Grateful Dead HD Tracks: Wake Up To Find Out: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY 3/29/1990

[blaven]

Got this in 24/192. I am NOT a huge Dead Head...love Two From The Vault Disc 1, and almost never listen to anything else I own of theirs.

 

This is a great live recording. I am only through 60% of it, but it puts a smile on my completely sober face.

 

I am very happy with the purchase, even at this price.

 

[wgscott]

Any chance of an Audacity spectrum? I will buy it if it is authentic high-res. I've been burned by HDtracks so many times, I would feel like a chump if they did it again...

[blaven]

Someone would need to show me how to do that, but I'm game if it's not terribly difficult to learn.

 

It sounds good, and Branford plays what seems like the entire 2nd set with them so it's a bit unique to boot.

 

I have no 16/44.1 version to compare to.

 

Not sure if I am liking the music so much, that I am blinded to any DR compression or lack of high res benefit, but it certainly sounds good

[jlittlefield]

First post (long time lurker). Big deadhead and I downloaded 24x192 today.

 

This recording is beyond good. To my ears, this is the finest sounding live dead release ever. Easily. Wait until you hear Branford on Bird Song, Eyes, Dark Star. If you like the Dead and you like hi Rez, buying this in 192 is a home run.

 

Funny, this show's Eyes of the World is one my favorite music moments ever - I lost myself in this track in high school, in college, and now in my late 30s it is still fresh as ever. It is one of my go to tracks when listening to audio components.

 

and please trust me, it has never sounded like this release. This is exciting - I can only hope there is more Dead live stuff to come out that sounds like this.

 

the dead as I have never heard them before. Enjoy. I am just so happy that this magical show is now ours in this quality, to enjoy forever.

[wgscott]

Here is a brief how-to video I made. You just need to download Audacity (free) and open it up.

 

http://fennario.ucsc.edu/~wgscott/kipaut/temp/DireWolfPlot.mov

 

This is an authentic 29/96 file, so you can clearly see content to 48kHz, as it should be.

 

Here is what it looks like when it isn't good:

 

[wgscott]

It sounds quite good on Spotify. If anyone can verify there is actual high-res content, I think it would be worth getting.

 

dead.net says high res flac coming soon, if you want to avoid the Beast. They also have the CD-quality ALAC files for $20 (vs $40 for HDtracks 24/96 and $60 for their 24/192).

[wgscott]

Got this in 24/192. I am NOT a huge Dead Head...

 

This is a great live recording. I am only through 60% of it, but it puts a smile on my completely sober face.

 

I am very happy with the purchase, even at this price.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14438[/ATTACH]

 

 

Space, usually a space-filler, I thought was quite good. The last song (Dylan's Knocking on Heaven's Door) was particularly powerful and poignant.

 

If you liked this, you might also want to check some others from the final days:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14457[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14458[/ATTACH]

[Priaptor]

I think it is great.

 

Just listened last night and was impressed. I was expecting crap but love it.

[JazzDoc]

Someone would need to show me how to do that, but I'm game if it's not terribly difficult to learn.

 

It sounds good, and Branford plays what seems like the entire 2nd set with them so it's a bit unique to boot.

 

I have no 16/44.1 version to compare to.

 

Not sure if I am liking the music so much, that I am blinded to any DR compression or lack of high res benefit, but it certainly sounds good

 

I remember the days when it was possible to find just about all of the shows that GD had recorded at their gigs. These downloads were great 16/44 quality, even the very early shows from the 1960s. The sound quality was so good it was obvious that the source of these shows was GD themselves. That was when Jerry Garcia was still with us. He regarded 'Dick's Picks' and the release of other live concerts on CD as his pension fund ... Trust me on this one. I knew the people who did the deal for UK releases. After Jerry left us everything changed. Deadheads were exploited by breadheads. The remastering of the studio albums in HiRes was worthwhile. I bought the 24/192 version and was very pleased, although we didn't get the extra tracks that featured on the two box sets. $40 for a GD concert seems steep. I still have my crate of CDs of GD concerts. I know that the 'Branford Show' is in there. It was an interesting concert!

 

I guess I'll buy this concert one day but I might settle for the 16/44 or the CD ... Unless someone convinces me otherwise.

 

Either way, let's enjoy this archive release

[blaven]

"Any chance of an Audacity spectrum? I will buy it if it is authentic high-res. I've been burned by HDtracks so many times, I would feel like a chump if they did it again..."

