UHQR Aja

[MRubey]

I had hoped for years that this would happen someday.
I got #377.
We just completed our first listen.
The only thing I can think to say are superlatives……Oh My God…..WOW!…..Holy S#*t

Its really like that.

Thanks to Chad and Bernie for this gift and thank you D.F. for letting them do it.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

MRuby,

nice number.

thanks for the feedback. exciting to hear that. mine is due to arrive on Thursday.

do you mind saying what your Aja reference vinyl pressing had been previously?

thanks.

 

[MRubey]

Hi Mike,
The best one I had was the original one from 1977. I was 19 at the time. At some point I switched to CD and lost all of my old records. Many of which are now unavailable. I of course still have a first gen CD which sounds terrible, bright and smeared. I have the Geffen/ABC 180g pressing AS sells. it is dull and lifeless. I"ve looked into better pressings on Discogs but never pulled the trigger.
Today my wife and I played a few tunes from the CD, then the 33rpm version which may be dull and lifeless but is still a lot better than the CD. With the first two notes of Black Cow on the UHQR I let out an involuntary expletive. Aja brought tears.
I'm looking forward to Gaucho but I'm *really* looking forward to The Royal Scam.
I kind of wish they'd stayed in order.
If your a Steely Dan fan this record will have deep significance to you.
Cheers,
another Mike

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Hi Mike,
The best one I had was the original one from 1977. I was 19 at the time. At some point I switched to CD and lost all of my old records. Many of which are now unavailable. I of course still have a first gen CD which sounds terrible, bright and smeared. I have the Geffen/ABC 180g pressing AS sells. it is dull and lifeless. I"ve looked into better pressings on Discogs but never pulled the trigger.
Today my wife and I played a few tunes from the CD, then the 33rpm version which may be dull and lifeless but is still a lot better than the CD. With the first two notes of Black Cow on the UHQR I let out an involuntary expletive. Aja brought tears.
I'm looking forward to Gaucho but I'm *really* looking forward to The Royal Scam.
I kind of wish they'd stayed in order.
If your a Steely Dan fan this record will have deep significance to you.
Cheers,
another Mike

hi Mike,

great feedback and i'm a big Steely Dan fan too. i was 26 in 1977 when this came out. this is wheelhouse music for me. my son was born in 1977.

my best Aja pressing is the early MoFi which is pretty good (not lifeless at all). back in the day (20 years ago) i did try to find a better pressing but the MoFi was the best i could find. not heard an actual Original Pressing. i also have a good 15 ips 1/4" RTR tape master dub of unknown provenance which is some better than my MoFi pressing.

so my expectations are high too, and glad it's rocking your boat. that is a valuable data point.

 

[Kingrex]

Are these suppose to be good. I Get lost with some threads saying some of these remasterses vinyl are not all that good overall.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Are these suppose to be good. I Get lost with some threads saying some of these remasterses vinyl are not all that good overall.

so far they have been slightly underwhelming. good but not definitive. my earlier 33rpm pressings are a little better than the first three 45's, but i'm also hearing the next ones are better. i bought and paid for all 7 UHQR's when they were first offered.

the music (IMHO) is epic, so if you don't have good pressings already to me these would be essential.

 

[dminches]

My favorite Aja pressing is the Cisco one from 2007. I have not heard the UHQR and probably won’t since I didn’t buy it.

 

[Tangram]

Thanks for startIng this thread and for your initial thoughts. I only have the Canadian first pressing, and while I’ve played it to death, I still reach for it if I’m having a crisis of audio confidence to assure me nothing is amiss, other than the crappy sound from the prior record. I love Aja - the sound and the music, but my UHQR KOB is only a bit better than my 2010 Music on Vinyl 2-LP reissue, but it was also 5X the price (for me.) My copy of Aja is one of the best-sounding records I own so I probably won’t search out a UHQR copy.

