The Beatles 2009 Stereo USB - More Than Just an Expensive Paperweight? 

A USB like this would make the most sense today if it had a crazy amount of data. Various releases, with official mixes from the 60s to present. Maybe include a "songs they gave away" type album. A completist's paradise.

When this first came out, a good friend of mine bought it and I popped it into my computer and made my own USB stick by just cloning the drive. I made a bunch of these for people and they loved it. They worked just the same and I never charged any money for them.

The best presenter of Beatles related music on RU-vid or anywhere else for that matter. Top work Andrew.

This is so 2009 it's making me nostalgic. Shame modern hardware struggles to play it, it really seems like a neat thing to have, even if the audio quality isn't anything special.

"What we really need is an all analogue stereo set that isnt limited" Amen Andrew! Always suspected that the reason many were praising the sound of the flac apple usb was simply that it was louder. Suspicion confirmed. Thanks for the video. Very informative!

The use of disk could either be a typo or what I think was a clever choice. As a disc is a compact written data flat circular item while a disk is a form of storing memory in general. Floppy disks are spelled this way as well as other memory drives.

This is one of the coolest, but most gimmicky releases they ever did.

Hi Andrew, circa 2001 there was a USB going around with all the albums, cover art work and an easy to navigate menu. It was handy to be able to listen whilst at work and was quite popular. Perhaps this official release was to counter such unofficial items. At any rate, I don't think the official USB appeals to many demographics at all and can't imagine that sales were worth it. Especially as Napster and the like were prevalent and made downloading music free ..albeit illegal. Thanks for yet another great video 📹 👍

It still amazes me how much work and effort you put in these videos. It's well worth it and very much appreciated!

Oh my gosh I remember this thing! So nice to see what it was actually like!

I’m puzzled how Apple could lose money on the mono box sets, especially since they sold them all… and there is still demand for more. Reissue the set again and they would sell. Or just press standalone copies, if the boxes and books are expensive to manufacture.

Some Beatles albums are available in 24bit 96khz such as the recent Let It Be deluxe anniversary release. The blu-ray has DTS Dolby5.1 and 24/96 versions of the album. It might be nice for you to review this to see if there is any improvement in quality over the CD (probably not). Does any one know if they Used the 'Plangent' system when transferring the original masters to digital - this would offer the biggest jump in sound quality. It has done wonders for other contemporary bands such as The Grateful Dead, The Doors, The Rolling Stones etc.

Always a pleasure to watch the Parlogram Beatles videos! Thank you Andrew!

I was tempted to buy this back in 2009 . I’m glad I stuck with the CD box set . Both stereo and mono. I always enjoy your videos Andrew . Thanks again

I've listened to the 24-bit versions from the key again. The presence in the vocals cannot be touched by the vinyl versions. The band feel of the recordings for me is enhanced by the hi-res versions. Again, the sampling rates are only 44.1 kHz but the overall sound dosen't suffer for it. These files should be issued at a more pocket friendly price to entice us all to venture into hi-res downloads of the catalogue. I have only streamed the 24-bit/96 kHz Pepper/Beatles/Abbey Road/Let It Be but I like what I've heard. Have the vinyl versions but look into Hi-res my friends. But just enjoy it the way you enjoy it. It's the music that matters most. Cheers Andrew. Your videos are amazing and so informative. Thank you.

I love this little USB. All the albums, covers and more in one place.

I was so excited for the next episode, it's awesome as always!

Absolute topper of a video Andy. These are my go-to versions when I want to hear any of the songs quickly and I’m glad to hear your thoughts on them.

I love that video that you did Andrew it is great thank you so much for covering the USB Beatles albums.

Thanks Andrew. Another great way to start my Saturday morning. The problem with releasing things that are dependent on the technology of the day is that they have a short shelf life. It is annoying that you have to go back to an old OS to actually view the menu of this usb. I can't even watch the quicktime movies on my 2009 remastered CDs anymore. Also, I am with you 100%, I am not a big fan of the remixes, but I wish they would put out an analog version of the stereo set. I would buy that in a heartbeat.

Andrew. Thank you for another wonderful video. A great way to start my Sunday.

Thanks for this Andrew. At the time this USB thing came out I had already got the black Beatles in stereo CD box set so didn't really feel the need to buy the USB though at the time I thought it was a rather unusual but really cool collector's piece. It was interesting watching you going through the various menu options and the sound quality comparisons in the video. I'd love to see a review video on the Capitol Albums Volumes 1 & 2 CD box sets I have in my Beatles collection. I think that would be a great topic for a future video. Great work Andrew.

