Does Steely Dan sound bright to you?


This is going to sound like a somewhat random question but I’m wondering how many of you find Steely Dan’s recordings to sound a bit bright. I’m particularly thinking of Gaucho, and Aja but some other recent recordings, too, such as Fagen’s Nightfly.

My typical media include streaming (CD and HD quality) and CD’s. I have not played my old vinyl because I’m presently without a turntable.

At first I thought it was my system and it was driving me a little bit mental; eventually, I decided it wasn't my stuff, it was their stuff. Because most other recordings on the same system with no other changes don’t typically have the brightness of Steely Dan.

Whether or not you’re a fan (I am) Steely Dan has often been a go-to for testing out equipment, so I imagine there will be experiences people have had about this.

P.S. Any other recordings which, for you are unnaturally bright?


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Aja in particular is pretty well acknowledged as a top notch pop recording. We used it for demos all the time when it came out. Lots of shimmering cymbals, possibly celeste and other high frequency things happening in there along with all the rest as I recall but nothing inherently "bright". I know my older ears no longer hear to 20khz like they did back then.

A lot of noise can happen at higher frequencies. If you can hear that high, it can make a lot of things sound "bright" or fatiguing when present. I can’t anymore so fewer things sound bright....certainly not Aja.

Are your components physically isolated from each other? From any other nearby transformers or such? FLiourescent lights? Dimmers? NEarby appliances/HVAC? All these things can induce noise. Or it could be present inhernetly in a component not working well. Is your streamer on a wired home network? Some say noise there can make its way into the sound. I use wireless wifi only. No brightness.

Not saying that is the case here....just tossing out possibilities.

Put a sound meter to work. Maybe that can detect something useful to know.

You had brightness issues with your low ceiling from the outset as I recall. That could also still be somewhat of a factor.

What digital connection is in play? USB? Coax? Optical? I’d try USB over the other two and coax over optical just to see if any differences there perhaps.
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