 

[Kingrex]

Well, I have a 15 ips tape that's good. I wonder if the highs are rolled off. The tape is better than my vinyl or digital. Just not sure. I got the uhqr of the Nutcracker and have other versions I like more.

Its all so hard

 

[adrianywu]

Well, I have a 15 ips tape that's good. I wonder if the highs are rolled off. The tape is better than my vinyl or digital. Just not sure. I got the uhqr of the Nutcracker and have other versions I like more.

Its all so hard

Not sure if your tape came from the same source as mine. Mine was copied from an original release production master. I think compared to LPs, esp. some reissues, the LPs have more highs because the HF was boosted during mastering. The artists usually authorised a final mix based on what they had heard on tape. I am not sure whether they were usually involved with the mastering, but with this group, I won't be surprised. Which one is more authentic to the artists' vision ? Hard to say. I have compared my tapes with some of the Classic Records and AP classical reissues, and the LPs usually have boosted top end and sometimes bottom end also (the smile curve ?).

 

[Mike Lavigne]

my Aja UHQR arrived 45 minutes ago, listening to "Black Cow" right now. i think this one might be special, but need to do some listening.

 

[Elliot G.]

for all you Steely Dan fans cvome visit at Capfest Friday and Saturday

 

[Kingrex]

Not sure if your tape came from the same source as mine. Mine was copied from an original release production master. I think compared to LPs, esp. some reissues, the LPs have more highs because the HF was boosted during mastering. The artists usually authorised a final mix based on what they had heard on tape. I am not sure whether they were usually involved with the mastering, but with this group, I won't be surprised. Which one is more authentic to the artists' vision ? Hard to say. I have compared my tapes with some of the Classic Records and AP classical reissues, and the LPs usually have boosted top end and sometimes bottom end also (the smile curve ?).

You have the same tape as I do. My tape is way better than the vinyl version I have. I have been on a tape kick lately. My tape is far superior to any source I have by a magnitude. My led Zeppelin are also excellent. I actually have led 4 from 2 different sources. Both are excellent. I may want to let one of them go. Not sure which one.

 

[MRubey]

 

[adrianywu]

You have the same tape as I do. My tape is way better than the vinyl version I have. I have been on a tape kick lately. My tape is far superior to any source I have by a magnitude. My led Zeppelin are also excellent. I actually have led 4 from 2 different sources. Both are excellent. I may want to let one of them go. Not sure which one.

Yes, people who have not heard these tapes don't really know how good the original recordings can sound. None of the commercial versions I have come anywhere close to the tapes, unfortunately. In fact, my DSD transfers from the tapes sound better than any commercial versions I have, including LPs (original and some reissues, even though I do not have the ultra-expensive ones like the One Step or Tom Port's hot stampers). That is true for all the Led Zeppelin, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Beatles, and Alan Parsons Project tapes I have. I am starting to explore pre-recorded 4-track tapes to see if any of them will stand up to the masters.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

got my UHQR Gaucho 45rpm today, just listened to it all the way through, then my long term vinyl reference, the MCA 1/2 speed 33rpm pressing. i recall back 2 decades this MQA was the best sounding one i could find. likely an original might be better.

i did go back and forth twice between the two pressings on babylon sisters and hey nineteen just to be more clear.

the UHQR is fine sounding, better in some ways than the MCA, but different too. the UHQR is more expansive as one might expect from a 45, with more separation. the MQA might be slightly more focused and tonally just a bit richer....but only a bit. the UHQR might be more open on top. bass impact is slightly more on the UHQR. some small bits here and there are more clear with the MCA.

overall, if you did not have a good early pressing this UHQR is a good acquisition. and i'm glad i have both. i love this music.

i do have a 15ips, 1/4" RTR dub of unknown provenance that is quite good (as i recall better than the MQA pressing) that i will drag out when i get a chance to see how that stacks up.