As usual, GREAT job Andrew!!

Interesting stuff, as usual. Thanks for the revelations! Cheers

Great video as usual, fascinating information regarding the USB stick👍

This was a great video, Great explanation/ comparison.

I enjoy these in depth looks at Beatles remasters. They give us non collectors a look at what is available in the vastly large catalog of Beatles music releases, we can pick and choose what to seek out

Thank you for sharing this with us. It is interesting that they worked with some relatively low resolution audio files.

Showed up in my recommendeds because I love most anything Beatles. Your knowledge, presentation, and subject matter is second-to-none! I love your voice, too. Reminds me of Kurzgesagt’s narrator

Thanks for sharing this Andrew! I was familiar with this but never gave it much thought. I was aware that it was higher resolution but didn’t think it would make much of a difference. Thanks to your video for confirming that. It does look like a cool collectible though. I seriously hope Apple reconsiders issuing the Beatles catalog in all analog stereo. That would be such a huge win for fans. I believe Michael Fremer said on his channel that he ran into Jeff Jones and he basically told Michael the same thing you said about not making the set too elitist….oh well….we can always hope, take care!

love you're channel. Thank you for the great content as well.

As I have said before, thanks for the effort you put in these videos! Saludos desde Argentina 🇦🇷✌🏻

Thanks for the wonderful video as always! I made sure to post it to the Beatles discord server so that it could reach a wider audience of Beatles fans. Hopefully you've been healthy and well and will continue making videos for us Beatles nerds!

Wow! What an amazing video! Thanks for this, I learned from it and enjoyed it while doing so…

This man is the go to man for everything Beatles. Love your videos

Very,very informative. Great work.

Top notch, Squier... Amazing content.

Nicely done presentation. It exceeds the quality of media industry productions.

I’d love for those flat-transferred 24/192 files to get an official release eventually. They probably won’t though, especially with the current emphasis on remixes.

Fantastic work!!!

This is very good video, good job

Another great video. Thank you! I too am amazed at how small it is! I’m one of those people waiting for a reissue of the vinyl mono set although I do have it on CD. I’m currently picking up original al mono vinyl instead as it’s cheaper (and using your recommendations for the best sounding pressings)

Thanks, Andrew, for this review. I even requested that you do this comparison. I've read reviews claiming that the audio was most amazing and the best they ever heard The Beatles sound anywhere on any format. What stopped me from actually buying this was when I found out that the audio was at a 44.1kHz Sample rate, which is hard for me to consider High Resolution, when we have 96kHz and above, up to 192kHz.

Great video and very informative.

Great video! Never knew these existed

I gave the USB a miss, I'm afraid. At the start of this video I was starting to regret my decision, but by the end I felt no regret at all! Nonetheless, I would like to see the entire Beatles catalogue available in well-mastered hi-res. By that, I mean 24/96 - no way would I hear any difference at 24/192 (and I'd have to concentrate hard to hear any benefit at 96KHz). As for an all analogue stereo LP set, I'd love to see that if the records were mastered and pressed well (though I have an all analogue set anyway), but I worry that there might not be a big enough market out there to make it viable (in the short term, at least). Can still hope.

Why oh why did they have to use the limiter switch? In my opinion, they could have sold more of these without the unnecessary compression.

Excellent critique again. And you were spot on with the ears of an older guy such as myself…and a drummer to boot to add frequency loss! But like you I can see the wave forms and it’s helpful (yet sad to know the truth). Great job on this.3 thumbs up!! Have you discussed the Japanese Pro Use recordings yet?

Cool interesting video. I bought 1 at the time but didn't have a computer setup. I just gave it to my nephew. He's more into computer than I am. Never regretted it. He liked it. So I also bought him the Beatles mono set. Passing along great music.

Very nice video and overview of this product, as always! I’ve never payed too much attention to this nice USB stick, I have all the albums on vinyl y’know. It’s a little bit too expensive for something that probably will be sitting still on a shelf. But, if I see it for a nice low price (right now, it does not look good!), I will probably pick it up! And yes, I would LOVE to see a all analog stereo box set. Apple, you hear us?

This is the finest presentation of this item on all of RU-vid… I tried to present this a while back, but my video pails in comparison. Fantastic work; really top notch!

