Steely Dan Aja as reference for testing speakers

So is Steely Dan a guy or what? :)

Long time lurker, first post. Aja is an excellent reference record, excellent production and musicianship and familiar enough that when your system reveals something you haven't heard before, its one of those things that make owning good quality equipment worthwhile :)

The remastered version of "Hotel California" is also one of my go to reference songs/albums for the same reasons, excellent musicianship, familiarity, and production.

If you really want to reveal any weaknesses (or strengths) in your system, taking a tip from audio writer Steve Guttenberg (not the Police Academy guy) I will put on "The Folk Singer" by Muddy Waters. Not his most popular album, recorded in the early 60's when Muddy was at the peak of his powers and finally able to record in a decent studio, this is an excellent choice for giving your system a workout. Buddy Guy as second guitar, Willie Dixon on string bass.....still sounds fresh and "live" today.
 
So is Steely Dan a guy or what? :)

Long time lurker, first post. Aja is an excellent reference record, excellent production and musicianship and familiar enough that when your system reveals something you haven't heard before, its one of those things that make owning good quality equipment worthwhile :)

The remastered version of "Hotel California" is also one of my go to reference songs/albums for the same reasons, excellent musicianship, familiarity, and production.

If you really want to reveal any weaknesses (or strengths) in your system, taking a tip from audio writer Steve Guttenberg (not the Police Academy guy) I will put on "The Folk Singer" by Muddy Waters. Not his most popular album, recorded in the early 60's when Muddy was at the peak of his powers and finally able to record in a decent studio, this is an excellent choice for giving your system a workout. Buddy Guy as second guitar, Willie Dixon on string bass.....still sounds fresh and "live" today.
Steely Dan and Lynyrd Skynyrd are cousins. I think Dan is also the uncle to Sawyer Brown. Welcome to AK.

I must confess, as @SuperLead100 and someone else did, I never owned Aja until this past fall. I honestly bought it because of seeing that name pop up on AK all the time. I have a later, MCA, pressing but I have to say....WOW. I listened to it last night on my 'new' system.....wow. I plan on picking up DSOTM as soon as funds allow. I've had that on cd for years but can't wait to hear the album.

As long as I'm confessing........I never owned Hotel California until last year either. I had 5 copies of Dressed To Kill though. :D
 
I highly recommend that you do--Breakfast In America is what I would consider "commercially engineered", where Crime Of The Century is more "artistically engineered"--if that makes any sense. I find this true for many artists--some albums are engineered to listen to, and others are engineered for radio airplay, and I (maybe I'm nuts) can hear the difference.
You're not nuts...I can hear differences all the time and I sometimes wish I couldn't. I love Journey "Infinity" for the music but I think it is one of the worst engineered recordings ever and that frustrates me to no end. I completely agree with your premise.
 
You're not nuts...I can hear differences all the time and I sometimes wish I couldn't. I love Journey "Infinity" for the music but I think it is one of the worst engineered recordings ever and that frustrates me to no end. I completely agree with your premise.

This brings up a point of frustration for me! As my turntable system has improved over the years and reached the point now that it is so revealing that I find it difficult to listen to some of the old albums that I have that I love the music on but that are so poorly recorded that I just cannot listen to them. My intention is to pick up a second turntable using a less revealing mm cartridge which will not be so critical that I can listen to some of these albums and not be irk'ed to death by the sound issues. My system is it sits now Reveals All the beauty of the music of properly recorded music albums however it also shows all the ugly that exists in poor recordings this is the only way I know of satisfying both needs anybody else have this issue and how are you dealing with it.
 
So is Steely Dan a guy or what? :)

Long time lurker, first post. Aja is an excellent reference record, excellent production and musicianship and familiar enough that when your system reveals something you haven't heard before, its one of those things that make owning good quality equipment worthwhile :)

The remastered version of "Hotel California" is also one of my go to reference songs/albums for the same reasons, excellent musicianship, familiarity, and production.

If you really want to reveal any weaknesses (or strengths) in your system, taking a tip from audio writer Steve Guttenberg (not the Police Academy guy) I will put on "The Folk Singer" by Muddy Waters. Not his most popular album, recorded in the early 60's when Muddy was at the peak of his powers and finally able to record in a decent studio, this is an excellent choice for giving your system a workout. Buddy Guy as second guitar, Willie Dixon on string bass.....still sounds fresh and "live" today.
"Steely Dan" is the name of a sex toy.
Fagen and Becker purloined the name.
 
I have this CD (Wish I had the LP). I have not yet tried it on my current JBL setup (L19 and 4311B). Hey, maybe it was mixed on JBLs? I suspect someone here knows.
 
These Steely Dan and Dire Straights type of recordings are not my favorite listen. They are well done and pleasant enough but not live sounding at all. Everything is too isolated and controlled sounding, bordering on sterilized. Put on a nice early RCA, sounds like a room with people playing together in it.
 
These Steely Dan and Dire Straights type of recordings are not my favorite listen. They are well done and pleasant enough but not live sounding at all. Everything is too isolated and controlled sounding, bordering on sterilized.

I used to think that too, and then I heard Aja live. And Telegraph Road ... don't get me started!
 
These Steely Dan and Dire Straights type of recordings are not my favorite listen. They are well done and pleasant enough but not live sounding at all. Everything is too isolated and controlled sounding, bordering on sterilized. Put on a nice early RCA, sounds like a room with people playing together in it.

I don't disagree with you but, the way recordings were done changed over the years. Live in the studio vs. spliced together. Good and bad versions exist of both. Personally, I'll take the live sound every time.

-Dave
 
These Steely Dan and Dire Straights type of recordings are not my favorite listen. They are well done and pleasant enough but not live sounding at all. Everything is too isolated and controlled sounding, bordering on sterilized. Put on a nice early RCA, sounds like a room with people playing together in it.
It was actually a RCA recording that I first heard my new (to me) system. It sounded like Charlie Pride and the band were right there in the room with me. At that moment I knew that those speakers were going to be mine. I ended up buying the receiver too.
 
Actually, Aja and Nightfly were both first digital recorded LP's. They were terrible recordings and the engineers had to deal with the issues.

Interesting. . . Aja was recorded in 1977. I wonder what happened to the analog masters, and why the record company chose to use a digital master for an LP.

-Dave
 
Reading this thread makes me ask how good a system you have to have to distinguish this "compressed" business. Not sure what I've been listening to all these years...compressed or not? Think I'd need to hear a simultaneous demo to understand it.
 
Also good for demo are Dire Straits Brothers in Arms (Anniversary DVD-Audio) and the SACD copies of Loggins and Messina. Listen to/try to resove all of the layers in Listen to a Country Song on Sittin In or Angry Eyes on Loggins and Messina.



But if you really want to hear.., and try to resolve all the layers of tracks in your head, it's hard to beat Emerson, Lake, & Palmers Abaddon's Bolero on Trilogy (DVD-Audio).

 
I never heard a Rock and Roll recording that sounds better than “Travellin’ Man” by Ricky Nelson. Some as good, such as 96 Tears and Nobody but Me, but nothing better.
 
Back
Top Bottom