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Steely Dan's "Aja." MoFi vs UHQR.

SmileyFaceEQ said:
Did you compare it to the CD? I restore turntables everyday and recently fell in love with cds again.
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I have the MoFi Gold CD and Japanese SHMCD. They are definitely brighter. Deeper bass. For lack of proper adjectives, I'd say more digital sounding than analog.

For some odd reason, ppl gave audiophile CDs as gifts, more than LPs.

:)
 
You'll get used to flipping every 10 minutes. We bought the first 5 UHQR's when they sold for $100. MiFi chased us away when the prices were raised and the number of pressings increased.
 
Mr Boochie said:
I do have the original AA-1006 Santa Maria pressing. Not AB-1006.
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Pretty sure that the AA-1006 came after the AB-1006, as unlikely as that may seem. But only by a few months.....in any case, most of what I've read tends to favor the AB in terms of sound quality. I have the AA-1006 as well and to my ears, it kind of pales in comparison actually.

Mr Boochie said:
Great story about your friend!
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Thanks! Yeah, nice when you know someone for such a long time.....kinda speak the same language, if you know what I mean?
 
MX117.MC7150 said:
As good as they may be, I can't bring myself to pay the $130+ for a UHQR pressing of anything.

As an aside, the TAS just 'inducted' (?) Bernie Grundman into their 'Hall of Fame'. I find his original works about good as anything on vinyl.
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Yikes! I know generally, even the original pressing from some good years back could cost some bigger money compared to its likely bought new $4.99 Rose Record's price. If MusicDirect ever sold the original release, which I'm sure they did once, it wasn't $4.99/tax.

I caught mine like I robbed it, and ran! $3.00 at a large New Mexican Antique Shop that carried a decent collection of about 6000 LPs, and 45's. Yeah, some of their records hanging on a wall were more pricey, $30 give or take, typically Beatle LPs.

This one I caught, the Jacket was quite clean, VG+ and the record appeared mint, in original sleeve.
Of course it got a dog bath on my VPI 16.5 prior to play.

The intro to Josie, what can I say. Running the ZYX Airy 3X through the grooves, and coming from near CD silence from a clean flat disc, it's is a wonderful moment! Great release! Enjoy!
 
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Fishead said:
Pretty sure that the AA-1006 came after the AB-1006, as unlikely as that may seem. But only by a few months.....in any case, most of what I've read tends to favor the AB in terms of sound quality. I have the AA-1006 as well and to my ears, it kind of pales in comparison actually.



Thanks! Yeah, nice when you know someone for such a long time.....kinda speak the same language, if you know what I mean?
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Yes, AA came after AB. Someone doesn't know their alphabet. :)
 
The original Santa Maria pressing of "Royal Scam" and "Can't Buy A Thrill," are quite good. I don't think there's been any audiophile remasters of those nice LPs. :idea:

Kid Charlemagne.
Off Steely Dan's "The Royal Scam." ABC Records. ABCD 931. Santa Maria pressing. 1976.
Run-out: ABCD-931-A-1A AZ [Flowers] S

Steely Dan - Royal Scam1 (cover) SMALL.jpg

Steely Dan - Royal Scam1 (label) SMALL.jpg
 
Mr Boochie said:
They sound pretty similar to me, too. Maybe, highs a bit clearer on the UHQR. But, that LP is 45 RPMs, which tends to have some advantages over 33RPM --- everything else being equal. :)
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They sound completely different to me. You can really hear how much the treble is boosted on the Mofi. The UHQR sounds much more like the original pressing. The treble is dialed back, and the vocals are less sibilant.

jeff
 
vinylkid58 said:
They sound completely different to me. You can really hear how much the treble is boosted on the Mofi. The UHQR sounds much more like the original pressing. The treble is dialed back, and the vocals are less sibilant.

jeff
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It does sound more different, the more times I listen to it. For better or worse.

I'm thinking that the Japanese pressings seem the best. Relaxed, smooth, maybe less EQ inserted. Those and the original Santa Maria pressings.