 

 

---I'll try it tonight... Stay tuned

[Priaptor]

I remember the days when it was possible to find just about all of the shows that GD had recorded at their gigs. These downloads were great 16/44 quality, even the very early shows from the 1960s. The sound quality was so good it was obvious that the source of these shows was GD themselves. That was when Jerry Garcia was still with us. He regarded 'Dick's Picks' and the release of other live concerts on CD as his pension fund ... Trust me on this one. I knew the people who did the deal for UK releases. After Jerry left us everything changed. Deadheads were exploited by breadheads. The remastering of the studio albums in HiRes was worthwhile. I bought the 24/192 version and was very pleased, although we didn't get the extra tracks that featured on the two box sets. $40 for a GD concert seems steep. I still have my crate of CDs of GD concerts. I know that the 'Branford Show' is in there. It was an interesting concert!

 

I guess I'll buy this concert one day but I might settle for the 16/44 or the CD ... Unless someone convinces me otherwise.

 

Either way, let's enjoy this archive release

 

In the "good old days" The Dead didn't care if people in the audience taped them. I went to many a concert where people were taping from the audience

 

I also remember all the garbage bootlegs that were sold from the same sources.

[blaven]

I readily admit I don't know what I am doing, or how to interpret, but your video made it rather easy.

 

I hope I did this right and they are helpful -- I am guessing these don't look so good!....but, regardless, I enjoy the download VERY much, but perhaps 16/44.1 would be just as good?

 

 

Eyes of The World

 

Dark Star

 

Now I really feel like a dork....I wonder what Jerry would think of these?

[DEA]

I'm not sure how to read these graphs per say (what is good or not good), but I would think your Frequency Analysis chart would be a good chart, compared to the one wgscott said doesn't look good from up above.

[wgscott]

Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places, if you look at it right.

 

My suggestion is that the 24/96 is more than adequate, and you gain nothing with the 24/192. It does clearly show content beyond the red-book CD limit (22 kHz). It appears to go to at least 38 kHz, so 96kHz sampling gives us a very safe cutoff margin (at 48kHz).

 

Thanks very much for posting this. I'm still listening to the compressed version on Spotify, which sounds quite good.

 

So, Spotify version for $10/mo, or $20 for redbook ALAC, or $40 for the 24/96?

 

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

 

OK, I decided.

 

Nothing left to do but smile, smile smile.

[Don Hills]

... My suggestion is that the 24/96 is more than adequate, and you gain nothing with the 24/192. It does clearly show content beyond the red-book CD limit (22 kHz). It appears to go to at least 38 kHz, so 96kHz sampling gives us a very safe cutoff margin (at 48kHz). ...

 

It's debatable whether there's actual musical content that high, it looks like it might be just tape hiss, but I agree it won't hurt (just a little wallet twinge) to get the 24/96 version.

 

Edit: Looking at the spectrogram, I wonder at the provenance of the recording. There are occasional HF spikes to the 38KHz or so limit. They could (hopefully) be real audio in a direct transfer from analogue tape, or they could be digital artifacts in a conversion from some other format. The increase in noise above 50 KHz might be an artifact from conversion from DSD, or just noise from the transfer electronics.

[phil023]

dead.net states "mixed from the master 24-track analog tapes by Jeffrey Norman at Bob Weir's TRI Studios".

 

IMO Mr Norman did a great job - this is by far the best sounding release of the many available from that period.

Looking forward to the HD flac option announced for the end of the month.

[barrows]

Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places, if you look at it right.

 

My suggestion is that the 24/96 is more than adequate, and you gain nothing with the 24/192. It does clearly show content beyond the red-book CD limit (22 kHz). It appears to go to at least 38 kHz, so 96kHz sampling gives us a very safe cutoff margin (at 48kHz).

 

 

Thanks very much for posting this. I'm still listening to the compressed version on Spotify, which sounds quite good.

 

So, Spotify version for $10/mo, or $20 for redbook ALAC, or $40 for the 24/96?

 

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

 

OK, I decided.

 

Nothing left to do but smile, smile smile.

