One of the biggest draws for The Beatles USB Stick is that it contains not only 320kbps MP3s of the remastered stereo versions of every song the band released from 1962 through 1970, but also 24bit FLAC files.

But I realize a lot of people don’t really know what FLAC means or why 24bit FLAC (sourced directly from the remasters) would be such a big deal for audiophiles. So I’ll do my best to explain right here.

FLAC stands for “Free Lossless Audio Codec.” The key word there is “lossless,” what this means is that the audio does not lose audio quality during it’s compression (unlike MP3.) If you have a FLAC version of a CD, it should sound exactly like the CD does.

But what makes these FLAC files so interesting is that they are 44.1kHz 24bit files which are sourced from the 192kHz 24bit masters, this is in comparison to the 44.1kHz 16bit files which are on a CD. The key here is that these FLAC files are 24bit and CDs are only 16bit. In other words, these FLAC versions of The Beatles remastered stereo catalog are the highest sound quality currently available.

Now, serious audiophiles will be protesting right about now because there is still a level higher than this. They could release full 192kHz 24bit quality like is the case with the Neil Young Archives Blu-Ray Box Set. And there’s still a chance that such a release will happen in the future, but for now the highest quality version of The Beatles remastered stereo catalog is available in The Beatles USB.

If you’re not clear on what’s in this Apple (Beatles Apple, not Mac Apple) themed USB (which is compatible with both PC and Mac) then the easiest way to think about it is that it’s a digital version of The Beatles in Stereo Box Set. It has all of the same albums and all of the same visual elements included (such as the 13 mini-documentaries and the extended liner notes.)

The 320kbps MP3s that are included are as high quality as MP3s can get (most people will not be able to tell them apart from CD quality) and should play on any computer or mp3 player (such as an iPod, a Zune, or any other brand.) These files are also DRM free (unlike most of those at iTunes.)

This thing goes on sale on December 8th but it’s already available for pre-order on Amazon: CLICK HERE.

According to the press release, it’s a “limited edition” with only 30,000 copies made. Of course they said something similar about The Beatles Mono Box Set and that didn’t really end up meaning much (except that it was sold out for awhile.)

2009, The Beatles

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