After 12 years of absence, the Californian band is back with a new album Unlimited Love. Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante and Chad Smith offer us 17 new tracks ( one bonus track for the Japan CD).

The review includes 5 editions (Vinyl , Streaming Qobuz, Amazon, Tidal and Cassette) of this album.

Below you will find the description of the different editions, as well as the measurements of each edition in the following chapters.
The synthesis of the review and the samples are available here.

This album includes 17 tracks reviewed:

1. Black Summer
2. Here Ever After
3. Aquatic Mouth Dance
4. Not The One
5. Poster Child
6. The Great Apes
7. It’s Only Natural
8. She’s A Lover
9. These Are The Ways
10. Whatchu Thinkin’
11. Bastards Of Light
12. White Braids & Pillow Chair
13. One Way Traffic
14. Veronica
15. Let ‘Em Cry
16. The Heavy Wing
17. Tangelo

First we will analyze each edition in detail (technical and qualitative analysis) then we will compare the successive editions with their dynamics and assign a final score and you will be able to listen some samples.

The streaming versions may evolve over time, those presented here correspond to the version tested at the date of publication, or update of the review.

Review of the editions:

Part 1: Presentation of the editions

Part 2 : Waveform and dynamique comparaison

Parts 3 : Spectrum comparisons

Part 4 : Spectrogram comparaisons

Part 5 : Summary, scoring and Sample

Part 1: presentation of the editions

Ed1 : Vinyl Deluxe ref 093624874720 – 2022

Presentation

This is the vinyl of this album in a gatefold sleeve with a poster.

Label	Warner Records
Reference	093624874720
Format (speed)	Double Vinyl deluxe lp 33rpm with poster
Type	Double LP 140g
Master	Analog Tape
Mastering/Pressing	Recoded at Shangri-La (Malibu) Mixed at Eastwest Studios by Ryan Hewitt Cutting at Bernie Grundman Mastering
Original recording	Digital
State	Europe
Year original	2022
Year production	2022

Ed2 : Qobuz Hi-Res – 2022

Presentation

This is the streaming Qobuz presented in Hi-Res 24 bits 96 kHz (17 tracks).

Label	Warner Records
Reference	Qobuz Hi-Res
Format (speed)	Streaming 24 bits 96 kHz
Type	24 bits 96 kHz
Master	Digital 24/96
Mastering/Pressing	Recoded at Shangri-La (Malibu) Mixed at Eastwest Studios by Ryan Hewitt
Original recording	Digital
State	Europe
Year original	2022
Year production	2022

Ed3 : Amazon UltraHD – 2022

Presentation

This is the streaming Amazon presented in Hi-Res 24 bits 96 kHz (17 tracks).

Label	Warner Records
Reference	Amazon UltraHD
Format (speed)	Streaming 24 bits 96 kHz
Type	24 bits 96 kHz
Master	Digital 24/96
Mastering/Pressing	Recoded at Shangri-La (Malibu) Mixed at Eastwest Studios by Ryan Hewitt
Original recording	Digital
State	Europe
Year original	2022
Year production	2022

Ed4 : Tidal Master – 2022

Presentation

This is the streaming Tidal presented encoded in Master MQA 24 bits 96 kHz (17 tracks).

Label	Warner Records
Reference	Qobuz Hi-Res
Format (speed)	Streaming MQA 24 bits 96 kHz
Type	MQA 24 bits 96 kHz decoded by Audirvana in 24 bits 96 kHz
Master	Digital 24 bits 96 kHz
Mastering/Pressing	Recoded at Shangri-La (Malibu) Mixed at Eastwest Studios by Ryan Hewitt
Original recording	Digital
State	Europe
Year original	2022
Year production	2022

Ed5 : Cassette ref 093624873709 – 2022

Presentation

This is the red cassette of this album.

Label	Warner Records
Reference	93624873709
Format (speed)	Cassette
Type	Analog cassette played on Nakamichi LX3
Master	Digital 24/96
Mastering/Pressing	Recoded at Shangri-La (Malibu) Mixed at Eastwest Studios by Ryan Hewitt
Original recording	Digital
State	US
Year original	2022
Year production	2022

Part 2 : Waveform and dynamic comparaisons

Waveform

The waveform represents all the 17 tracks of the album.

The graphics below represents the album in vinyl version and shows no signs of limiting and has a nice dynamic.

The curve below represents the waveform of the cassette (ed5). The curve is not compressed like the digital versions, it is more similar to the vinyl version (see the previous curve) which shows more level variations between low and high levels.

The 3 graphics below represent the Qobuz (Ed2), Amazon (Ed3), Tidal (Ed4) version with a high level of compression (yellow area). Only the last track (17) is less compressed.

To get a better idea of the impact of the compression, the graph below represents the vinyl version at the top and the digital version at the bottom of the “Here Ever After” sample, with both adjusted to the same level of -17.2 LUFS. You can clearly see the peaks that have been compressed and that are no longer present at the bottom of the digital version.

