£47 for a Paul Simon CD... on a format I'd never heard of. I must be crazy.

I've never heard of it until now!

 I'd be wondering if they had the normal version of the CD for under a tenner if it'd be worth comparing - is there a possibility that the standard CD might sound as good?

Roger, have you tried ripping it yet, and if so, are the perceived benefits still apparent when streamed via your NDS?

I ask only since, my interest having been piqued by your post, I see that there's quite a catalogue available from CD Japan, home of SHM CD's. 

Must be an option only for Prime members.

dave marshall posted:

Roger, have you tried ripping it yet, and if so, are the perceived benefits still apparent when streamed via your NDS?

Didn’t Roger tell you, his NDS is broken so there would be no point ripping it 

rjstaines posted:

Well let's settle the easy question... Yes, I'm a little crazy.

Having got that out of the way, this new format - BSCD2  (Blu-spec CD or Phase Transition Mastering) has been around since 2012, but I had never heard of it, let alone tried it.  Here's what Wikipedia says about it  (I send them a fiver every year so I don't feel guilty quoting from them):

"Its name derives from the similar manufacturing process to that used to create Blu-ray Discs. Instead of a traditional infra-red laser, a blue laser is used for recording the pits on the CD master that is needed for disc replication. The blue laser purportedly creates more precise pits, which Sony claims reduces distortion in the optical read-out process.  A Blu-spec CD2 disc can be played on all CD players and does not require a blue laser to be read".

So I was thinking "Is this the High Def version of CDs at last?"    How glad am I that I haven't thrown out my CD player in preference to streaming?  (Just as I didn't throw out my LP12 when CDs were introduced *feeling smug*).

But £47 or thereabouts for a CD?   My initial 'no way matey' reaction gave way to curiosity (yes I'll come back as a cat one day, no doubt) and on Friday I splashed out on that forest site (Amazon) just to satisfy my curiosity. After all, if these discs are good, they'll be amazing played on a CD555 I justified to myself.  I like Simon & Garfuncle and I don't have Over the Bridge of Time... so it arrived on Saturday.

...and the point of this post - how does this new BSCD2 format sound?   Amazing !   Truly amazing.  I'm familiar with many of the tracks on this album but I've not heard them like this before.

...and the second point of this post -  Am I the last person to hear about this?  Is it old hat that's no longer discussed?   And if so, why didn't anyone tell me?  (OK, probably got something to do with the price for a BSCD2 disc).

Roger

Glad you like the cd Roger , i have loads of the blu spec cds but did not post about them as the word snake oil and no different would crop up from people who had never heard a disc on this format.I think you got stung on the price as these cds can be got for 15 to 20 pounds from the right places.Just to explain there are two version of blu spec cds, the early first releases were just blu spec, the newer versions are blu spec 2 that is what you have.All the S&G cds are very good,would recommend the Bob Dylan blu spec 2 cds very good .The Paul Simon cds are just blu spec not the 2 version also good.The Byrds cds came out blu spec mono/stereo mixes the are very nice. 

Absolutely fascinating.... I’m seriously tempted to make a purchase and give one a try...

Have a few Blu-Spec discs and they sound great. However, I think a lot of it is that these discs have brand new masterings, usually from the original master tapes.

Wugged Woy posted:

Have a few Blu-Spec discs and they sound great. However, I think a lot of it is that these discs have brand new masterings, usually from the original master tapes.

Agreed. I have a number of SHM-CD’s and they are very good. How much of the uplift over the original standard CD is due to the higher quality manufacture and how much is due to whatever remastering has been carried out is unclear. I have been toying with purchasing a Blu-Spec2 disc or two - I might have another look.

I have a few in Blue-Spec CD that I bought when in the far east,  all since ripped to NAS.  They are at least as good & some better than original CD's  but the few I have are not that different,  maybe like a 24-bit vs a 16-bit.  I am not sure about remastering & if that's why any SQ improvement,  I would need to dig the CD's out to read whatever it says on that & sorry I'm not doing that.   Hendrix's Axis Bold as Love is about the same but maybe better separation with voice,  Sade's Diamond Life is a good improvement in most but not all areas (I vaguely remember that was remastered)   Bottom line is that BSCD2 is still red book 16-bit 44.1kHz,  the only difference is the CD is burnt with a blue laser as are used in Blu-Ray disc production.  Blue lasers  have a shorter wavelength & theoretically give better accuracy burning the CD pits;  but I believe blue lasers are commonly used in CD production,  so maybe its the patented Sony process,  maybe it's a conn,  but who cares if they sound better than whatever standard CD you have.   My only concern is the price,  seems a bit steep if its just a  blue laser.   

dave marshall posted:

Roger, have you tried ripping it yet, and if so, are the perceived benefits still apparent when streamed via your NDS?

I ask only since, my interest having been piqued by your post, I see that there's quite a catalogue available from CD Japan, home of SHM CD's. 

Hi Dave, my NDS is no longer mine, there's an empty Fraim shelf, looking... empty.   So, no I've not ripped it yet.   But if the SQ I've heard through my CD555 follows through the ripping process, I'm going to need an ND555 to do it justice.  Now there's another good reason to go ND555 

wenger2015 posted:

Absolutely fascinating.... I’m seriously tempted to make a purchase and give one a try...

