But the No Reply Flac file sounds correct when the stereo channels are reversed but not correct with the default stereo settings.
Okay, I had not played "No Reply" before, but just did. I tried the way it played normally and reversing it.
On both, the voices seem to be "in the middle" while the instrument track while "normal" was on the left side, and a bit more "in the background". When reversed, the instrumental part was on the right side and a bit stronger than it was while in "normal" mode (on the left).
But, also, when reversed, the instrumental part was sort of almost overpowering the voice track (which was still "in the middle"). So, my guess is that the right way to have it played is with the instrumental part on the left, and a bit more in the background with the voice being given more prominence (and not sort of drowned out).
I'm guessing that this is the way that the sound engineers intended for it to be (instrumentals on the left, more in the background).
To me the song sounds much better reversed, i.e., instruments in 'foreground', voices laid back.
One of these days I'll pull out my 45 year-old LP (ouch!) of the Beatles '65 album (No Reply was the first cut, IIRC), connect up the old turntable, and listen to it the way it was supposed to be heard...on vinyl!!!
I'll bet on vinyl it sounds more like the reversed FLAC, which is probably how I used to hear it and why I prefer it that way.
Hello...!!!
HOW did you "reverse it"?????
(This is all I've been trying to figure out all along. And obviously, however I can do this I want to isolate it to these Beatles CDs so I don't go messing up the sound of my other 80 billion MP3s.)