Dynamic

Dynamic represents the ability to reproduce a wide range of sounds from the softest to the loudest. The target is to compare the dynamics of the music and not of the media (CD, digital files or vinyl).

For our 5 editions we have obtained the following Dynamic Range (DR) :

	Ed1: Vinyl	Ed2: Qobuz	Ed3: Amazon	Ed4: Tidal	Ed5: Cassette
GLOBAL	DR13	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR12
Min	DR12	DR5	DR5	DR5	DR11
Max	DR15	DR11	DR11	DR11	DR13
Black Summer	DR14	DR6	DR6	DR6	DR12
Here Ever After	DR14	DR5	DR5	DR5	DR12
Aquatic Mouth Dance	DR14	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR12
Not The One	DR13	DR8	DR8	DR8	DR12
Poster Child	DR15	DR8	DR8	DR8	DR13
The Great Apes	DR12	DR5	DR5	DR5	DR11
It’s Only Natural	DR15	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR13
She’s A Lover	DR14	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR13
These Are The Ways	DR12	DR6	DR6	DR6	DR12
Whatchu Thinkin’	DR13	DR5	DR5	DR5	DR12
Bastards Of Light	DR13	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR12
White Braids & Pillow Chair	DR13	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR12
One Way Traffic	DR13	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR12
Veronica	DR14	DR7	DR7	DR7	DR12
Let ‘Em Cry	DR14	DR8	DR8	DR8	DR12
The Heavy Wing	DR13	DR6	DR6	DR6	DR12
Tangelo	DR12	DR11	DR11	DR11	DR12

As the waveform curves show, we have two categories for the stereo versions. The vinyl, Cassette with a DR12/DR13 and the other stereo version with a DR7 (Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon).

Changes in the treble level on the vinyl can affect the DR, see the changes in the spectrum analysis section (Part 3). But the vinyl is more similar to the cassette in terms of dynamics.

As a reminder, the scale goes from 0 to more 20, but the dynamics are considered good from 12, quite good between 10 and 11, and deteriorate below 10.

Part 3 : spectrum comparisons

Spectrum

The Spectrum allows to check the tonal balance of the music (balance between treble, medium and bass sounds) and to detect process that may have been carried out during the recording, the mixing, mastering or manufacturing phases. It is also possible to detect frequency interference issues.

The curve represents the average frequency distribution over the sample “Here Ever After”.

The interesting features on this curve Ed1 Vinyl (white) vs Ed2 Qobuz (blue) are the following:

1. The two curves are superimposed from 200 Hz to 8 kHz.
2. The green arrow shows small variations below 200 Hz with a 5 dB higher vinyl level at 50 Hz.
3. The yellow area shows the treble boost with more than 6 dB at 14 kHz. This will impact the rendering and the tonal balance.
4. The purple arrows show variations of the equalizer with an attenuation at 17 kHz and an increase at 20 kHz.
5. The red arrow indicates the interfering frequency clearly visible on the digital version.

The graph below shows the silence between two pieces. You can clearly see the corrections applied (colored arrows). Normally, the corrections are intended to linearize the response curve during engraving, not to cause a variation in the frequency response above 10 kHz. It is far from the quality expected for a pressing nowadays, especially with the use of a 24/96 master. When I saw the results, I checked my cartridge to make sure that there was no reading problem.

The interesting features on this curve Ed5 Cassette (white) vs Ed2 Qobuz (blue) are the following:

1. The two curves are superimposed from 700Hz to 10 kHz.
2. The green arrow shows small variations below 700Hz with a 5 dB higher vinyl level between 80 Hz to 200 Hz.
3. The yellow shows an attenuation of 1 to 2 dB above 10 kHz of the cassette compared to Qobuz.
4. The purple arrow shows the background noise of the cassette which is much higher than that of the vinyl. The playback is performed without Dolby B NR.

The increase of the bass in a zone rising to 200 Hz, plus a slight attenuation of the treble, will change the balance compared to the digital version. The bass will be more present and may appear less detailed with the cassette.

The graph below shows that the curves of the Amazon (Ed3) and Qobuz (Ed2) versions almost match. We find the same frequency peaks at 30 kHz (red arrow).

The graph below shows that the curves of the Tidal (Ed4) and Qobuz (Ed2) versions almost match. We find the same frequency peaks at 30 kHz (red arrow).

Part 4 : Spectrogram comparaisons

Spectrogram

Spectrogram is another representation of frequency versus time of a track. For each channel (right and left), horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents frequency. The amplitude is represented by the intensity (brightness) of the color of each point in the image.

The spectrum beloow représente the vinyl version (Ed1). The signal rises above 20kHz (yellow arrow), with the signal rising above 30kHz (white arrow) which is composed of music and also distortion due to the reading principle of vinyl. The horizontal lines (black arrow) represent the variation of levels above 10 kHz due to equalization.

