Steely Dan UHQR


There is a great interview with audio engineer Bernie Grundman on the new UHQR album "Aja". At $150 it better be amazing. He talks about how they had to modify the sound of albums in the past so they would play on crappy turntables and how this album, at 45rpm, is designed for the best turntables and cartridges. He also speaks about how the "Dan" gang wanted to use their own speakers to listen to the master and not Bernie's. (Wish he had called out the speakers) But let me ask you this, can a sound engineer with 80 year old ears (born 16 December 1943), have the hearing to engineering a UHQR album to audiophile standards......I know my hearing is shot due to what I did in my 20's with Rock n Roll sound levels....At 70, no way could my ears be trusted for such a task.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGLFTm6jMrY

rbertalotto

Aja was done as a Japanese SHM-SACD back in 2010. Chad does shootouts in his office to make sure the UHQR beats the original.  He thinks they nailed it on this one.  Not sure if he takes the same care with the SACD.

I just listened to "Aja" two days ago and it was absolutely miles ahead of all previous versions I've experienced.  On top of that I had recently purchased the Dan's 3 previously released UHQR LP's and they are equally amazing.  I could not recommend them more strongly.  Obviously, $150 is a significant expenditure for an album most of us already own, in many cases, in multiple formats.  That being said, these were supremely satisfying listening experiences and well worth the cost.

If you have a truly high-end system, you CAN buy a thrill!

"Paying $150 for pop music record released in tens of millions copies is definitely gullible."

First post here! My first post on an audio forum, years ago, was instantly met with 3 not-so-welcoming critiques re: the info. And it was in a popular "woodworking" thread (gear is gear, guys are guys, right?). And it was taken directly from the manufacturer’s product-info guide! (And I was a cabinetmaker; I thought I was being helpful, lol!) That took almost 7 years to "rectify." So, no info, just a question; To czarivey’s point:

Has any of you ever thought of how much money you have forked over for the same title since its release?!

I’ll pick just one. It’s old. I’ve read a lot of your posts. So are many of you. So am I.:-) I pre-ordered (as in pre-release) "Rubber Soul" (go ahead, do the math!) on vinyl, natch. 8-track, cassette, another vinyl, fist available on cd, Brit cd RM, and a mono/stereo cd RM (when the N.A. versions were released) all followed. There are, for me, hundreds of titles (OK, more) that I have bought at least 3 times---at least.

Worse---a lot of this was BEFORE I discovered "shopping" in Japan! Ouchie!

Unlike The Beatles, a big % of those other artists are ones I paid to see as well, many, more than once, for a few, ?? shows over decades. Todd can have a compound for all of his baby mammas on Maui, in part, bcs of me and a few of my friends!

I’m a bit concerned that I may have come to the wrong place. I just ordered a new cd player, you know, for some of the Japanese stuff, of course! Is there an "Audioholics website?

Yet Another Bob ("Another Bob" was already taken?! Ha! Isn’t that great---and telling!)