Close To The Edge -2013- -flac 24-192- | Yes -

Chris Squire’s Rickenbacker bass, which sometimes sounded "bloated" in previous masters, was brought under tighter control, allowing for greater punch without overwhelming the soundstage. Instrumental Separation:

: Standard CDs use 16-bit audio, offering 96 decibels of dynamic range. A 24-bit file expands this to 144 decibels. This extra headroom allows the quietest acoustic guitar plucks and the loudest drum cracks to coexist naturally without digital compression.

This article dives into the technical brilliance, the sonic improvements, and the historical significance of the 2013 24-bit/192kHz high-resolution audio edition. 1. The Context: Why 2013 and Why FLAC 24-192?

feels like it's physically in the room with you.

The textures of the Mellotron and church organ in the title track are exceptionally warm and resonant, avoiding the "cold" sound some 80s digital remasters suffered from. Yes - Close To The Edge -2013- -FLAC 24-192-

Listening to the 24/192 FLAC is a revelation for a few specific reasons:

Wilson carefully balanced the dense, multi-layered tape bounces engineered by Eddie Offord. In this 2013 version, elements that once sounded muddy or buried—such as Steve Howe’s intricate sitar lines, back-ordered vocal harmonies, and complex percussion layers—are separated cleanly across the soundstage. Track-by-Track High-Resolution Impact 1. "Close to the Edge" (18:41)

If you want to compare this to (e.g., King Crimson, Jethro Tull)

A "flat transfer" from the original master tapes with no additional EQ, providing the most authentic digital representation of the original Eddy Offord production. This extra headroom allows the quietest acoustic guitar

Before dissecting the bits and samples, we must acknowledge the source. Close to the Edge is not background music. It is a singular, 38-minute suite split into three movements: The Solid Time of Change , Total Mass Retain , and I Get Up, I Get Down . The 1972 recording was famously complex—Eddy Offord’s production involved punching in tape edits so intricate that the master reels looked like a jigsaw puzzle.

A common question: Isn't the 2013 edition just a re-issue? While Steven Wilson’s famous 5.1 surround remix of Close to the Edge came later (2014), the 2013 stereo FLAC 24-192 release coincided with a broader industry shift toward “audiophile-grade” catalog downloads. It is often sourced from a fresh, high-resolution transfer done by engineer Isao Kikuchi (for the Japanese SHM-SACD release) or directly from the Atlantic master tapes.

: A completely new stereo mix by Steven Wilson, available in 24-bit / 96 kHz .

: Includes the single version of "America" at 24/192 and high-resolution instrumental versions. The Context: Why 2013 and Why FLAC 24-192

: The Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) compresses file size without losing a single bit of audio data. It ensures you hear an exact clone of the studio master. The Listening Experience: What You Will Hear

The 2013 reissue is not just another remaster. Steven Wilson went back to the original multi-track tapes to rebuild the mix from scratch.

Use bit-perfect players like Roon, Audirvana, or Foobar2000.

Wilson aimed to preserve the "soul" of the original Eddy Offord production while cleaning up the dense layering of instruments, particularly the interplay between Chris Squire's bass and Rick Wakeman's keyboards. Content of the 2013 Definitive Edition