"...Charlie
Freak..."
*** A Review for the June
2018 Geffen/Universal 'UHQCD' Reissue
From Japan with MQA-Technology ***
I should have known better
before I pre-ordered this newbee - but I didn't check the fine print enough. I
should explain.
In 2014 in Japan there was a
flurry of 'flat transfer' remasters onto fancy new CD formats from original UK
and USA tapes of huge Rock and Soul classic LPs. I bought "Sticky
Fingers" by The Rolling Stones (a real favourite of mine) - a Platinum
Ultra Super Duper whatever for about £35 and I hated it.
The 'flat transfer' seems to
have been the reissue business's answer to the 'loudness' issue moaned about by
so many audiophiles – over-trebling etc - something that can be overly done if
in the wrong hands. But 'flat' is
exactly what I got when I bought that Stones issue - no oomph - no feeling of
the remaster revealing something - it was just dead, clinical and cold. The
2009 Stephen Marcussen Remaster of "Sticky Fingers" is available for
about a fiver or less and is all you need – fabulous Audio with real clarity
and punch. The same applies to the 2000-issued Steely Dan CD Remaster by
Becker, Fagen and Katz of "Pretzel Logic" – again available for about
a fiver or cheaper.
Which brings us to 2018.
Despite what some sites are saying (that you’re being offered a new 2018
master) this ludicrously expensive Japan-only Steely Dan reissue uses the 2014
Japanese 'flat transfer' Remaster and I’m afraid it's dull, dull, dull - no
matter how Hi Quality the CD may be. It also encoded with MQA-Technology
(Master Quality Authenticated) – something that few players have.
I’m playing this newly
formatted CD on a Marantz 6006 CD and PM combo through Bower & Wilkins
floor-standing speakers with award winning leads (good kit in other words). But
from the second those pings at the very beginning of "Rikki Don't Lose
That Number" swim around your right and left channels - you know you're in
trouble. It sounds clean for sure but it just doesn't sound right. The music
feels dead somehow – not warm or revelatory. It doesn't help either that apart
from a few winners on Side 1 and the title track on Side 2 – much of Side 2 of
"Pretzel Logic" is amongst the worst of their catalogue. Let's get to
details of the release itself...
Japan-Only released 20 June
2018 - "Pretzel Logic" by STEELY DAN on Geffen/Universal UICY-40199
(Barcode 4988031277430) is an ‘Ultimate Hi Quality CD’ Reissue with
MQA-technology of the 11-Track 1974 album using the Japan-Only Flat Transfer
Remaster (33:58 minutes).
MANABU MATSUMURA did the DSD flat transfer from original American Master Tapes - edited in DSD at Universal Music Studios in Tokyo in 2014. Some sites are suggesting that this is a new 2018 master but the booklet clearly states 2014.
MANABU MATSUMURA did the DSD flat transfer from original American Master Tapes - edited in DSD at Universal Music Studios in Tokyo in 2014. Some sites are suggesting that this is a new 2018 master but the booklet clearly states 2014.
Developed by Memory-Tech in
Japan as an upgrade to the HQCD format and designed to be a Hi Res alternative to
the lesser/compromised quality provided by most Audio Streaming - this new
'Ultimate High Quality CD' hard copy version or 'UHQCD' for short is a
different kind of disc and manufactured in a new way (it comes with a green
colour label coating). Using high-fluidity photopolymer beneath the
polycarbonate layer (standard CDs have only the polycarbonate layer) – the idea
is that more can be extracted from every one of the pits thus providing more
detail in the music. The DSD Master is available at 352.8kHz/24 Bit High
Resolution but apparently plays best and harnesses the full potential of the
disc if your player is MQA-enabled (Master Quality Authenticated).
The UHQCD disc is backwards
compatible so plays on all CD players – but if you play it on a standard
machine - the UHQCD gives you a 44.1kHz/16 Bit Resolution which as far as I
know is only just above what you’re getting anyway (there are lists online of
MQA-enabled CD players like the Arcam CDS50 – most start at £500 and upwards). Despite
the fact that 99% of players don’t have MQA - the blurbs all state that even on
standard equipment if you use one of these new UHQCD discs – you will hear a
noticeable audio improvement – but I personally don’t hear it.
Equally as disappointingly is the rather lacklustre presentation; the 20-page
white booklet provided for UICY-40199 offers you nothing but Japanese language
and what is provided is simply the 1999 liner notes translated with lyrics
added on (all Japanese). There is also a separate three-way fold out inlay for
the ‘Ultimate Hi Quality CD’ format but – yes you guessed it – it’s entirely in
Japanese so you can’t understand a word. In the absence of Mini LP Repro artwork
– you get a plastic cover-art wrap with built-in Obi on the outside of the
standard jewel case (see photos) but again there’s no info in English so it
doesn’t amount to much (the inner gatefold is blank).
Despite all that techno
mumbo-jumbo above – I’m left feeling nothing. And I’m amazed that the
audiophile boffins behind this would launch a new format with ONLY Japanese
language inserts – what about the rest of the English speaking world! And I’d
upgrade that silly plastic outer wrap too...Platinum SHM-CD Box Sets look a
hundred times swankier and aesthetically pleasing.
In fairness perhaps I need
to hear a UHQCD on a player that is MQA-enabled and on an album that isn't a
flat transfer. But for the moment this seems like yet another advertised
expensive upgrade that isn’t one.
In the end it can only be
your own ears that judge – so I would say try to hear this new format first
before you buy and thereby avoid wasting a lot of money like I did...
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