Please join your host Steve Westman with guests Norman Maslov, George Borden and Patrick pbthal. They review this weeks audiophile news and give their thoughts and insights into the week that was. Please join.
20 thoughts on “Live Audiophile Roundtable: AJA, Beatles, Atlantic 75 a week in review plus thoughts and discussion!”
Whatever music one enjoys to listen to is all that matters. The world would be boring if we all agreed on everything. I enjoy the roundtable discussions. I don't always agree with the opinions, but I respect them.
Very interesting regarding EMI and Maxicut system. Being from Aust, I now discover that I have some of these Maxicut pressings. One is Wings Greatest Hits I recent bought second hand and I distinctly recall registering how punchy and great it sounded – was not expecting that to be the case.
this was the biggest rant fest i’ve seen on the show to date. it was stressful at times., geeze. hope you guys have a good weekend now that you got that off your chest 🙏
You guys weren’t bothered by MoFigate? I wasn’t upset by the fact that DSD64 was being used; it was the fact that they were clearly misleading their customers to believe that each pressing was inherently limited so they could charge “limited analogue” UHQR-equivalent prices, while in reality, their output was actually unlimited. There was definitely a lapse in ethics at MoFi.
There was a silver lining however. It exposed the mysticism and superstitiousness of the militant AAA wing of the VC. There was a LOT of horseshit about AAA vs DSD64 and the MoFi reveal exposed a lot of egg on a lot of faces and the resultant writhing was a joy-inducing reckoning to watch.
Patrick’s grumpy cynicism infected everyone else on this round table. A lot of shouting get off my lawn here. Let’s be a little less predictable as middle aged obsessives (myself included).
Steve You seriously need to apologize to Chad Kassem and Bernie Grundman for creating the false narrative of tape source questions on your platform. You are far too insensitive to realize the consequences of your actions as you reveled in breaking the internet with an unsubstantiated guest. The appropriate thing to do would be to take Wednesday’s and this youtube video down and quench this unsubstantiated rumor by not commenting on it again.
Excellent show, guys! You just forgot to mention the release of the 25th anniversary edition of ‘the masterplan’ by the 2nd biggest UK band after the Beatles, i.e. Oasis.
Guys, in 3-4 years from now, The Beatles will release all the old original mixes again with a new cover, so that Beatles fans will want the new cover and on it goes again …. $$$ 🤣
I really love Now & Then — the story behind it and its long journey to becoming a finished work is so unique and fascinating. The Beatles and John in particular were constantly experimenting with cutting edge technologies and effects, so I do think John would have been thrilled by the whole thing.
The song itself is quite touching, bittersweet and slightly melancholic which fits perfectly as “the last Beatles song,” I think. They didn’t overdo it with the orchestral touches either. Obviously it’s never going to stack up against their back catalog but it’s a nice, pleasant coda to a legendary run. And I like that they seemed to make it sound more like the music John was doing around the time he recorded the original demo, rather than trying for another Strawberry Fields Forever or something. I didn’t have any “hype” or expectations for it personally (in fact it might have been the opposite — part of my subconscious was kind of expecting it to be terrible) so that may be why I received it much better than some others.
That said, the cover is indeed hideous… it feels cold, minimalistic and bland, which is the opposite feeling of what the song was going for. They should have just used the back cover image (the clock) for the front.
Now, regarding Aja, the real question is how does it and the rest of these Steely Dan UHQRs compare to the 33 mass-market pressings Universal has been releasing alongside the UHQRs? I haven’t heard much about those… do they have the same mastering just with different cuts? Or are they both different mastering and different cuts?
It is fair to say you are all voicing your personal opinions. The level of articulation varies. Thanks.
George seems to think mainstream marketplace art should not be altered by the owner. Why be against consumer choice? An artist sells their rendition. Let each consumer then be allowed to keep or adjust it as they like.
Whatever music one enjoys to listen to is all that matters. The world would be boring if we all agreed on everything. I enjoy the roundtable discussions. I don't always agree with the opinions, but I respect them.
