Does Steely Dan sound bright to you?

Streaming my cd res rip of Aja CD mcad-37214 copyrighted 1977, 1984, An early CD release. Not bright. Not far off from what I recall on original vinyl which I think I still have.

Also streamed and compared with Aja off Spotify which is lower res.  Exact release not identified. Also not bright in fact slightly washed out in comparison.  

Don’t know specifics of how Aja on Amazon might be mastered but in general I find streaming services often lean towards more recent remastered releases of older recordings and they tend to be mixed much louder and much differently than the originals. That’s true of most remasters in the last 20!years or so. If so with Aja I could easily see why the streamed version might seem brighter or more fatiguing than the original in some cases be it vinyl or earlier CD masterings that are compared. That is one original recording that was so good to start with there is no good reason for a producer to kick around with it extensively except maybe to make it louder overall unlike many older lesser pop/rock recordings which often have a lot to gain with a well done digital remastering even if louder overall  like many old prog rock classics remastered by guys like Steven Wilson.

THe original Aja on vinyl was an awesome recording.   It's possible other versions digital or otherwise don't measure up.    But I will say I have a CD copy of both Aja and gaucho and neither are bright.   WOuld I prefer the original vinyl?   Maybe, maybe not.    Would have to compare and decide.    

Maybe time to head to a local dealer for a reference check.....how do same recordings sound there versus at home?

Aja in particular is pretty well acknowledged as a top notch pop recording. We used it for demos all the time when it came out. Lots of shimmering cymbals, possibly celeste and other high frequency things happening in there along with all the rest as I recall but nothing inherently "bright". I know my older ears no longer hear to 20khz like they did back then.

A lot of noise can happen at higher frequencies. If you can hear that high, it can make a lot of things sound "bright" or fatiguing when present. I can’t anymore so fewer things sound bright....certainly not Aja.

Are your components physically isolated from each other? From any other nearby transformers or such? FLiourescent lights? Dimmers? NEarby appliances/HVAC? All these things can induce noise. Or it could be present inhernetly in a component not working well. Is your streamer on a wired home network? Some say noise there can make its way into the sound. I use wireless wifi only. No brightness.

Not saying that is the case here....just tossing out possibilities.

Put a sound meter to work. Maybe that can detect something useful to know.

You had brightness issues with your low ceiling from the outset as I recall. That could also still be somewhat of a factor.

What digital connection is in play? USB? Coax? Optical? I’d try USB over the other two and coax over optical just to see if any differences there perhaps.