Review on Time Out

The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Time Out

2 × 45 RPM • 1-Step • 180g Black Vinyl • AAA

Available November 2026

Few jazz albums invite comparison as relentlessly as The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Time Out. It has been reissued countless times, in numerous formats and by many specialist audiophile labels. That makes AudioNautes’ new AN-2610 1-Step edition an especially ambitious project: this is not simply another reissue, but a release designed to stand confidently against some of the most highly regarded versions already in circulation.

For this edition, AudioNautes worked from a stereo master copy supplied by Sony. The same source had previously been used for the label’s digital editions, including the MQA-encoded UHQCD AN-2513-UHQ and the Crystal Disc AN-2511-KD. For AN-2610, however, the signal path is fully analogue, resulting in an AAA vinyl production.

The lacquers were cut by Scott Hull at Masterdisk, while pressing is being handled by Optimal on 180-gram black vinyl. As a true 1-Step production, the edition is numbered and strictly limited, with pre-orders giving collectors the opportunity to secure lower serial-numbered copies.

One of the most interesting production decisions concerns the album’s running time. AudioNautes determined that Time Out did not need to be spread across four playing sides. Instead, the complete programme fits comfortably across three 45 RPM sides without compromising groove geometry or playback quality.

That leaves the fourth side blank — and, more importantly, allows the iconic “Take Five” to occupy its own single-sided presentation.

For audiophile listeners, that is a particularly attractive decision. “Take Five” is one of the most familiar jazz recordings ever made and one of the tracks most frequently used for system evaluation. Giving it dedicated groove space at 45 RPM creates ideal conditions for maximising transient clarity, dynamic expression, instrumental separation and low-level detail.

The project was not straightforward. AudioNautes notes that the vinyl remastering process took considerably longer than originally expected, even after the digital editions had already been completed. Preparing the master specifically for vinyl required additional work and careful judgement rather than simply transferring the existing digital mastering approach to lacquer.

That attention is significant. Vinyl mastering has different physical constraints from digital production, and achieving the desired balance of level, dynamics, groove spacing and tonal integrity can require substantial adjustment even when the source itself is already familiar.

The result is a release built around several important audiophile credentials:

AN-2610 — TIME OUT
The Dave Brubeck Quartet

2 × 45 RPM
1-Step Production
180g Black Vinyl
AAA — All Analogue
Stereo master copy supplied by Sony
Lacquers cut by Scott Hull at Masterdisk
Pressed at Optimal
Numbered & Limited Edition
Available November 2026

And there is one particularly appealing feature for collectors:

“Take Five” receives its own single-sided 45 RPM presentation.

For an album that has appeared in so many celebrated audiophile editions, AudioNautes has deliberately accepted the challenge of comparison.

Their position is simple: compare it with the others.

This is Time Out revisited not through novelty, but through careful analogue mastering, premium pressing, 1-Step manufacturing and a format chosen around the music itself.

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