On Friday, my Cambridge pre-amp arrived. Woohoo....now I can get serious about listening to some vinyl. I had a bunch of questions I was just dying to look into. The following had been on my mind lately, and I addressed that weekend:
Which Todd Rundgren - A Wizard, A True Star LP was the best sounding? My first pressing RL copy, the repress in square cover, the German import, or the 180 gram reissue?
Todd Rundgren DMM LPs? Hoffman forums don't look kindly on them, but Seth talked them up. I've got standard and DMM of Faithful, and Initiation. How do they compare?
Steely Dan - CBAT - Standard Yellow Label LP vs. Japanese import (also on yellow label).
Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy - Black label vs. yellow label vs. MCA reissue.
So, for starters, I pulled out all my copies of A Wizard, A True Star listed above. The Standard reissue in square cover was the first copy I picked up for $2, I wasn't expecting much from that. The 180gram reissue was a find at a Rasputin. As my favorite Todd album, I had to grab it, hoping for a better vinyl experience of this album. I was rather disappointed to find side 1 slightly off center. The first issue LP was obtained from my co-worker friend's LP collection that came with the turntable, and was quite thrilled to own a first pressing of this, mastered by Bob Ludwig. The German import was a dollar bin find that I couldn't resist, although I was hesitant since I had read that the best vinyl copy was the first pressing, which suggested all other options, including my 180gram reissue, would be inferior. Right off the bat after first sampling, I eliminated the repress that came in a standard cover. I was already biased against that one. I had read that the best sounding LP is the first pressing, as all others were sourced from another tape or something to that effect. One thing that seems to always be a thing when it comes to Todd Rundgren albums is they tend to lack in bass. I noticed, the German import and 180gram imports had a bit more bass to them, which helped. I was surprised, I was liking these 2 better than the first pressing. Tried as I might, I wasn't hearing anything in the first pressing that would give it an edge over those. Between the 180gram and the German one, I couldn't easily make a decision, but I think the German one edged it out ever so slightly. Although, the German one wasn't in as nice shape. But, I would still have to deal with centering the 180gram one if I wanted to give this a serious listen. So, I decided to go with the German one. Unfortunately, side 2 had 2 or 3 jumps, which really bummed me out.
After this, I had to follow up with a good listening to Todd. I have a DMM copy of this, no other LP to compare it to, so I gave it a spin, and greatly enjoyed it.
Next up, was Faithful. A Todd album that I somehow have yet to pick up on CD. I guess it's because I only really like side 2. Side 1 is a fun and curious listen, but...meh...there's better Todd to listen to. My Standard LP wasn't a first pressing. I notice many of my Todd LPs have sterling stamped into the dead wax, some with the RL initials, some without, but this wasn't one of those. I found that I preferred the DMM copy, so I gave that one a listen. Side 1 was alright, but...wow, I really liked side 2 more than I remembered, totally makes this album worth it. I need to spin this one more.
At this point, I was burned out on Todd albums, so it was time to get back to figuring some things out with the Steely Dan catalog.
I grabbed my LP copies of Can't Buy A Thrill, and found that, I did prefer the sound on the Japanese LP. It was well pressed, and the low and high end were touched up a bit which filled out the sound nicely. I think I can sell off the standard LP copy, I won't be needing that.
Next, I grabbed my 3 copies of Countdown To Ecstasy. Between the black label and yellow label, I coudn't hear a difference, so I put the yellow label away....think I may sell that one as well. The MCA pressing was also touched up a bit in the high and low end, nicely. It's nice to have an original issue on the black label, plus it had the insert, so I think I'll hold on to the black label a little more, but I decided to listen to the MCA, and think this will be my go to version for this album on vinyl.
While I was at it, I grabbed my LP copy of Pretzel Logic, and had a nice listen. Just a standard yellow label of that, no others to compare it to.
Other records that I spun that weekend include Grateful Dead - Aoxomoxoa - 1st mix (few jumps on side 2, otherwise great. I preferred side 1 to side 2), Stereolab - First of the Microbe Hunters (record 2 off center :( Had to file the hole a bit ), Nazz (a little beat up, jumped a few times). All in all, a great Saturday of listening with the new preamp.
Sunday was busy, but I had a chance to spin a few LPs that evening, Argent - Nexus (British import), Utopia - Deface The Music, and Fripp-Eno - No Pussyfooting (Side 1 good, Side 2....ehhh....maybe skip that next time)
Questions to still be addressed:
CBAT CDs....my early CD that is preferred in the forum vs. Citizen box, best of those vs. Japanese import.
Countdown - CDs, and best CD vs. MCA vinyl
AWATS - Needledrops for more analyzing. Is the RL first press really not as great as I've been led to believe? Is the 180gram as good as the German, or do I need to seek out a cleaner German import? How does my Japanese CD compare?
