New remastering of Steely Dan's Katy Lied review by Fremer


I don't have a turntable, but in this case, the remastered material is streamable. I did a bit of listening last night and it sounds a bit better, but it’s still far short of Aja, so there’s a let-down effect. “It sounds better” is not the sonic experience of “Wow, this is amazing.” 

Still, better is better, and I'll settle for better.

FREMER REVIEW IS HERE: https://trackingangle.com/music/steely-dan-katy-lied-uhqr-review

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In theory you are right that this quieter less compressed version should always sound better. But often I find anyway that it does not. Streaming services give you the opportunity to quickly start one version and then another. Even volume adjusting, I often find that the louder 44.1 version sounds better in terms of overall SQ. And it’s not the amp, when I am going from nine o’clock to say 10 o’clock on the volume dial. Both are well within the “”sweet spot” for the amp. 

In theory you are right that this quieter less compressed version should always sound better. 

I didn't say better.

Ok yes. Sorry the assumption. I started a thread on this topic as it really interests me. Why some hi res remasters are great and others aren’t. I am sure a lot of variables other than compression or lack thereof go into it. I just think one should always expect a better sounding hi res remaster. Even if it’s lower volume. 

Cool. Some remasters are higher res but poorly done. Everything comes down to the motivations and the people doing it.