 

I disagree. This is about getting the best possible sound, not meaningful sonic content above 48 kHz (an amplified electric show will have none of that). People often are misunderstanding the advantage of higher sample rates. Here we have an analog tape source, when we digitize to 44.1 we have to apply a steep filter which adds ringing, when we digitize to 96 we can use a less steep filter which still rings, but with less ringing, when we digitize to 192, we can do so with a very gentle filter, which will have virtually no audible consequences. Additional artifacts are produced in our DACs during playback by the same mechanism: the filters needed to play back lower rates produce more audible artifacts (ringing and/or alias produce). Good DACs will sound better at higher rates.

Since we have an analog source, it is going to be beneficial to get the 192, unless the 192 is up sampled from a lower rate conversion (doubtful, as the folks associated with GD releases are usually pretty mindful about sound quality). As long as the 192 is a direct conversion: analog tape to 24/192 digital, the 192 will be better.

[Jud]

I disagree. This is about getting the best possible sound, not meaningful sonic content above 48 kHz (an amplified electric show will have none of that). People often are misunderstanding the advantage of higher sample rates. Here we have an analog tape source, when we digitize to 44.1 we have to apply a steep filter which adds ringing, when we digitize to 96 we can use a less steep filter which still rings, but with less ringing, when we digitize to 192, we can do so with a very gentle filter, which will have virtually no audible consequences. Additional artifacts are produced in our DACs during playback by the same mechanism: the filters needed to play back lower rates produce more audible artifacts (ringing and/or alias produce). Good DACs will sound better at higher rates.

 

Since we have an analog source, it is going to be beneficial to get the 192, unless the 192 is up sampled from a lower rate conversion (doubtful, as the folks associated with GD releases are usually pretty mindful about sound quality). As long as the 192 is a direct conversion: analog tape to 24/192 digital, the 192 will be better.

 

Thanks. Wanted to mention something along these lines, but now you did it (a) so I don't have to, and (b) better than I would have.

 

Also wanted to note there are people who do not think these filtering differences are audible.

 

But the fundamental thing is that concern about sample rates is often based on filtering, not on hoping to get ultrasonic content through one's speakers.

[jfaaz]

There is no reason to buy live Grateful Dead, when all of their shows are in Public Domain and free downloads from the Internet Archive. Most of the shows are FLAC and MP3 VBR.

 

9,767 live shows

 

https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead

[TimU]

There is no reason to buy live Grateful Dead, when all of their shows are in Public Domain and free downloads from the Internet Archive.

https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead

 

On the contrary, there are several reasons to buy live Grateful Dead:

 

1) Only audience tapes may be downloaded from the archive. Soundboard sources may only be streamed and only at MP3 quality.

2) Official releases are often unique sources, and are always better quality masters.

3) Support the boys!

[jfaaz]

On the contrary, there are several reasons to buy live Grateful Dead:

 

1) Only audience tapes may be downloaded from the archive. Soundboard sources may only be streamed and only at MP3 quality.

2) Official releases are often unique sources, and are always better quality masters.

3) Support the boys!

 

Over 5,000 of those 9,767 shows can be downloaded in Lossless and MP3 VBR. Listen to the show before you determine such a generalized bias.

[wgscott]

There are some flac versions now that can be downloaded, and I certainly haven't checked them all, but in general they are from the taper's section, not the sound board.

 

[DanRubin]

Some (all?) of this music is from the shows used for Without a Net, right? I'm a recovering Deadhead who thinks it was mostly downhill after 1971, but who still can't help himself from occasionally buying the newly released stuff. And it usually disappoints. I always preferred audience tapes anyway. However, Jlittlefield's comments above about this release (This recording is beyond good. To my ears, this is the finest sounding live dead release ever) --well, shoot, this is catnip I may not be able to resist.

 

[wgscott]

The spotify version sounds quite good. But, then, I never saw them until 1985.

[TimU]

Over 5,000 of those 9,767 shows can be downloaded in Lossless and MP3 VBR. Listen to the show before you determine such a generalized bias.

 

 

It's not a bias. What I told you is true without exception: there are no GD soundboards to be downloaded from the archive, only audience recordings. Let's take 3/29/90 as an example: There are 17 sources on the archive - 13 are audience tapes that you may download, 4 are soundboards that are available for mp3 streaming only. Moreover, none of these soundboards will likely sound as good as the new release in terms of mastering, never mind the file resolution.

 

Now, are there 16 bit and even 24 bit soundboard FLACs out there somewhere? Hmmm, maybe... but not on the archive. ;-)