Todd Rundgren - Initiation - DMM vs. Sterling
Monday, January 20, 2014
January 11-12, 2014 - The Steely Dan fiasco
In the week leading up to the weekend of January 11th, much discussion broke out on the Hoffman forum about Steely Dan remasters. As a fan of Steely Dan, I was curious what is the best source for listening to their classic albums, especially considering how well produced they tend to be. It was actually when shopping for a Steely Dan CD of Aja that the concept of better sounding CDs came to my attention. I had first become acquainted with this album from an 8-track tape I obtained from my dad, which faded out Deacon Blues mid song to change programs. Classy. So, in order to enjoy this album, with correct track order, without mid song interruptions, and in high fidelity CD sound, I decided to pick up a CD of it at The Wiz. I found a CD of it, with a rather large border around the cover art, and with a rather pricy price tag on it. I was a bit confused at the price, but....eh, I did want this album. My dad saw it in my hand and commented that it was one of those more expensive CDs that are supposed to sound better, if you have expensive equipment. Being that this was going in my GE boom box, I didn't really qualify for this, so I decided, let me check back in the rack and see if there was a standard one in there. Sure enough, there was. Of course, some years later I picked up a used copy of the MFSL disc, and handed the standard issue CD to my dad. Why would I need this anymore, the MFSL is always better, it costs more, so how could it not?
Well, there was a lot of conflicting discussion about this CD on the Hoffman forums. Apparently some of the standard CD issues were mastered by Hoffman himself, so there are people that prefer that. Although many people have nice things to say about the MFSL one as well. This was a disc that I couldn't seem to get a majority vibe from reading the various posts on the forum relating to it. Many people pointed to an article online about Roger Nichols being rather disappointed in the quality of CD issues not mastered by him, disappointed that they didn't use his digital transfer, which was done right, and suggesting that the wrong tapes were used. This has resulted in a lot of people claiming the MFSL CD was remastered from an inferior tape. Which....MFSL was in the practice of always going back to the master tape, so this is quite an accusation. In the end, it seemed to me to be strongly suggested by parties that know what their talking about that the article referenced wasn't exactly completely accurate, and the correct master was used for the MFSL CD.
This resulted in my searching out various information on different CD masterings of all Steely Dan albums. I found a thread for every album discussing the 4 or more masterings that existed for each album. From some discussions, you can see that there's a majority that prefer a certain mastering. And then for others, there's plenty of information about the mastering, but not much on how they sound or which are better. It was making my head spin.
So, with my trusty headphones, I started comparing my flac files of my MFSL Aja CD, and my Citizen Steely Dan Box, and decided that I lean towards the MFSL CD. Ok...cool.
So, I grabbed the MFSL CD off the shelf, put it into the Oppo, and had myself a nice listen. Quite enjoyable. There's nothing wrong with this CD at all.
So, when it comes to the question of what to grab for a listen to Aja, and you have the MFSL CD and the Citizen Steely Dan box, the answer for me is MFSL.
I then grabbed my Gaucho SACD, and had a nice listen to the 5.1 on that. I never cared for that album, I felt they went too far with the very anal perfection in production by then and lost most of the feeling in their performances, but....it was an enjoyable listen, I was in the right mood after having a nice listen to Aja.
I then worked on obtaining some more flacs, for research purposes, of other Steely Dan CD issues, including the Hoffman mastered Katy Lied and Aja....but those will have to be listened to another time.
Questions I still have:
How does the MFSL Aja CD compare to the Hoffman mastered Aja?
What about the MFSL LP of Aja? Perhaps I can find a needledrop before investing in a purchase.
My standard CBAT CD vs. the Citizen Box.
Standard LP of CBAT vs. Japanese inport LP.
Best LP of CBAT vs. best CD.
What about my Katy Lied MFSL LP? Vs. other vinyl, then vs. best CD...which also needs to be determined.
Well, there was a lot of conflicting discussion about this CD on the Hoffman forums. Apparently some of the standard CD issues were mastered by Hoffman himself, so there are people that prefer that. Although many people have nice things to say about the MFSL one as well. This was a disc that I couldn't seem to get a majority vibe from reading the various posts on the forum relating to it. Many people pointed to an article online about Roger Nichols being rather disappointed in the quality of CD issues not mastered by him, disappointed that they didn't use his digital transfer, which was done right, and suggesting that the wrong tapes were used. This has resulted in a lot of people claiming the MFSL CD was remastered from an inferior tape. Which....MFSL was in the practice of always going back to the master tape, so this is quite an accusation. In the end, it seemed to me to be strongly suggested by parties that know what their talking about that the article referenced wasn't exactly completely accurate, and the correct master was used for the MFSL CD.
This resulted in my searching out various information on different CD masterings of all Steely Dan albums. I found a thread for every album discussing the 4 or more masterings that existed for each album. From some discussions, you can see that there's a majority that prefer a certain mastering. And then for others, there's plenty of information about the mastering, but not much on how they sound or which are better. It was making my head spin.
