B&W Music Club
Joined: 05/02/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 38
Sun, 06/01/2008 - 17:36 — airdronianNot sure if this has been reported here before but I've stumbled across the B&W Music Club. It is a subscription service which partners with Peter Gabriel's Real World Studio. You get the opportunity to download an album a month produced at the studio. Download is in Apple Lossless format.
There is a free trial on, at http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?terid=3558&infid=3550 and the website obviously explains the concept better than I.
Anyone here try this yet ?
Joined: 11/28/2007 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 5594
I did hear about this one a
I did hear about this one a little while ago but for some reason I'm just not that excited about it. Maybe if it was more of a music store I would be into it.
Hopefully someone else around here is a little more excited about it and will actually try it. Let us know if you give it a shot!
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Joined: 03/22/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 116
Agreed, but
Agreed that the appeal is a bit limited but an encouraging effort nonetheless. Also, it had been awhile since I wandered over to Gabriel's web site, so I did and saw in one of his recent video blogs that he mentions this arrangement and also has some short but likewise encouraging and nice comments about the movement to distribute higher quality sound after the proliferation of compressed mp3s. Always been a big fan of PG.
TheOtherTim
Joined: 10/03/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 555
B&W Music Club
Hi All,
Thought I'd 'bump' this!
I've been a member now for four months during which time I've downloaded four of the best recorded albums I own. Granted, the £36 annual fee (well, that's what they charge us Brits!) may well be a bit of a shot in the dark as far as genres and personal taste are concerned, but I think I can now safely say that as far as recording quality goes, if you find better please let me know!
I've just finished listening to this month's offering, Julianna Raye's 'Dominoes', which is, quite simply, gorgeous! Resisting the temptation to fly off into 'review mode' and chuck a hat-full of adjectives around, the sound quality is as good as anything else I've heard, full stop! (Should that be - period? !!)
Of the four albums I have so far downloaded, there has only been one which only got one spin and that was the Dub Colossus effort. Just not my thing. The way I look at it, it is exposing me to artists I may not have otherwise come across and the odd duffer is still going to give me great value for money. At twelve albums a year, if I only like half of them they have still only cost me £6 each and here in good old Blighty, that is less than half what we would normally pay for a new release!
As far as the downloading thing goes, I have now settled on a regime. They offer two file types, both of which you are allowed to download :
Alac - best for iTunes and comes with all necessary art work etc.
Flac - best for burning to cd. I use Flac Frontend to convert to wav and then use Plextor's Plextools to burn. (I own a Plextor burner and I found their software gave much better results than anything else.)
Anyway, pop along and have a listen to some of the samples. Personally, I think it is dirt cheap - unless Mr. Gabriel is reading this, in which case perhaps I should say, superb value for money - and the recording philosophy and values are second to none.
I like it!!
Bob
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Joined: 11/28/2007 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 5594
Hey Bob - Alright, I think
Hey Bob - Alright, I think you talked me into this one.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Joined: 10/03/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 555
LOL!
Hi Chris,
Ok, got my fingers seriously crossed now!! Let us know what you think!
Bob
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Hi Bob - I'm hooked! This
Hi Bob - I'm hooked!
This really is a complete experience with the video interviews etc... It feels like luxury music purchasing :-)
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Joined: 10/03/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 555
Nice One!
Hi Chris,
Yes, and also it is a bit odd - it feels like an exclusive club, somehow! Just you and, potentially, the rest of the world!!
Glad you liked it though, it fits in really well with the whole computer music thing and if the quality is maintained I'm sure it will go from strength to strength. Now, I wonder if Opus3 Records will follow suit?!!
Bob
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Hi Bob - Is it possible to
Hi Bob - Is it possible to purchase the albums previously released?
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Joined: 10/03/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 555
Hi Chris, Only from the
Hi Chris,
Only from the usual outlets. Once the month is up the album rights, as it were, revert to the performer and the album will then go on general release. I missed the first two albums, but then bought them from am**on! If its your sort of thing I would heartily recommend the 'Little Axe' album ;)
Bob
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Joined: 11/28/2007 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 5594
I can't find the Little Axe
I can't find the Little Axe album anywhere. It's not even on the Little Axe website discography.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Joined: 10/03/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 555
Oops
Hi Chris,
Oops - bit remiss of me - didn't tell you the whole story! I forgot to mention the mp3 word! The only place I could find it was here :
http://www.mp3sparks.com/r2/Little_Axe/Bought_For_A_Dollar__Sold_For_A_D...