Hi Andrew. Still loving your amazing documentaries. Thank you. I bought this beautiful thing as it was the only way to get the Beatles albums in 24 bit. You are able to download the albums from the stick in 24 bit / ( but unfortunately only) 44.1 kHz FLAC to your network drive. You can then play them back on your hi-res streamer. I must have another listen to the 24-bit files to remind myself how they sound. Some of the track listings were a bit of a mess - Rubber Soul being one of them - so I had to manually change some of the track titles. No way would I have purchased it for the 16-bit files alone. Some PCs / Macs can decode 24 bit so you can connect the analogue output to your stereo. Thanks again. I've learnt so much about the Beatles I didn't know. Cheers, David

Nice one, I liked it. 👍🏻

Thanks Andrew, I'm off to see my 12 year old nephew to tell me what that was about. 😁 Nice for the car as you say.

Your analysis confirmed my initial thoughts about this particular release. I thought it was an overpriced gimmick. I'm as big a fan as anyone, but their marketing can be a bit too mercenary. All you need is love and a few hundred quid. Money can't buy you love, but it can rent it by the hour. Good video. Cheers.

I have to think that the 44.1khz choice was a poor move. More bit depth of the same source can't be worse, but a higher sampling rate is what would push it above the CDs, like we've seen on the blu-ray discs of the 50th Anniversary releases (the rips of the Abbey Road blu-ray have been getting a lot of mileage on my system). Thanks for your review!

Now I’m tempted to buy one just to have on my desk 😂

I too would like to see a "Blue Box" type analog release at a decent price point..say $300 overall I don't mind the 2009 remasters, only a few areas. I prefer the 1965 mix of Help! and Rubber Soul they put on the Mono CDs as an extra. I do await the remixes of the earlier releases as they do need something to get rid of that L/R mix. Your next project could be a comparison of Anthology material that has since been re-released on newer remix extras and how they differ in sound quality etc. I know they've added many of those tracks remixed on these new ones.

Omg I am shook I am loving these. While I'm binding off my section 1 of shawlography ♡

Love your channel, Andrew, and I support it. After a friend showed off to me what a high resolution FLAC (192kHz or higher, 24 or 32 bit)- it was The Beach Boys God Only Knows- sounds like through a quality DAC, into a vintage Macintosh stereo tube pre-amp and amp, and pumping out of Klipsch Heresy speakers... I've been slowly dipping my toes into the universe of high-end FLACs and the deep listening experience- with the proper gear- they are capable of providing. I highly recommend you start exploring that world. I know it's not cheap. But if you build your gear up, even bit by bit, the rewards can be revelatory, astounding. When you are ready, I would love to see a discussion of all things Beatle in the high-end FLAC world. From what I can see, so far, only the remixes of the last decade or so can be found in the 192kHz-or-above world. But what I've heard of those, with good playback and gear, is pretty great, despite the problems and lack of "fairy dust" that the remixes often seem to have. I've yet to hear any of the surround mixes, and would love to see a discussion and analysis of those, though I am late to the party and may have missed such a discussion in the past. So much content, so little brain to absorb it all! All I know is, the more I "up" the quality of the input into my brain, the greater my enjoyment. Cheers, and please keep up the great work! Your LA audio pal, Bill.

Thanks for the video. It was interesting. I agree an all analogue stereo set would be fab.

One of the best presenters I've heard fabulous stuff

Good episode - thank you ! Thoughts for another episode might be individual member's releases... Take Mr. Starr's "Ringo" for example; as most know, it features all four members...

I must say I bought this little collectible when it came out, but oddly never plugged it in or tried it out in the past 12 years. I guess I was thinking that I have enough Beatle material to satisfy me. One day maybe I should.

Well done! I thought the files were going to be exactly the same on the CD and USB...