Dirty Work.
Off Steely Dan's "Can't Buy A Thrill." ABC Records. ABCX 758. Santa Maria pressing. First variant. Yellow label. 1972.
Run-out: ABCX-758-A 1B Sx

Steely Dan - Cant Buy A Thrill (cover1) SMALL.jpg


Steely Dan - Cant Buy A Thrill (label1) SMALL.jpg
 
Mr Boochie said:
Yes, AA came after AB. Someone doesn't know their alphabet. :)
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would agree. Don't forget back when this title was released, the demand became so high that quite a few pressing plants were running it in the US, EU and Japan.
In the US most of the AB and AA lacquer pressings were done by one of the 3 Columbia record plants (Terre Haute, Pitman, Santa Maria). For the US pressing the copy to get would be the AB lacquer from the RCA-Indy plant, pressed for the RCA record club members. In Japan both Victor Music and Nippon Phonogram pressed this title. Both are very quiet but the Nippon Phonogram pressing is much more dynamic than the Victor Music pressing. With the latest two 45 RPM releases, I would give the nod to the UHQR over the MOFI. The MOFI sounds 2 generations further away from the tape than does the UHQR.

The other thing to mention is on the US pressings a person has not really heard them until they are either US cleaned or deep cleaned to remove all the crude from the grooves.
 
mcgjohn said:
In Japan both Victor Music and Nippon Phonogram pressed this title. Both are very quiet but the Nippon Phonogram pressing is much more dynamic than the Victor Music pressing. With the latest two 45 RPM releases, I would give the nod to the UHQR over the MOFI. The MOFI sounds 2 generations further away from the tape than does the UHQR.
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I do have the NIppon Phonogram (Japan) pressing of "Countdown." Maybe, upload a tune later. :idea:
 
Hahaha, just what I was thinking @Mr Boochie ! I'm very fortunate in this regard as I was moved to jump into the US cleaning camp after getting past the intimidation and just going forward taking one step at a time.....and now all of my records have gotten "the treatment" so I'm listening to them, I believe, in about as good a condition as is possible. But you are so right, @mcgjohn, the difference after US cleaning is nothing short of stunning! I'm veering off center a bit here so I'll let it go at that......thanks for all the informative comments!
 
Fishead said:
Hahaha, just what I was thinking @Mr Boochie ! I'm very fortunate in this regard as I was moved to jump into the US cleaning camp after getting past the intimidation and just going forward taking one step at a time.....and now all of my records have gotten "the treatment" so I'm listening to them, I believe, in about as good a condition as is possible. But you are so right, @mcgjohn, the difference after US cleaning is nothing short of stunning! I'm veering off center a bit here so I'll let it go at that......thanks for all the informative comments!
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In my experience, the ultrasonic cleaner is one of the best improvements to vinyl playback (especially original LPs). Over cartridges, turntables, and phono pre-amps.

:thumbsup:
 
The Nippon-Columbia LP and another old MoFi. Quick setup, to get this uploaded before Red Zone starts. :thumbsup: ;)

Direct recording from phono-preamp. Too many cars driving around, for mic'ing the speakers. [XMAS shoppers, I guess :)].

Uploaded in 720p to save time.

Bodhisattva.
Off Steely Dan - "Countdown To Ecstasy." ABC Records. YQ-8024-AB. Nippon Columbia pressing (Japan). 1976.
Run-out: AB - 358 - 153 - 1 Ⓑ A2 〄

Steely Dan - Countdown To Ecstasy (cover) SMALL.jpg

Steely Dan - Countdown To Ecstasy (label) SMALL.jpg



Doctor Wu.
Off "Katy Lied." Mobile Fidelity. MFSL 1-007. Stan Ricker mastered. First variant. 1978.
Run-out: L MFSL1-007 A SR/2 151※※※E m 1S

Steely Dan - Katy Lied (MoFi) cover SMALL.jpg

Steely Dan - Katy Lied (MoFi) label.jpg
 
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Mr Boochie said:
The Nippon-Columbia LP and another old MoFi. Quick setup, to get this uploaded before Red Zone starts. :thumbsup: ;)

Direct recording from phono-preamp. Too many cars driving around, for mic'ing the speakers. [XMAS shoppers, I guess :)].

Uploaded in 720p to save time.

Bodhisattva.
Off Steely Dan - "Countdown To Ecstasy." ABC Records. YQ-8024-AB. Nippon Columbia pressing (Japan). 1976.
Run-out: AB - 358 - 153 - 1 Ⓑ A2 〄

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Doctor Wu.
Off "Katy Lied." Mobile Fidelity. MFSL 1-007. Stan Ricker mastered. First variant. 1978.
Run-out: L MFSL1-007 A SR/2 151※※※E m 1S

View attachment 3046131

View attachment 3046132
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Very bassey on my system, for some reason ,on all the "Dan " you just played ??
 
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