Attempt to re-EQ "Katy Lied"

If you're a Steely Dan fan, you may be familiar with the horror story about mastering their album Katy Lied.  Some problem with the dbx noise-reduction unit made the master tape sound dull and lifeless.  You can barely hear cymbals and other high-frequency percussion instruments.

I decided to try this:  using my Nakamichi BX-300 cassette deck I recorded the Qobuz 24/192 version of the album on a "metal" (type IV) tape. For those of you unfamiliar with cassettes, the metal tape allowed for the most dynamic range recordings.   I maxed the bias control so it would dull the sound a bit, because my plan was to listen back with the EQ at 120 microseconds, even though I recorded it with the usual 70 microsecond EQ that's used with metal tapes.  (Don't ask me why they use a time measurement to differentiate EQ--can someone else explain that?)

The result is that I can hear those cymbals, and the overall sound is closer to that of Aja, widely considered a demonstration-worthy recording.  Maxing out the bias kept it from being too bright. I think even the bass and drums sound better, more punchy and articulate.

So, it still proves handy to have tape decks, although I suppose someone could do something similar with an equalizer unit.  I have an old equalizer, but I thought I'd try this easier approach, since the EQ isn't really hooked up to my system.