So I dl'ed it for iPod use! Not the best but will keep me happy until it appears either on the RealWorld web site or in the usual places. Amazon has a good selection of previous stuff of which 'Champagne and Grits' is my favourite.
Urmm, sorry! Promise not to dash hopes on the rocks of mp3 again. Bad Bob.
Bob
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Joined: 10/03/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 555
Hmmm - that ought to tell me
Hmmm - that ought to tell me something!
When I went looking for the B&W album I ended up buying 'Champagne and Grits' and 'Hard Grind' from am**on and downloading mp3's of the 'Bought for a dollar...', because I couldn't find the album proper. The mp3's went into iTunes and then back out as wavs for listening to on my main system. Obviously, for me, the reconstituted cd hasn't displeased that much, otherwise I might have remembered how I'd come by it!! I've just nipped through and done a quick side-by-side with Walter Trout's new album, and it really isn't much worse, despite Walter being a 'proper' cd!
Just goes to show that if the music is good enough, the (lack of) quality can be lived with. I mean, I know it could sound better, but it's still a great listen!
Lesson learned!
Bob
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Joined: 09/27/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 8
Can't log into B&W Music Club
Has anyone else had problems logging into the B&W Music Club this weekend? I've tried under Windows and OS X, with Internet Explorer, Firefox & Safari. I enter the correct username & password, and login portion of the screen displays that the requested page cannot be found. I can't seem to find any link for technical support either. It appears I may have wasted a membership, as I only downloaded December's album when it first came out.
David Odren
Joined: 11/28/2007 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 5594
Hi David - Same problem for
Hi David - Same problem for me. No worries, i'm sure it will be fixed shortly.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Joined: 12/14/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 87
Is the 24-bit FLAC at 44.1, 88.2, 96 ??
I can't find anything on their website that says what type of 24-bit FLAC file they are producing.
Has anyone tried the 24-bit and figured it out ??? I don't think I would be interested in 24/44.1
Mike
Joined: 10/03/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 555
Hi Mike,
The files are 24/44 - this taken from the decoded files I downloaded yesterday. And mighty fine they do sound:)
Bob
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Joined: 12/14/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 87
Thanks Bob
I am sure that the B&W "raw" digital files that are created in the studio have a higher data rate. The sound would be even better if they just put out the finished product at 88.2
Mike
Joined: 12/14/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 87
It is 24/48
I just got a reply from B&W. They say that the 24-bit Flac is 24/48, which is a step up from CD 16/44.1 quality.
Mike
Joined: 10/03/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 555
Hmmmmm
Have to disagree, I'm afraid. The only 24bit release I have seen to date is the latest by Portico Quartet and the FLAC copy I downloaded is most definitely 24/44.1 Perhaps the next release will be 24/48.
Bob
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Latest release is 24/48
Hi all,
Just downloaded the latest release, Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara - The Afrobilly Sessions, and the 24 bit flac is definitely a 24/48 release. Oooh, don't you just love people power! Next step - start badgering them for 24/96 ;)
Bob
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Joined: 11/28/2007 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 5594
Very cool Bob. I'm off to
Very cool Bob. I'm off to download my copy.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Joined: 10/03/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 555
Enjoy, Chris
'Tis playing as I type and will be sent round for a second helping in a minute! Right up my 'World' music street - lovely stuff!!
Bob
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Hey Bob - You can now
Hey Bob - You can now download the previous albums from B&W!!!
i believe the Music Club has been renamed Society of Sound as well. I'm downloading a ton of stuff right now. This feels like I'm getting free music! Plus, the old albums are 24 bit FLAC releases now.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Joined: 10/03/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 555
Oh Wow!!
I'd missed that! I'd already dl'd this month's offering, the very wonderful 'Madam', and gone on my merry way for the next month. I completely missed the back catalogue stuff.
Chris - you are a star! :) :) :) :)
Bob
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Joined: 09/27/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 8
Has anyone else had problems
Has anyone else had problems downloading the Grindhouse and Little Axe albums from the B&W Music Club archives? The other albums download fine for me. But downloading these two files in Safari on Mac OS X Leopard gives me the dreaded "Error 1" when unzipping. When I open a terminal window and use unzip it says that the files are corrupted.
