Return of the Dream Canteen is the second album of the Red Hot Chili Peppers to be released this year, it is also the 13th studio album of the group, this one was recorded at the Shangri-La studio in Malibu like Unlimited Love (You can find the review here). This album is composed of 17 tracks.

We will review 3 versions including vinyl, Qobuz Hi-Res and Tidal Master.

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 is composed of 17 tracks:

1. Tippa My Tongue
2. Peace And Love
3. Reach Out
4. Eddie
5. Fake As Fuck
6. Bella
7. Roulette
8. My Cigarette
9. Afterlife
10. Shoot Me A Smile
11. Handful
12. The Drummer
13. Bag Of Grins
14. La La La La La La La La
15. Copperbelly
16. Carry Me Home
17. In The Snow

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

Ed 1: Vinyl Curacao – 2022

Presentation

This is the double vinyl in curacao color.

Label	Warner Records
Reference	93624867364
Format (speed)	Vinyl double curacao LP
Type	2xLP 33 1/3 rpm
Master	From Analog Tape?
Mastering/Pressing	Recorded By, Mixed By – Ryan Hewitt Mastered by Bernie Grundman
Original recording	Digital
State	Europe
Year original	2022
Year production	2022

Ed 2: Qobuz Hi-Res – 2022

Presentation

The Qobuz Hi-Res version is presented in lossless 24 bits 96 kHz format.

Label	Warner Records
Reference	Qobuz Hi-Res
Format (speed)	Streaming
Type	Lossless 24 bits 96 kHz
Master	Digital
Mastering/Pressing	Recorded By, Mixed By – Ryan Hewitt
Original recording	Digital
State	Europe
Year original	2022
Year production	2022

Ed 3: Tidal Master – 2022

Presentation

The Qobuz Hi-Res version is presented encoded in MQA format in 24 bits 96 kHz.

Label	Warner Records
Reference	Tidal Master
Format (speed)	Streaming
Type	encoded in MQA 24 bits 96 kHz, and decoded by Audirvana
Master	Digital
Mastering/Pressing	Recorded By, Mixed By – Ryan Hewitt
Original recording	Digital
State	Europe
Year original	2022
Year production	2022

Part 2 : Waveform and dynamic comparaisons

Waveform

The waveform represents the album

The graph below represents the waveform of the vinyl version (Ed1). These versions are dynamic without any effect of strong compression of the dynamics.

The two streaming versions below (Qobuz and Tidal) turn up the level to the maximum and with the use of a Brickwall limiter that caps the levels as shown in the example of the yellow zone.

For the song “Tippa My Tongue”, the comparison of the waveforms adjusted to the same sound level shows the effect of the Brickwall limiter used to make the digital version sound louder. We thus lose a lot of details and information for the musical rendering.

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 3 editions reviewed have obtained the following Dynamic Range (DR) :

	Vinyl Curacao – 2022	Qobuz Hi-Res – 2022	Tidal Master – 2022
Global	DR13	DR8	DR8
Min	DR12	DR7	DR7
Max	DR14	DR10	DR10
Tippa My Tongue	DR14	DR8	DR8
Peace And Love	DR14	DR7	DR7
Reach Out	DR13	DR7	DR7
Eddie	DR13	DR7	DR8
Fake As Fuck	DR12	DR7	DR7
Bella	DR14	DR8	DR8
Roulette	DR13	DR8	DR8
My Cigarette	DR13	DR8	DR8
Afterlife	DR13	DR8	DR8
Shoot Me A Smile	DR13	DR7	DR7
Handful	DR13	DR7	DR7
The Drummer	DR14	DR8	DR8
Bag Of Grins	DR12	DR7	DR7
La La La La La La La La	DR11	DR10	DR10
Copperbelly	DR13	DR7	DR7
Carry Me Home	DR12	DR7	DR7
In The Snow	DR14	DR10	DR10

The result of the measurements of the DR is in coherence with the analysis of the waveforms, i.e. a DR8 for the digital versions (with limitation of the dynamics) and a DR13 for the vinyl. The digital versions have a distribution between DR7 and DR10, it is fortunately not as compressed as Madonna’s Finally Enough Love with the DR between DR4 and DR7!

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 vinyl spectrum overlaps with the streaming version up to 10 kHz, with a small drop in level below 500 Hz (green zone), and especially below 100 Hz (down to -3 dB at 50 Hz). The red zone shows a non-regularity above 15 kHz which is due to a specificity of the burning head or to an equalisation. We find a peak of more than 6 dB at 17 kHz, then a sharp drop of 20 dB and again a peak of 10 dB. This is one of the characteristics of the vinyl mastered by Bernie Grundman.

The spectrum of the Tidal and Qobuz versions overlap perfectly, we find a spurious frequency peak just below 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 spectrogram of the vinyl (Ed1) clearly shows the limitation at 17 kHz (yellow arrow) as shown in the spectrum analysis. Above this frequency (white arrow), we find a signal which is partly composed of the music and the distortion generated by the vinyl playback principle.

The spectrograms of the Qobuz and Tidal versions below are identical with a frequency limitation at 48 kHz (yellow arrow) due to the sampling frequency of 96 kHz. There is no signal above this frequency (white arrow). The red arrow indicates the spurious frequency around 30 kHz which is also present on the spectrum.

Part 5 : Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed 1: Vinyl Curacao – 2022

The results of the measurements are found in the listening with a vinyl version which is more dynamic and more precise, the bass is less heavy, more detailed than in the digital versions. The pressing is of good quality, even with the curacao color. It is just a pity to have a quasi-limitation of the frequencies at 17 kHz (brutal decrease of 20 dB) whereas the digital versions are available with a sampling frequency of 96 kHz.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4)
• Bandwidth: ●●●oo (3.5)
• Surface noise: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Sample : “Tippa My Tongue” 24 bits 88.2 kHz:

Ed 2: Qobuz Hi-Res – 2022

We find here a digital version that still suffers from the loudness war with a DR8, it is not the worst of the results, but it is a pity to provide a resolution of 24 bits 96 kHz that is not fully exploited. In listening, we find a sound more smooth with bass present but less detailed than the vinyl version.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●ooo (2)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)

Sample : “Tippa My Tongue” 24 bits 96 kHz:

Ed 3: Tidal Master – 2022

We find a similar rendering to the Qobuz version with the same dynamic limitation.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●ooo (2)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)

Sample : “Tippa My Tongue” 24 bits 96 kHz:

This year, the Red Hot Chili Peppers offer us a beautiful second album. Unfortunately, the digital versions suffer from the loudness war. The vinyl version bypasses this problem by offering more dynamics, even if it is not technically perfect (limitation 17 kHz), the vinyl brings a better sound rendering. It’s a shame that with all the current means, we can’t have better products, but fortunately, the music remains present.

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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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