Analogue Productions UHQR Steely Dan Vinyl Review.

My answer: No. However, I have two UHQRs at this point and plan to acquire another at some point. I’ll revise my answer: Yes, but only while you’re listening to it.

You did know that ‘crazy’ is a prerequisite for choosing vinyl playback as your music source, right?

If you do the math (not recommended) you’ll see that typical record purchases cruise along at $30 each. You could use that for about three months of the Tidal streaming service. Calculating… one UHQR record could get you five other records, a nice box set of something, or more than a year’s worth of Tidal streaming. So, why the crazy?

Quality, of course, that’s why. And here we have Ultra High Quality. By and large, the quality of modern records is better than what we suffered through back in the day. More care is taken to get a good mix for vinyl and in the production of the record itself than during the mass production days of my youth. But why stop there? UHQR pressings represent an all-out attempt at defining the state of the art. We’re voting with our dollars. We want the research, the refinement. I’ve had some magical experiences listening to music on vinyl (no chemical aids required). I want more and I hope more people can have the same. It’s good for us.

With UHQR as practiced at Chad Kassem’s Quality Record Pressings, the results are several steps above most of the $30 records out there. It’s not always night and day though; there are plenty of incredible-sounding records that don’t cost $150.

Okay, what are they doing with my money when they make a UHQR at QRP?

200 gm Clarity Vinyl – no carbon black coloring added.

45 RPM

Grooves cut primarily on the outside to the middle of the record – meaning only 1-2 tracks per side.

Flat profile – regular old records are thicker in the middle as a simple artifact of the pressing process, UHQR makes the records flat from the lead-in groove to the label. Thus your needle should encounter a surface that more closely resembles the surface encountered by the master cutting lathe.

Fastidious attention to detail with by-hand processes and then starting over if a record doesn’t turn out properly. Indeed, my Gaucho was supposed to arrive in December of ‘23 but came in April of ‘24. The initial production run had some issues and so they re-did it.

Extra super-deluxe packaging including liner notes from Mr. Fagen himself.

What is not included? Cleaning! While I only experienced a slight improvement from the usual four- minute run through my Audio Desk ultrasonic cleaner, it was an improvement, and for the price of these things, it should be done before they ship.

Listening:

Gaucho: Oh my, this is why I clicked. With every instrument, there is more, more timbre, detail, and separation. Same with the voices, hearing more of the stellar performances of the five (!) background singers and more of Donald Fagen’s whining and pleading with details we didn’t know were there. While this record is spinning on my table, I think I would have been willing to spend even more. So worth it.

I put on a copy of MCA-1693, another Gaucho re-issue purchased just a couple of years ago, for comparison. Ugh! Compressed! The instrument-separation is not there and the vocals lack presence. Every now and then the drums burst through which tells me there was some struggle and compromise to get the mix right. After a very short while, I felt like getting up to do something else – usually a sign of “digit-it is.”

Count Down to Ecstasy: Doesn’t achieve the heights of Gaucho – but this was true back in the day, Gaucho was and remains one of the better recordings of all time. Still, the feeling while this is on my table remains the same – so worth it. The sound stage on My Old School is stunning with Jeff Baxter’s guitar grinding out a time portal just left of center.

So now my mental affliction is clear even to me, when I look at these two records on the shelf, the wood spine with the titles boldly displayed is not enough to overcome my regret for having shelled out $300 for two records that take the space of ten. But when I’m listening to them, I feel it was totally worth it. Then there’s my rationalization – my $300 ‘support of vinyl’ vote was also an expression of my love for Steely Dan and a way to express my angst over a lack of special editions and special pressings available previously. Are you hearing me record industry? Angst. They’re not hearing me. Anyway, I think people’s willingness to shell out big-time for UHQR sends a message that is heard: People are willing to pay for good sound. I hope that it means some Pretty High-Quality Records and/or Really High-Quality Records that come in somewhere south of Ultra’s $150, or UHQRs for slightly less. They could save some cost by having less of the Extra Super Deluxe packaging. But I want ultrasonic cleaning included – such as that provided by Perfect Vinyl Forever.

As it is, I’ve reached my planned budget for voting with my dollars but am open to buying one more UHQR someday … Avalon anybody?