David Odren
Joined: 04/20/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 65
To David
I had trouble with Little Axe 24 Bit Flac. Track 6 was corrupt. Apple Lossless was fine.
Hope this is fixed soon.
Joined: 11/28/2007 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 5594
No problems here. I did
No problems here. I did download it last night though.
P.S. My new 50 Mbps Internet connection may have something to do with it also :~)
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Joined: 11/28/2007 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 5594
EDIT: I spoke to soon. The
EDIT: I spoke to soon. The download worked fine but that's it!
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Joined: 09/27/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 8
Thank you for taking the
Thank you for taking the time to fully document the problem (including screen capture) Chris. I just wanted to verify that it wasn't something weird on my end. Enjoy your new high speed link!
David Odren
Joined: 10/03/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 555
Same here :(
I emailed B&W last night about the issue but have not had a reply, so far. I've tried three different zip utilities but all report the same issue. The closest I get to the problem is when using PeaZip, which reports that a password may be required - the problem being, of course, that I never get the chance to put one in!
If I get an answer, I'll post back.
Bob
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Joined: 11/28/2007 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 5594
Hi Bob - I'll send an email
Hi Bob - I'll send an email to my contact over there as well. Also, I think the password thing is a red herring.
Chris Connaker
Founder
Computer Audiophile
Joined: 10/03/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 555
Nice One, Chris
I'm inclined to agree, re the password thing. Just clutching at straws! Hopefully you'll have more clout than me, in the e-mail stakes! The length of time it takes to conduct a conversation, using the 'instant electronic' medium of e-mail, never fails to disappoint me! ;(
Bob
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Just had a response.....
from B&W. They seemed to think that the issue was 'not widespread' and asked me loads of 'helpdesk' type questions. Gave them the answers to the questions and pointed them to this thread by way of comment on how many other cases are around. As a number of us have had the same problem, they will hopefully find this helpful. Fingers crossed...........
Bob
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Joined: 09/25/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 118
I had this same issue
I had this same issue yesterday, actually, with 3 downloads. . .Little Axe, Grindhouse, and Dub Colossus. I re-downloaded the Dub file this morning and it extracted just fine. However, I tried the same thing with Little Axe and it still blew up.
All the other files (Madam, Gwyneth Herbert, Tom Kerstens, and Juliann Raye) were fine.
Joined: 04/28/2009 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 1
B&W Society of Sound Music
Hi,
Susanna here from B&W. I'm sorry some of you have been having trouble with accessing the music.
We've had to upload a lot of new zip files to make the back catalogue available and it seems some of them may have uploaded incorrectly.
We are working to correct this right now and will keep you updated.
It was great to read this whole conversation about the music and what you thought of it. We are experimenting with something here and any feedback is always useful. An exclusive club is exactly how we wanted it to feel.
We have a blog that we try and encourage members to feedback each month on the album so they can share their opinions: http://blog.bowers-wilkins.com/musicclub/
Sorry again but as I say, I will keep you updated,
Susanna
Joined: 10/03/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 555
Many thanks, Susanna,
And welcome to CA. Many thanks for your efforts and, as you can see, Society of Sound is a bit world famous over here! It does it for me, anyway! I'll take this opportunity, if I may, to say that the decision to offer the back catalogue was inspired! I can't wait to hear the Little Axe in all its 24 bit glory. Many thanks. :)
Bob
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Joined: 10/03/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 555
Update to File Problems..
I received an e-mail from B&W this afternoon saying that the new files should be available from 'tomorrow morning' - I assume that to be a UK time! ;) Should be good to go soon, anyway!
Apologies to Susanna if I've jumped the gun with the info but, well, good news can't wait!
Bob
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Joined: 09/25/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 118
FWIW, I downloaded the 16bit
FWIW, I downloaded the 16bit Little Axe file last night and it extracted just fine. Of course, I want the 24 bit version!! The Grindhouse file was still corrupted.
Bob
Joined: 10/03/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 555
Done!
Everything working fine for me now. The Little Axe is just marvellous - 24bit rules!
Many thanks to Society of Sound for their efforts - much appreciated.
Bob
Laptop-->Transporter-->Tact 2.0s-->Audio Reseach 100.2-->Martin Logan Vista
Joined: 04/20/2008 .:. Offline .:. Comments: 65
@ BobH
Thanks for letting us know! I'll re-download the Little Axe (Awesome is he not?! - [This is not his best work though]) and Grind house tonight.
Regards to all,
Baxtus