So, with my trusty headphones, I started comparing my flac files of my MFSL Aja CD, and my Citizen Steely Dan Box, and decided that I lean towards the MFSL CD. Ok...cool.
So, I grabbed the MFSL CD off the shelf, put it into the Oppo, and had myself a nice listen. Quite enjoyable. There's nothing wrong with this CD at all.
So, when it comes to the question of what to grab for a listen to Aja, and you have the MFSL CD and the Citizen Steely Dan box, the answer for me is MFSL.
I then grabbed my Gaucho SACD, and had a nice listen to the 5.1 on that. I never cared for that album, I felt they went too far with the very anal perfection in production by then and lost most of the feeling in their performances, but....it was an enjoyable listen, I was in the right mood after having a nice listen to Aja.
I then worked on obtaining some more flacs, for research purposes, of other Steely Dan CD issues, including the Hoffman mastered Katy Lied and Aja....but those will have to be listened to another time.
Questions I still have:
How does the MFSL Aja CD compare to the Hoffman mastered Aja?
What about the MFSL LP of Aja? Perhaps I can find a needledrop before investing in a purchase.
My standard CBAT CD vs. the Citizen Box.
Standard LP of CBAT vs. Japanese inport LP.
Best LP of CBAT vs. best CD.
What about my Katy Lied MFSL LP? Vs. other vinyl, then vs. best CD...which also needs to be determined.
A new blog.
On my show I frequently discuss various things about audio technology, and released recordings. At times I've talked about the differences between different releases of the same album. I do a lot of reading up on things of this nature on the forums out there, but never really got around to sitting and listening, and forming my own opinions.
Well, I've finally put together a nice system for listening. Some years ago I got a nice year end bonus, and blew a good portion of it on an Ortofon Rondo Bronze cartridge. It didn't perform for cd-4 quadraphonic as I was hoping, but it's a great cartridge for stereo. Due to a horrible mishap, the cantilever was damaged on this cartridge, but I sent it out to soundsmith for retipping.
A few years ago a work friend offered me his turntable and record collection in exchange for CD transfers of the records, and that's how I obtained the turntable I do most of my listening on these days, a Luxman PD121.
The last element needed was a decent pre-amp. Up until now, I had been using my Marantz cd-400 demodulator as a preamp, and a Denon HA-500 as a step up for the MC cartridges. The Marantz is a great option for cd-4 playback, but as a stereo preamp isn't ideal. So, I finally picked up a Cambridge Audio Azur 651P pre-amp, which has now allowed me to setup my turntable in my listening room properly.
I currently use a Denon AVR-1909 receiver, and have a quad setup of 4 speakers, custom built by my good friend Seth. I tweak the custom EQ on it to give it a little more low end, and brighten the high end a bit.
For digital playback, I have my trusty Oppo bluray player, hooked up via hdmi to the receiver. This takes care of any CD\DVD\SACD\DVD-A\or Bluray playback.
I also have a PC equipped with a videocard with hdmi out hooked up to the receiver, for convenient playback of flac files (and for convenient streaming or video file playback).
So, often I have questions that I never get around to finding answers to, but a few weeks ago, I started actually listening, and comparing, and plan on doing more of this on my weekends. So, I figured, lets start a blog, may as well document my findings, so if I forget, I can check my notes.
Well, I've finally put together a nice system for listening. Some years ago I got a nice year end bonus, and blew a good portion of it on an Ortofon Rondo Bronze cartridge. It didn't perform for cd-4 quadraphonic as I was hoping, but it's a great cartridge for stereo. Due to a horrible mishap, the cantilever was damaged on this cartridge, but I sent it out to soundsmith for retipping.
A few years ago a work friend offered me his turntable and record collection in exchange for CD transfers of the records, and that's how I obtained the turntable I do most of my listening on these days, a Luxman PD121.
The last element needed was a decent pre-amp. Up until now, I had been using my Marantz cd-400 demodulator as a preamp, and a Denon HA-500 as a step up for the MC cartridges. The Marantz is a great option for cd-4 playback, but as a stereo preamp isn't ideal. So, I finally picked up a Cambridge Audio Azur 651P pre-amp, which has now allowed me to setup my turntable in my listening room properly.
I currently use a Denon AVR-1909 receiver, and have a quad setup of 4 speakers, custom built by my good friend Seth. I tweak the custom EQ on it to give it a little more low end, and brighten the high end a bit.
For digital playback, I have my trusty Oppo bluray player, hooked up via hdmi to the receiver. This takes care of any CD\DVD\SACD\DVD-A\or Bluray playback.
I also have a PC equipped with a videocard with hdmi out hooked up to the receiver, for convenient playback of flac files (and for convenient streaming or video file playback).
So, often I have questions that I never get around to finding answers to, but a few weeks ago, I started actually listening, and comparing, and plan on doing more of this on my weekends. So, I figured, lets start a blog, may as well document my findings, so if I forget, I can check my notes.
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