QRP pressing of "Tea for the Tillerman"


Got this first thing this morning and have a couple of spins through on it. This is simply INCREDIBLE! If this is what we have to look forward to from Chad and QRP, it's going to be a fantastic ride!

Probably the cleanest, quietest and most dynamic record I have heard. Hugh soundstage. I have several different copies of this LP and there are things I have never heard on this pressing.

Even if you don't like Cat Stevens, buy this to hear how records can and should be done...
128x128mofimadness
I received my "Tea" yesterday via FedEx.
A perfect record.
photos of it at the link:
http://www.theanalogdept.com/qrp.htm

Like every other post I've read, my copy is super quiet. Every note, clean, pristine. As Mike notes, "vivid".

This might be a perfect record. I'm not sure I've seen/heard a perfect record before. there's always some little thing wrong. Off center label, mild warp, a little bit of crackle in one spot,....something. But not this one. A perfect re-master. A perfect pressing.

Well I don't know, maybe if I keep looking, I'll find something that isn't quite perfect. I just haven't found it yet. ;-)

-Steve
Is it better than the original?
In which areas?
Or is it simply as dead as Folk Singer at MFSL?
It's not dead.
Usually, I'd prefer to just enjoy the music. But with this one I want to make comparisons just to define the differences between this re-master and my original tan label A&M copy from 1970.

The QRP has superb articulation and definition of all detail. The A&M is good that way too, but not with the same silky black background....or quite the same sharpness of articulation. If 'sharp' is the right word.

So far I have listened to this on a TD124, twice. The TD124 normally produces a natural, organic presentation of its music. I haven't determined if the rig isn't sounding slightly analytical on this record or not. I'll have to make an a/b comparison to decide that much. Even if so, it is a very enjoyable listen. Tons and tons of ambience.

Both the A&M and QRP have great amounts of dynamic swing. Perhaps the A&M has a slightly more authoritative low frequency. It's almost like the difference between UK and US records during the 60's.

I'll probably listen again this weekend and try to determine more. At least that will put my mind to rest on the issue.

One more thing.
I weighed the record on a postal scale that I use for shipping. The bare record weighs 6.5 ounces. That converts to 184.2 grams. The record is advertised at Acoustic Sounds as being 200 grams. My copy is less than that. For whatever that's worth.

-Steve
I am surprised at the level of excitement for this release of "Tea for the Tillerman". I was a fan of it in my teens, but heard it again a few years ago, and unlike many other old favorites, it sounded very dated. I was embarassed to think that I had once really liked it.
..surprised at the level of excitement for this release..

Promotion, promotion and a new toy...
I agree, Tea for Tillerman always was a good sounding album, the mastering was done right and it was sold in endless numbers. So you can find a decent one for a few bucks... I would understand this "hype" when it would be an album like a RCA Living Stereo which is impossible to get below 500 USD (CR made that and got all the hate of the professional record dealers), but Cat Stevens?
Probably we discover in that Hype the audiophile hope for something better, a no noise pressing, without the usual defects even in the remastering process...