In the video Fremer makes some comments about the SQ of the newer vs older ones, but Time out was not one of them. I happen to have a six eye stereo Columbia pressing of Time Out as well as the Analogue Productions 45 RPM version. The six eye has a CL2 at the end of the matrix number. I am not that well versed in Columbia pressing lingo to know how early of a pressing this is, but it is an original six eye.
IMO the 45 version is significantly different in a number of ways. The bass line is much clearer. I would think that this might have something to do with LPs of that era being mastered with reduced bass because the arms and TTs of the day could not track them otherwise. Just a guess, I could be wrong. There is a much clearer sense of air and space on the 45. The 45 had a slight edge in detail, but not by a wide margin.
I specifically have not said that one pressing is "better" than the other. I can describe the differences, but it is up to each of us to decide which is better based on our own taste. I could understand arguments in either direction. I can see some people saying that the 45 is better from an audiophile perspective. But I can also hear others saying that the extra detail and air of the 45 is just the result of the record being overall too bright and that the level of detail it presents is much ore than one would be able to hear from the seats at an live performance and the level of detail and room acoustic in the original is more "real".
One thing that I can say for certain is that the pressings that Chad makes at his QRP plant will provide you with a freedom from surface noise that will be very hard to match in a vintage LP, even if you could find (or afford
) a sealed copy.
Steve, I know you are an accuracy guy but unfortunately we have no way of knowing which one is closer to the what it actually sounded like in the studio as the recording was made or which one is truer to the sound of the master tape. We can only go by which one each of us personally likes better and that is the one that is right for us.
And of course even beyond that I would say that most of us have a copy of this album in one form or the other which leads to the further question of even if we do think the sonic differences of the 45 make it "better" is that better SQ worth the $60 it will cost to own a copy of the 45. Another personal choice that must be made by each of us for which there is no definitive right or wrong answer. Decisions, decisions, decisions...........
All that said on either pressing it is still a great recording and the music is nothing short of legendary. And either one will provide a level of SQ that is more than enough to appreciate and enjoy this album.