You still didn’t answer my question. Is it the Greg Moore masterpiece cut still or has it been recut?
You are right. My go-to has always been my ABC 5225 purchased many years ago. A-2, B1 in the deadwax. I have had others over the years, but I generally try to keep only one “best” copy of any album, so I’m afraid I can’t now say what they all were, but nothing Japanese and not the oft mentioned “Cisco”. My cd’s are all in boxes at present, but I also have a remastered cd as well as the Citizen Dan boxset, which I like. I can also say I did not like the the Greatest Hits collection on vinyl, which seems to get much love on this forum. I thought it was nothing special. Certainly from memory the Aja tracks included on it do not stand up to the current Back To Black Aja release
So I don't have the Back To Black pressing. I can't comment on that. But the gold standard, to my ears, is that AB-1006. It has a wide open midband and is explosive. As I have said, the Cisco I have sounds dark and a bit muffled in comparison.
Is your copy of Greatest Hits the beloved Ludwig pressing with 'RL' in the deadwax? Every version I have with his initials is pretty stunning and comparable to the best pressings of their albums.
I had one of those. Not as good sounding as the AB 1006 copy I have of Aja. Plus I prefer listening to the original albums for the music.
The RL x 4 Greatest Hits is quite good. The AZ cut of Pretzel Logic is another winner while we're at it.
I compared my AZ to a Canadian GT I think it was, very similar in quality. Just small differences for different preferences like I think the Cad had better focus on the piano while the US improved other aspects. So it was a toss up for what songs you like more. I could be happy with either but stuck with the US only for the authenticity of it being the country of origin.
AZ cut? Is that on a particular label? I have an original black ABC of Pretzel Logic. Aside from vinyl being a bit noisy, it's pretty good.
I am a huge fan of Aja, as well as a professional musician, producer and audio engineer, so this album is a benchmark for audio perfection so I have collected every version I could find. As far as vinyl LP’s go, I have at over a dozen- Cisco, MFSL, Japanese VIM, Japanese ABC, Nippon Columbia, Canadian AB, Germany AB , Simply Vinyl, Back To Black, USA AA, USA AA with the scratched-out “B”, and I also have 4 different USA AB-1006- one pressed at Terre Haute, one at Keel, a Pitman and a Santa Maria AB-1006. I have the MCA Steve Hoffman mastered CD, the VDP CD, the MFSL Gold Disc, various MCA CDs, a 2010 SACD and a 2014 SACD. I have spent years and hundreds of hours comparing versions and critically listening to them all and without a doubt, the best sounding version is by far the Santa Maria AB1006 pressing.
I have the Hoffman MCA and I think it sounds fantastic, although admittedly it’s the only copy I’ve heard. I’ll definitely have to check out the AB1006.
The Hoffman master sounds great! I will say, I prefer “Deacon Blues” from the Hoffman master even more than the AB-1006. But the rest of the AB-1006 is just perfection.
Agree. I have maybe a dozen different vinyl copies (mostly the AB-1006 from different pressing plants, the MOFI, an AA cut, etc. Still need to find a copy of the Cisco...) Anyway, in my neck of the woods west coast pressings are rare. Mostly you see Terre Haute etc. They sound amazing. But I finally found the Santa Maria AB-1006 in the bins and it blew me away. Harmonic complexity and dynamics in the title track instrumentals are incredible. in my office system through Line Magnetic tube amp and LS50s the sound was out of this world. Only problem is a scratch on my copy, so still need to upgrade to a cleaner one. But yeah, really great cut.
There are also hybrids out there using S2 and T plates on either side. I have one two copies like this but see them pretty often. I assume those ones were actually pressed at Terre Haute, but have not been able to confirm.
I had just one personal NM copy of Aja until just recently. I’ve sold several AB 1006’s and transitions with the B scratched and even AA1006s. Never sat down to try to hear the difference. So I found a NM AA 1006 and did a blind test between the AB and the AA. I figured it would be obvious given how much has been written in this forum about the AB1006 being the first press and so much better. Well, I picked the AA1006. I guess it’s a blessing....and a curse.
Agree. I had to listen really hard to tell the difference. Has been a while, but if I recall for me it came down to the sound of the kick drum, which was slightly muffled on the AA. Very close though. Now the MOFI on the other hand, totally different story. Very obvious bright EQ.
I've got both too. I think the AA1006 sounds more compressed. I heard there were different batches of the AA1006 though and some were better than others. For sh*ts and giggles, I was thinking about getting the Back to Black re-issue. Is it any good? Not going to drop $150 for a Cisco.
I concur. As much as I love my several copies of the AB (Santa Maria included) there are a few pressings of the AA which are just as good and as muscular. Dunno how it happened, but an AA Unicorn does exist.
My reading of this entire thread doesn’t lead me to the conclusion that AB-1006 pressings or even scratched out AB-1006s obviously are superior to AA- 1006. There is a lot of subjective anecdotal information. At least, I don’t think there is enough of a difference to justify the label of “forum favorite” or a price premium. In this case, I haven’t seen irrefutable evidence of the obvious superiority of the original AB-1006 release. I will keep buying and selling all versions at the same price point irregardless of the deadwax. There are so many variables involved that it is important to spell out the entire runout matrix information on each example. And even then, there is limited factual details.