For Qobuz (Ed2), Amazon (Ed3) and Tidal (Ed4), we find the same representation with a maximum frequency of 48 kHz (white arrow), much higher than 20 kHz (yellow arrow) because of the sampling frequency of 96 kHz. The black arrow shows the parasite frequency at 30 kHz as on the spectrum.

The spectrogram of the tape below is recognizable with its background noise which is visible at the white arrow. The yellow arrow shows the high frequency limit which is in the 17kHz range for this pre-recorded tape.

Part 5 : Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed1 : Vinyl Deluxe ref 093624874720 – 2022

The vinyl benefits from a very nice pressing with a reduced surface noise. The listening is very dynamic with a beautiful rendering more clear and better spatialized than the digital versions. The correction brought above 10 kHz brings an accentuation of definition compared to the digital versions. But when listening, the vinyl version is more pleasant and lively. Beware of the vinyl cartridge accentuating the highs, it could be a bit a little aggressive.

• Rating:
  • Dynamic: ●●●●o (4.5/5)
  • Bandwidth: ●●●oo (3/5)
  • Surface noise: ●●●●o (4.5/5)
  • Restitution: ●●●●o (4/5)

• Sample : “Here Ever After” 24 bits 88.2 kHz:

Ed2 : Qobuz Hi-Res – 2022

No surprise with the compression, except for track 17. The sound lacks dynamics and precision compared to the vinyl, which is all the more unfortunate since the recording and mixing are in 24 bits 96 kHz. When will we have a Mix Studio version that respects the dynamics present before the mastering that generates the loudness war?

• Rating:
  • Dynamic: ●●ooo (2/5)
  • Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5/5)
  • Restitution: ●●●oo (2.5/5)

• Sample : “Here Ever After” 24 bits 96kHz:

Ed3 : Amazon UltraHD – 2022

The sound is similar to the Qobuz version.

• Rating:
  • Dynamic: ●●ooo (2/5)
  • Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5/5)
  • Restitution: ●●●oo (2.5/5)

• Sample : “Here Ever After” 24 bits 96kHz:

Ed4 : Tidal Master – 2022

The sound is similar to the Qobuz version.

• Rating:
  • Dynamic: ●●ooo (2/5)
  • Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5/5)
  • Restitution: ●●●oo (2.5/5)

• Sample : “Here Ever After” 24 bits 96kHz:

Ed5 : Cassette ref 093624873709 – 2022

The measurements indicate that we must have dynamics, but with a present low register which can lose dynamics because of the rise of the low register of 5dB below 200 Hz. The listening confirms the analysis, the cassette remains dynamic, but the bass seems heavy. In listening with a walkman, that should pass because the bass are more in retreat. Otherwise, to find a more pleasant listening, it is necessary to correct and attenuate the bass to find a more pleasant rendering of the cassette.

• Rating:
  • Dynamic: ●●●●o (4/5)
  • Bandwidth: ●●●oo (3/5)
  • Surface noise: ●●ooo (1.5/5)
  • Restitution: ●●ooo (2/5) or (2.5/5) with correction

• Sample : “Here Ever After” 24 bits 96 kHz:

We are still in the loudness war, as shown by the 3 digital versions with their DR7. It is thus the vinyl version which gives the best sound rendering in term of dynamics, spatialization. The pressing is of very good quality with a reduced surface noise. Too bad for the equalization above 10 kHz because otherwise, the vinyl would have been almost perfect. The cassette brings its personality with dynamics but noise, and requires a bass adjustment to get the best sound.

Detail of the ratings :

• Dynamic :
  1. Significant dynamic compression, DR less than 7
  2. Compression of the present dynamics, DR between 7 and 9.
  3. Correct piece DR >=10
  4. No dynamic compression (DR >12), dynamic rendering
  5. No dynamic compression, high DR and very dynamic sound rendering
• Spectrum :
  1. Spectrum cut and less than 15 khz
  2. Spectrum cut at 15 khz
  3. Spectrum not conforming to the original and cut (not HD) or original but limited bandwidth (but less than 20 kHz)
  4. Spectrum conforming to the original (but not HD)
  5. Spectrum conforming to the original with HD resolution (higher than 24kHz)
• Surface noise (only for vinyl):
  1. Continuous audible noise
  2. Audible surface noise except on passages with a high level of noise
  3. Reduced surface noise, barely audible on low level crossings
  4. Low surface noise, very good quality
  5. Very low surface noise, no defects, almost inaudible on the quiet passages (exceptional disc)
• Spatialization :
  • Between 0 and 5 for 5.1 or 7.1 channels configuration
  • Between 0 and 10 for Atmos configuration (7.1.4)
  • For more information on spatialization, you can read the article describing this parameter here.
• Restitution :
  1. Low quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  2. Average quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  3. Quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Good record.
  4. High quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Very high level disc.
  5. Maximum quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Exceptional disc.

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