I have quite a few versions - US 60s 2-eye Columbia vinyl, 70s German CBS vinyl, KOB 50th Box and also the Miles/Coltrane Columbia Box. The 2-Eye is the favourite.
Have to say though, there are other Miles albums of that era which I prefer.
Remember seeing a framed copy of the 6-Eye with sleeve and vinyl in the window of a shop near Mole Jazz at Kings Cross about 20-odd years ago now. They wanted £100 for it even then.
The ‘70s U.K. CBS is a good one. It shouldn’t cost much more than a tenner for a nice copy. Otherwise, the Dagostini Jazz at 33 1/3 reissue from 2016 is also good, and relatively cheap.
To not having any then the Dagostini Jazz at 33 1/3 is a really good effort I have it here.
Pity about the spelling mistake on the album cover.
Mine has Winton Kelly.
Prices are ridiculous I have a 1965 UK CBS Stereo copy that I paid £20 for last year is now priced at £164 with shipping and VAT on Discogs.
The late 70’s CBS Sunburst I have you can now buy for under £40 which isn’t much more than I paid few years back.
The 50th Anniversary Box which isn’t bad is going for over £60 with postage and VAT
The 2010 Kevin Gray pressed at MPO is going for around £50 with postage and VAT I think I paid about £20 maybe 4 years ago.
The RSD Mono version cut by Ryan Smith and pressed at RTI is again around the £50 there is a numbered limited edition Black FridayRSD which is an identical pressing as the unnumbered that will set you back over £100.
Another problem with Discogs is that there are not many copies of any pressing here in the UK so shipping and of course VAT usually doubles the price of copies from the U.S and Europe.
Arrived safely, looked immaculate but needed a double clean on the VCE to reduce the surface noise to a level I’m OK with. Sounds much more engaging, dynamic and involving than then DOL version.
Will give it another play in a few days time.
I believe the “distortion” you mention may, in fact, be a loose piece of skin on the the lips of MD, flapping as he plays. It is quite evident on the track So What in the early quiet passage before the solos begin.
I’ve heard a few different explanations including wow and flutter caused by a dodgy tape and microphone amp distortion or intermodulation distortion caused by wrongly adjusted microphone levels but who knows. I do have many records though with reed noises that can sound like distortion.
I listened to the HDDT dsf files. Sound is excellent. It is very similar to the Sony single layer SACD but perhaps a bit rounded off on the sharp transients and may have a slightly warmer fuller tone with good low level detail. The Sony may sound a tad thin and sharp in comparison but its timing is impeccable and may be a tiny fraction better in that ‘grab your attention’ arena. They are both great!
Equipment in the playback chain come into play here, more than the media differences perhaps. When I play the SACD in the Sony ES player it sounds even better than the Sony dsf files (from Acoustic Sounds) played through the NAIM DAC V1. So, it is a tough question to answer. You cannot go wrong with either one, is all I can say!