 

[Mcsnare]

Not sure if your tape came from the same source as mine. Mine was copied from an original release production master. I think compared to LPs, esp. some reissues, the LPs have more highs because the HF was boosted during mastering. The artists usually authorised a final mix based on what they had heard on tape. I am not sure whether they were usually involved with the mastering, but with this group, I won't be surprised. Which one is more authentic to the artists' vision ? Hard to say. I have compared my tapes with some of the Classic Records and AP classical reissues, and the LPs usually have boosted top end and sometimes bottom end also (the smile curve ?).

If the tape copy you refer to is indeed a production master, that means it has all the EQ used for cutting. Those "eq'd tape copy" tapes are made simultaneously as the first lacquers are cut. The second deck used is usually a 1/4" running at 15 ips with Dolby, recording the real-time feed to the lathe. The brightness you may be hearing off the record could be in your analog chain, most likely the cartridge. The tape could also be a few generations down, and that will make it darker and bassier. If your tape is NNR (no noise reduction), then a less-than-perfect Dolby decode setup on the playback deck could also make your copy darker.
The source for the new 45 rpm Aja was a 15 ips 1/2" Dolby copy was no doubt made at some point when Bernie cut the original set of lacquers. Bernie stated that for this reissue he did no further eq, and in fact bypassed the console. He does allude to some tweaking; my guess is a hair of playback top-end eq lift on the deck repro electronics to overcome the age of the tape.
I think this latest 45 rpm version is fantastic and definitive.

 

[JRW1971]

got my UHQR Gaucho 45rpm today, just listened to it all the way through, then my long term vinyl reference, the MCA 1/2 speed 33rpm pressing. i recall back 2 decades this MQA was the best sounding one i could find. likely an original might be better.

i did go back and forth twice between the two pressings on babylon sisters and hey nineteen just to be more clear.

the UHQR is fine sounding, better in some ways than the MCA, but different too. the UHQR is more expansive as one might expect from a 45, with more separation. the MQA might be slightly more focused and tonally just a bit richer....but only a bit. the UHQR might be more open on top. bass impact is slightly more on the UHQR. some small bits here and there are more clear with the MCA.

overall, if you did not have a good early pressing this UHQR is a good acquisition. and i'm glad i have both. i love this music.

i do have a 15ips, 1/4" RTR dub of unknown provenance that is quite good (as i recall better than the MQA pressing) that i will drag out when i get a chance to see how that stacks up.

Mine arrived yesterday. My reference was a Tom Port OG. To my ears, the UHQR beats it by a few whiskers. The OG definitely holds its own and puts up a good fight. But the UHQR in my room is bigger, heftier, richer, and tidier at the top end.

 

[adrianywu]

If the tape copy you refer to is indeed a production master, that means it has all the EQ used for cutting. Those "eq'd tape copy" tapes are made simultaneously as the first lacquers are cut. The second deck used is usually a 1/4" running at 15 ips with Dolby, recording the real-time feed to the lathe. The brightness you may be hearing off the record could be in your analog chain, most likely the cartridge. The tape could also be a few generations down, and that will make it darker and bassier. If your tape is NNR (no noise reduction), then a less-than-perfect Dolby decode setup on the playback deck could also make your copy darker.
The source for the new 45 rpm Aja was a 15 ips 1/2" Dolby copy was no doubt made at some point when Bernie cut the original set of lacquers. Bernie stated that for this reissue he did no further eq, and in fact bypassed the console. He does allude to some tweaking; my guess is a hair of playback top-end eq lift on the deck repro electronics to overcome the age of the tape.
I think this latest 45 rpm version is fantastic and definitive.

It is true my cartridge is on the bright side as I only loaded it with 500 ohms. Should go lower. My Aja LP is a Japanese pressing, which was more popular in Hong Kong in those days. These tend to sound clean but sterile. I have not compared the modern reissues. I prefer my tape, which sounds more relaxed and the tonality is more natural.