Bhaktivedanta Archives have now released free of charge Archival Copies of all the recordings of Srila Prabhupada they have in their collection from 1968 and plan to release all the audio by 2018.
I am personally greatly enjoying listening to these 'new' Prabhupada recordings. There are so many 'new' classes, conversations and morning walks for us to enjoy. And while the audio is 'original', exactly as it was recorded on the original tapes, Bhaktivedanta Archives have removed most of the tape his and electrical hum, etc, and they have provided the files in very high quality MP3. So the quality is actually very nice overall.
It is a wonderful progam and please encourage the Bhaktivedanta Archives going to their Donation Page and donating to help them with this project. As the files are quite large devotees are having trouble trying to download them from the internet. So in the mood of Srila Prabhupada:
"Our real business is to spread Krishna Consciousness, and for that our centers require so many things like books, tapes, photos, like that—and these should be freely exchanged between the temples to be utilized nicely in preaching work, without profit-making." (Srila Prabhupada letter 1971 to Rupanuga)
We are distributing these original Prabhupada audio files, in their original unchanged format, exactly as distributed by Bhaktivedanta archives, at no profit, only for the cost of the USB drive we are distributing them on and the shipping cost.
Notes from the Bhaktivedanta Archives:
What is an “Archival Copy”?
The MP3 “Archival copy” is a direct facsimile of the original recording with very minor, if any, audio quality enhancements that may remove or reduce artificially induced sounds such as 50-60Hz hum, excessive tape hiss, and in extreme cases, the raising of volumes for those recordings made at very low levels. These ARE NOT sonically cleaned up, edited and packaged “for sale” recordings like the previous Ministry releases, but reflect the “as is” nature of the both good and poor original recordings.
Digital files are useless if they cannot be accessed now and in the future. Therefore, in order for the general devotee community to act as a backup for this audio (secondary preservation), the digital files must be in a common format. MP3 is the most universal consumer-compressed format which is easily readable. The original lossless WAV (broadcast) files, along with the cassette and reels, will always remain at the Bhaktivedanta Archives as the source of reference.
An Archival recording is an original copy or closest copy as possible to the original. As an Archive, the Bhaktivedanta Archives’ responsibility is to preserve these original recordings so the integrity and provenance of the original can be retained. If a recording is very poor, the Archival primary recording will remain very poor. This assures the integrity of the actual recording without subsequent changes–now and in the future. The 1977 MP3 files are taken directly from these “as is” files and are, in a few cases, slightly enhanced so you can follow along with the Bhaktivedanta VedaBase® text.
In accepting these free MP3 Archival secondary files, we request that you not alter the files in anyway, either with editing the content, length of time or sonically. They must remain "as is" from the Bhaktivedanta Archives, thus maintaining the provenance, integrity and legacy of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
We at the Bhaktivedanta Archives look forward to sharing more MP3 audio (1976 thru 1966) and Bhaktivedanta VedaBase® updates in the near future. If you would like to make a donation to help us further our service, please click here: donation