Patrick, i would bet that they did not use the Sweet Vinyl sugar cube to record that single
Another great show Steve and the lads. And thanks for included the bit from Slapshot. That was a hilarious hockey comedy, which I have on DVD.
The clock should have been the cover.
As ridiculous as those record prices are in Canada, the hot dog and drink combo at Costco is $1.50 in both US and Canadian stores.
Very interesting regarding EMI and Maxicut system. Being from Aust, I now discover that I have some of these Maxicut pressings. One is Wings Greatest Hits I recent bought second hand and I distinctly recall registering how punchy and great it sounded – was not expecting that to be the case.
this was the biggest rant fest i’ve seen on the show to date. it was stressful at times., geeze. hope you guys have a good weekend now that you got that off your chest 🙏
Westman stop complaining about being called out.
You guys weren’t bothered by MoFigate? I wasn’t upset by the fact that DSD64 was being used; it was the fact that they were clearly misleading their customers to believe that each pressing was inherently limited so they could charge “limited analogue” UHQR-equivalent prices, while in reality, their output was actually unlimited. There was definitely a lapse in ethics at MoFi.
There was a silver lining however. It exposed the mysticism and superstitiousness of the militant AAA wing of the VC. There was a LOT of horseshit about AAA vs DSD64 and the MoFi reveal exposed a lot of egg on a lot of faces and the resultant writhing was a joy-inducing reckoning to watch.
Patrick’s grumpy cynicism infected everyone else on this round table. A lot of shouting get off my lawn here. Let’s be a little less predictable as middle aged obsessives (myself included).
Chad makes his money on the truism, there’s a sucker born every minute.
Always enjoy the Roundtable. Many interesting points made with commitment and of bit of passion. I’m good with that.
Patrick always seems miserable
Steve You seriously need to apologize to Chad Kassem and Bernie Grundman for creating the false narrative of tape source questions on your platform. You are far too insensitive to realize the consequences of your actions as you reveled in breaking the internet with an unsubstantiated guest. The appropriate thing to do would be to take Wednesday’s and this youtube video down and quench this unsubstantiated rumor by not commenting on it again.
Excellent show, guys! You just forgot to mention the release of the 25th anniversary edition of ‘the masterplan’ by the 2nd biggest UK band after the Beatles, i.e. Oasis.
Guys, in 3-4 years from now, The Beatles will release all the old original mixes again with a new cover, so that Beatles fans will want the new cover and on it goes again …. $$$ 🤣
Briefly re: George and Hotel Calif, the only one I ever had was a German I bought in the mid 80's and it sounds phenomenal. Now take that Felipe LOL!
$300 for a Steely Dan record? You’re all such suckers.
I really love Now & Then — the story behind it and its long journey to becoming a finished work is so unique and fascinating. The Beatles and John in particular were constantly experimenting with cutting edge technologies and effects, so I do think John would have been thrilled by the whole thing.
The song itself is quite touching, bittersweet and slightly melancholic which fits perfectly as “the last Beatles song,” I think. They didn’t overdo it with the orchestral touches either. Obviously it’s never going to stack up against their back catalog but it’s a nice, pleasant coda to a legendary run. And I like that they seemed to make it sound more like the music John was doing around the time he recorded the original demo, rather than trying for another Strawberry Fields Forever or something. I didn’t have any “hype” or expectations for it personally (in fact it might have been the opposite — part of my subconscious was kind of expecting it to be terrible) so that may be why I received it much better than some others.
That said, the cover is indeed hideous… it feels cold, minimalistic and bland, which is the opposite feeling of what the song was going for. They should have just used the back cover image (the clock) for the front.
Now, regarding Aja, the real question is how does it and the rest of these Steely Dan UHQRs compare to the 33 mass-market pressings Universal has been releasing alongside the UHQRs? I haven’t heard much about those… do they have the same mastering just with different cuts? Or are they both different mastering and different cuts?
It is fair to say you are all voicing your personal opinions. The level of articulation varies. Thanks.
George seems to think mainstream marketplace art should not be altered by the owner. Why be against consumer choice? An artist sells their rendition. Let each consumer then be allowed to keep or adjust it as they like.