feared, the disc skipped/sputtered and wouldn't play past the 5:22 mark in Not Fade Away. Anyone else check their discs and find Disc 3 of 4/3/90 to have some type of blemish pressed into the disc? or find their disc to skip during Not Fade Away? Suffice to say I called Dead.net, emailed Dead.net as well, and emailed Dr. Rhino of Rhino Records hoping that this one disc can be replaced. Since I just got the box, I didn't listen to anything but that one disc (since the flaw was obvious and visible). Regardless, everything else looked great and was packed nicely. Can't wait to dig into the whole thing (listening in order), and hoping I can get a replacement Disc 3 of the 4/3/90 show before getting to that show.

5017 is in the house and sounding fantastic! Cheers to the powers that be for putting this together.

So I decided when I placed my pre-order to have the box set sent to my parents in South Carolina. Normally anything takes at least three weeks to get here in South Australia, and I'm flying back to the States for holiday end of the month.(27th) That way it wouldn't arrive after I left. Little did I know International orders would be shipped so early. I will be in SF for three days or so, back to Ohio for my 25 year high school reunion, and won't get to my parents until the 10th of October. So it looks like i'll be waiting another twenty-nine days before I get my first listen. Sigh..... The only good thing is after we leave my parents we fly over to Wales then back to New Orleans, then back here to Adelaide so on those long plane rides I'll be a happy, grooving, deadhead.

I ordered 2, as I usually do, one for a sealed vault/archive. So, also bought the Branford show, Although the top of the case was cracked, chipped a bit.......opened it, anyway, as it's no bigs and hadda pop 'em in right away! I'll mull the box choice, as I want a really 'neato' number and lots of music to enjoy before I delve into the full set. ;)

Haven't received my box (supposed to show up by 8 PM Saturday), but earlier this year I ordered a bunch of the Road Trips series. Got one bad disc with a visible ring from silver to dark, about a half inch from the edge all the way around the CD, a defect in the reflective metallic coating. Would not play on any player past a certain point. dead.net send me another one right away with a prepaid return label. Then more recently I ordered a remastered Shakedown Street, received TWO defectives so far, both factory sealed with no CD inside! Empty! I've learned that I should probably open and check all CDs for playback, and make sure they are all there, present and accounted for. Never really had a defective CD or packaging (buying them since '83) until recently, this year, made by Rhino.