[Wayner]

I'm saying that there is a bunch of stuff (equipment and process) in the chain between the master (analog or digital) and  the final product that we get to hear, that has influence, good or bad, on the outcome of the music made for consumers.

A great case in point is the Genesis Box set (1970-1975). The recordings in this 6 LP vinyl set are leaps and bounds superior to the original pressings, more detail, more space around the recording, better instrument definition.  So I can only conclude that the process from master to consumer format was greatly improved over the earlier renditions....

Wayner

[SoCalWJS]

Brothers in Arms was from around '85 and AJA was earlier.  '85 is around the time I started selling high end.  Eventually, the Dire Straits became a regular go-to demo album, LP and CD.  I never used AJA as a demo unless someone requested it.  It's not that AJA is a bad album, it's that Brothers in Arms is an awesome demo.  Most people are interested in SQ and could care less about whether it's digital or analog.  If someone objected for purist reasons, they didn't say so.  Perhaps one of the listeners who requested a different type music, was a purist. 

What does the state of the master refer to?  Is it digital vs. analog, or condition of the master recording?  I think you guys might be talking about different things.
neo

This.

I've heard good and bad Digital masters as well as Analog masters. Who did the Mastering, the care along the way, the  chain along the way, as well as the source (Master and it's condition) are all factors in how the final product sounds.

I think the issue of negativity about Digital Masters is still linked to the first few years it came out and how it sounded on most Pop/Rock recordings - let's face it, many of them were very bad. - But it got better, and it was obvious from the start that it could sound good based on some of the very earliest Classical Digital Masters.

[bummrush]

I dont if it matters  but im happy with  the box set sound of it.

[Quiet Earth]

This is kind of embarrassing, but I have the MCA 1688 pressing. It's one of those nice-price re-issues that has the $uper-$tars $uper-$avings circles printed into the album cover.  It has AA 1006 scratched in the dead wax. It's probably worthless junk to the true record collector. I'm just a record listener, not a collector, and even when I try to obtain the best copy, I feel like I am throwing darts. 

Anyway I think my copy sounds pretty good. I just listened to it today. It is a little bit thick and tubby for Steely Dan, and it's sort of dark sounding compared to the 1999 CD remaster (that's all I have to compare it to). I guess you could say it is a little dynamically polite (compressed for radio or mid fi?), but it's really not a bad sounding record. Overall, I think it sounds better than the CD remaster.

Maybe I will buy the new remastered version to see what I'm missing. I hate to own three copies of the same album but sometimes you just have to try it for yourself to really understand the differences. (Sometimes? More like all the time.  )

BTW, terry, I really enjoyed that you tube video. I don't think I caught the fingers on the snare sound  you described, (and I can't hear that on my copies of AJa either) but I do hear the basic groove on that tune.

[NIGHTFALL1970]

I received my 1st pressing of "AJA" and heard it today.  What a huge difference a pressing can make.  This album has never sounded better!  It totally destroys the Cisco version.  The vocals are "fuller", there is a lot more bass, and the dynamics and space between the instruments is so much better.

Now I am wondering if reissues in general are crap, or if it just depends on who did the mastering, and how.  This hobby can drive me nuts sometimes.

[dminches]

I received my 1st pressing of "AJA" and heard it today.  What a huge difference a pressing can make.  This album has never sounded better!  It totally destroys the Cisco version.  The vocals are "fuller", there is a lot more bass, and the dynamics and space between the instruments is so much better.

Now I am wondering if reissues in general are crap, or if it just depends on who did the mastering, and how.  This hobby can drive me nuts sometimes.

What is the catalog number of the first pressing?

[NIGHTFALL1970]

Side one: AB 1006(RE-3) -A  KA 1B Sx T  (the KA is lined out) I think it's a KA but it might be an M.
Side two: T1 AB 1006(RE-3)-B T3