Great video as always. As someone else said in the comments, I too think it should have contained both mono and stereo mixes. I believe it's very possible EMI lost money on the 2009 mono issues for a number of reasons, main ones being that CD sales were fast declining by early 2000's, the 1987 mixes CDs were still available just about anywhere and the fact that, generally speaking, most people prefer stereo to mono. Also, vinyl had yet to make the big comeback it eventually made. I think there is a much higher interest for for the Beatles in Mono to be available again now than there may have been back in 2009 but I am not sure if, for the general public, it is the same for analogue stereo reissues, especially since we have been bombarded practically non-stop with a lot of Beatle related product for the past 34 years! Starting from the 1987 CD releases, then Live at The BBC, The Anthologies, Beatles 1, etc. The list goes on. This is not counting solo releases on Apple and reissues. All of which (except Paul's) is now managed by Calderstone Productions. The mess with the 'Get Back' mix not being the true original 1969 mix anywhere except the Japan SHM CD was a big disappointment for some. So maybe if someone high up at UMe pushes for analogue stereo remasters, it might happen. I don't think it will be any time soon, I'm afraid. But now that Let It Be is done and out, who knows what they'll do next?

Best video I have seen on this subject. Was tempted to buy one about a year ago and chickened out. Should I try again,- not sure, but it does look cool.

I love your videos they're so amazing and well done. Good job keep up the great work and I highly highly look forward to any and all videos you have to come. Hey speaking of The Beatles on other formats. If you haven't already you should check out The Beatles 1 album on the MQS SD Card.

I’ve been watching Beatles stuff and collecting Beatles stuff for about twenty years now. You’re the most enjoyable and informative Beatles channel I’ve ever found. I love your videos. Keep it up.

Thank you, Andrew for another informative video! When this came out, I immediately knew this was something I didn’t need and I was a completist at the time. I want the physical product. I enjoyed you running through the features and how it looked on screen. Will you be having any unboxing videos again soon?

As someone who'd invested a good portion of their life at a keyboard (30 years in IT, computer information systems, primarily UNIX, Mac), it won't surprise many that I prefer digital media. It is a much more practical medium, in terms of search, accessibility and programming playback than vinyl. While it isn't the height of audiophile geekdom - I've two daughters in college to help support - I've a Denon 150 watt networked AVR and ELAC UniFi 2.0 mounted bookies w/a sub through which I use AirPlay (capped at 16-bit) from an iPad Air 2 accessing a MacBook Pro Library media server and AIFF (uncompressed) versions of this USB set, viewed thru an Apple HD TV & Samsung TV. So the sound is fairly decent for a modest, first gen Beatles music fan. I too am a purist, in terms of sound quality, and struggle mightily with the EQ & reverb used in the 2009 stereo remastered box set. And, sure, what was done to the opening of 'A Hard Day's Night' album IS unconscionable. And I agree that 'smiley face EQ' manipulation ruined the MFSL reissues. My question to you, Andrew, is, all things being equal, if Apple Corp were to reproduce unmolested analogue masters of their albums and singles in either digital FLAC or WAV or AIFF formats AND vinyl, which would you choose and why? If vinyl, is it strictly for sentimental reasons, or do you just appreciate having something tangible over digital files stored and retrieved from devices?

Nice video of the USB set. Funny that they pulled the old “make it louder and it’ll sound better” trick.

Brilliant video.

Immediately after acquiring my read-only Beatles USB, I made multiple copies of the FLAC and MP3 files. One year later I tried to read the drive again. Tried and tried again, on my various Windows systems. It didn't work. The drive had failed. I haven't checked it in a couple of years, but I have no confidence that it will ever work again. I agree regarding your sound quality comparison. P.S. The error is, "Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)"

Very interesting, had no knowledge that this even existed, but now I do! I think I’ll stick with my 2009 remasters, though. And, once again, here’s to a getting a stereo analog box sometime in the future!

I got one of these when it came out along with the stereo and mono sets. I’ve never tried to listen to it; but I’ve got it in my living room in a cabinet along with some of my collection of Beatles memorabilia. I’ve got a few items of note; but this is the item my Beatles-naive guests always want to see up close or know more about. For all its shortcomings, it is a beautiful little collectible & feels very much ‘English,’ like a diecast Dinky toy from the 1960s 🍏

Fascinating stuff. Had l bought this collection, the sound quality comparison would be further complicated by the fact that my hi-fi set-up upscales the CD versions to 24bit. On a point of interest, not all aged listeners lose their hearing at the same rate. You'd be surprised what l can still hear in frequency and re-mixing differences through the ages, from original mono and stereo pressings to the latest vinyl and CD - and High Res audio! - remasters/mixes. I'm only 66.........pardon?

