Jethro Tull Aqualung, quick listening samples

[deepak]

Just curious which version do you prefer. I've put in the download two versions of the title track 'Aqualung' by Jethro Tull, both files in lossless format. Please vote for which one you think sounds better after you've heard them. I'll reveal which version is which after enough people have listened

Here is the download:

Send big files the easy way. Files too large for email attachments? No problem!

[ojnihs]

i'm going with number 2 as well, much better

[deepak]

once a few more people have voted, i'll put up my audacity results

Cheater

i'm going with number 2 as well, much better

How do you like the Stax SR-001?

[ojnihs]

How do you like the Stax SR-001?

i like them quite a bit. clean and clear sound. bass is a bit light, but good enough for me as i don't care too much for pounding bass. problem is i'm burning through batteries just using this thing. can i use any ac adapter or do i need to buy a special one? anyone?

[deepak]

i went to audacity after i gave them a listen.

Post up your Audacity. I'm positive mine isn't generating the waveform properly. When I try and playback the waveform all I get is distortion.

[deepak]

i like them quite a bit. clean and clear sound. bass is a bit light, but good enough for me as i don't care too much for pounding bass. problem is i'm burning through batteries just using this thing. can i use any ac adapter or do i need to buy a special one? anyone?

Don't they come with an AC adapter?

[ojnihs]

Don't they come with an AC adapter?

do they? i got mine used from a friend. bastard!

[deepak]

do they? i got mine used from a friend. bastard!

Yeah they are sold with a region specific voltage adapter. I was going to buy one a while ago, but I hate the feeling of something in my ears.

[Dusty Chalk]

Can you do something a little less good next time? I've got "Aqualung" stuck in my head now.

Aqualung, my friend,

Don't you start away uneasy,

You poor old sod, you see it's only me...

[Dusty Chalk]

Yeah they are sold with a region specific voltage adapter. I was going to buy one a while ago, but I hate the feeling of something in my ears.

But why are you sticking a region specific voltage adapter in your ears?

[ojnihs]

if you look around the room and can't tell who the sucker is, it's probably you

[deepak]

Yeah Audacity is screwing up the waveform for sure.

[deepak]

sample 1:

you don't seem to have the pregaps in your DCC rip.

You are correct. I just ripped this with the default EAC settings on a fresh install.

[deepak]

i'm not getting distortion, plays back just fine. definitely nasty looking, though.

Audacity is screwing it up. Look at the file length in your first screenshot.

This is what the WAVE file looks like: (properly rendered)

Sample 1 doesn't sound anything like yours or my Audacity FLAC images.

[deepak]

weird. it plays back just fine for me, really.

that looks a lot better, but it sounds dynamically challenged compared to sample 2. big difference to my ears.

I was getting distortion because I had foobar paused. It's working now

Anyway there wasn't any compression used in the first file. Analog or digital.

[deepak]

Anyway I agree the DCC sounds better. I was hoping more people would be able to give an unbiased opinion. No big deal

[deepak]

unbiased? i didn't look at audacity until after i listened, and audacity fucked it up! i mainly looked just because i was absolutely sure that 2 was the DCC, after listening.

I didn't mean you posted a biased result. I mean people can just look at our screengrabs at see which is the DCC.

The first sample is a Chrysalis VK41044 USA first pressing that a lot of people prefer to the DCC. It's definitely a hell of a lot cheaper for people that don't want to pay for the DCC.

[deepak]

And I paid $90

[Dusty Chalk]

I paid retail (I.E. somewhere between the two).

[Dusty Chalk]

Yeah, but the problem is, there's this thing called something like the Intarwebz, and a lot more people know the value of something, so they get snagged up for flipping purposes pretty quickly, any more.

[deepak]

well, in my experience, the used places just don't know what they are (i've never seen them with the sleeve, so that might have something to do with it). i've never seen MFSLs go for cheap, though.

I've got lucky a couple of times. But more and more these places know that gold disc = money.

But this disc sells for $150+ consistently so I don't feel bad.

[aardvark baguette]

I should listen to this tonight.

I was looking for the DCC a while back (maybe a year ago?) on ebay. New, sealed copies were + $400

I've got a digital version now, though

I should post a comparison of the DCC and a vinyl transfer I had done. Remind me to do so if I dont post it tonight.

**edit: Provided I have it on the hard drives it is on currently at my house.

[Augsburger]

Well this may a bit late but I will post my impressions from earlier today anyway. I did not read the posts in this thread until after I listened to both tracks a couple of times. For me, both tracks seemed a little compressed, number one more so. Track number two seemed to have a wider soundstage with a bit more depth. I detected a faint reverb on track two, perhaps some added distortion or transient artifacts, I am not sure. They were very close but I give the edge to track number two. FWIW, I used my office tripath chip amp and a modest 1453 chip NOS dac.