Indeed my UK copy spells disc with a k (as in “diskette”). The CD 16/44.1 to my ears sounds identical to the hi res FLAC so I concur with you. The best digital version was my own 24/96 FLAC digitisation of the vinyl. My Windows 10 VM running on my Mac fails to mount the drive so the way I launch the software is to run the EXE for PC in OSX with my Win10 VM running. But then the selling point to me was that you could copy the FLAC’s from the USB else I wouldn’t have bothered. Of course they could have slung hi res versions of the mono discography on the drive too but they didn’t.

Excellent--both your presentation, Andrew, and the fact that I don't have to feel as if I missed out on something with this product. 😁 For the 60th anniversary, I think Apple should re-release the Beatles albums (remixed/remastered/however) but like K-Pop albums, with photo cards, booklets, posters, etc., depicting the band at the time each album came out. Probably a heretical idea to some, but I think it would be fun, and maybe a way to engage new generations with the music. Just a thought. I'll get my coat... 😉

I would have bought it if it included the mono mixes too

There are so many variations of the Beatles recordings that I can't keep up or keep track. As a life long fan and vinyl collector, I have almost given up on trying to build a quality Beatles collection. I have decided to spend my time on collecting other artist and only making the occasional Beatles purchase. This includes my purchase from Parlogram. Thanks for your videos. Very informative, very knowledgeable and very interesting ... great work👍

When I did computing at school in the 90’s we were always told that disk should be spelt with a K when referring to computing. I always wondered if I should have bought that Apple. But now I’m glad I grabbed the MONO set! Thanks

I really think that all the Beatles albums should be re-released on proper 180 gram vinyl. Complete with all the proper art work, stickers and cardboard cutouts if that particular album had them, like Sargeant Peppers for example. Even on coloured vinyl if appropriate like the White Album.

It seems Apple geared this for the younger market. Nothing beats listening to music through a stereo system. Thanks Andrew for another very informative video.

You sound like one of the people on The Beatles Sirius XM channel

I don't know if someone said it already, but I'm from Germany and "Disk" actually means "disc" in German. Your videos are great.

It would be interesting to include a video about the Beatles and the computer machines. Since the 80s there are many approaches to the band's music, some interesting.

Thank you for showing us that the USB Flac files indeed do not sound any better than the CD version . At the time of its initial release one could read several reviews from misguided buyers on Amazon who insisted the (so called) Hi-Res files sounded superior. It was not true then and it is not true now. I did my own in-depth comparison and came to the same conclusion.

The entire Beatles catalog is available on Apple Music as 24 bit lossless Apple Digital Masters, the new remixes in hi res lossless and ATMOS. They sound noticeably better then the cd version of the same album.

Great videos very thorough, you mentioned you have covered every format maybe I have missed it but have you reviewed the blu-ray versions of the super deluxe sets?

The problem with analog vs. digital is that unless you're an audiophile with a high end system us regular people just won't be able to tell the difference. If you believe otherwise I've got audiophile fuses for sale.

I don't consider myself an audiophile, but I did get this back in 2009 thinking I had something special with the FLAC files 😄. I never noticed a difference. I'm kind of glad I have it though. It's pretty cool looking on my shelf.

be nice to hear a bit about the hey jude album

looks amazing on a shelf next to my yellow sub. i paid $ 50 AUD convereted to mp3s and made a cd-r that i play on blu ray player.

Just subscribed really enjoying your channel, I wondered if you have thought about doing an in depth video on the anthology albums, and any thoughts about what they left off, eg extended version of Flying, Can you take me back where I came from, and a Watching Rainbows which I was disappointed was not included on the Let it be box set.

I’ve got the USB and there’s a bit more low end punch on my Naim amplifier / DACbut that’s about it.. Good video Sir👍

If I had this USB collection I would copy it too for my day to day use and store the original to keep it safe and pristine.

Another wonderful video! Here’s an idea for a future video… Apple have just re-released Billy Preston’s Enchanting Words album on vinyl for a limited time. What an album! How about a video on non-Beatles Apple releases. Were they the same worldwide? Are there any differences? Did Harry Moss cut them as well?

Hey Andrew! Would it be possible for you to cover the CD sets of the Capitol Albums and, most importantly, the U.S. Albums? The U.S. Albums were taken from the 24 / 44.1 masters, but the key difference is that they weren’t compressed or limited. Greg Calbi from Sterling Sound did this set, and I think he did a splendid job - the stereo sounds better, I think, than the 2009s and even the mono tracks were changed. After that - possibly the CD singles / EP box from the early nineties?

I'm all in on an analog stereo set!!!