Yes, I think you need to do just that Wenger. 

rjstaines posted:

dave marshall posted:

Roger, have you tried ripping it yet, and if so, are the perceived benefits still apparent when streamed via your NDS?

I ask only since, my interest having been piqued by your post, I see that there's quite a catalogue available from CD Japan, home of SHM CD's. 

Hi Dave, my NDS is no longer mine, there's an empty Fraim shelf, looking... empty.   So, no I've not ripped it yet.   But if the SQ I've heard through my CD555 follows through the ripping process, I'm going to need an ND555 to do it justice.  Now there's another good reason to go ND555 

I'm more than certain that our mutual friend in Chester will already have some Brandoesque plans in mind for me ........ you know, along the lines of "Make him an offer he can't refuse." 

By the way, to find these disks on the 'forest' site  (Amazon), search  'blu-spec cd'  or better still,  'blu-spec CD2'.

rjstaines posted:

By the way, to find these disks on the 'forest' site  (Amazon), search  'blu-spec cd'  or better still,  'blu-spec CD2'.

After a quick look around the big river forest offerings on BSCD2,   many at loony-toones prices,   but I note their  Sade "Diamond Life" - the one  mention in my prev post - is only £15.99 (although temporary OOS) whereas stnd CD is £5.99,  also  Miles Davis "Kind Of Blue" @ £12.34,  stnd CD is £4.75

What are your favorites?  I would love to try a couple but except for a couple of Dylan's I have on vinyl, nothing jumped out at me.

Skip posted:

What are your favorites?  I would love to try a couple but except for a couple of Dylan's I have on vinyl, nothing jumped out at me.

The one I bought already is Ultimate Paul Simon. It contains both solo and with Art Garfunkle tracks... twenty of their / his  memorable ones.  It was £47 last Friday, I notice it's £48 today  (Does Amazon follow this Forum?  ).

And I just love Celine Dion, so her The Best so Far - 2018 Tour Edition at £37.72 is calling me to buy it,  but so far I'm resisting... thirty seven pounds - ouch again.

I also like Sade, so Mike B's suggestion above could be a winner.  I'm not sure about Miles Davis... will investigate.

Theres a sampler out there i googled it

Feel The Difference of the Blu-spec CD - Rock Selection [Blu-spec CD]

Catalog No.: SICP-20048 | Release Date: 2009/03/04 | Sony Music Entertainment

01. Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan [6:11]
02. Mr. Tambourine Man - The Byrds [2:34]
03. You Don't Love Me When I Cry - Laura Nyro [4:21]
04. Spinning Wheel - Blood, Sweat & Tears [4:09]
05. Nantucket Sleighride (To Owen Coffin) - Mountain 5:55]
06. Family Affair - Sly & The Family Stone [3:07]
07. Jolie - Al Kooper [3:52]
08. We're All Alone - Boz Scaggs [4:15]
09. More Than A Feeling - Boston [4:49]
10. Dust In The Wind - Kansas [3:28]
11. Turn To Stone - Electric Light Orchestra [3:51]
12. I Want You To Want Me [Live] - Cheap Trick [3:42]
13. Boogie Wonderland (With The Emotions) - Earth, Wind & Fire [4:51]
14. You're Only Lonely - J.D. Souther [3:52]
15. Open Arms - Journey [3:22]
16. Africa - Toto [4:58]
17. Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye [4:00]

check them from directly from japan by searching "cd japan" far better prices and not much a shipping cost.... around 20-25 Euro...

i own various shm-cds they all sound very good, i think they are different mastering rather than any other trick...

the beatles one for example sounded so open and so wide..... 

managed to bring loads of sacds back from china, iam sure there was a couple labelled the same.  pity pauls voice has gone now Jeff beck blow by blow is the best sacd ive heard...

Xenasys posted:

Theres a sampler out there i googled it

Feel The Difference of the Blu-spec CD - Rock Selection [Blu-spec CD]

Catalog No.: SICP-20048 | Release Date: 2009/03/04 | Sony Music Entertainment

01. Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan [6:11]
02. Mr. Tambourine Man - The Byrds [2:34]
03. You Don't Love Me When I Cry - Laura Nyro [4:21]
04. Spinning Wheel - Blood, Sweat & Tears [4:09]
05. Nantucket Sleighride (To Owen Coffin) - Mountain 5:55]
06. Family Affair - Sly & The Family Stone [3:07]
07. Jolie - Al Kooper [3:52]
08. We're All Alone - Boz Scaggs [4:15]
09. More Than A Feeling - Boston [4:49]
10. Dust In The Wind - Kansas [3:28]
11. Turn To Stone - Electric Light Orchestra [3:51]
12. I Want You To Want Me [Live] - Cheap Trick [3:42]
13. Boogie Wonderland (With The Emotions) - Earth, Wind & Fire [4:51]
14. You're Only Lonely - J.D. Souther [3:52]
15. Open Arms - Journey [3:22]
16. Africa - Toto [4:58]
17. Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye [4:00]

 

Thought I would try this.....it’s about £28 on Amazon UK or £8 from Amazon U.S inc shipping, I did the latter.

I would be a bit wary.

I collected many Japanese mini LP CD's around the turn of the century mostly for the pleasure of having the original LP covers and inserts very faithfully reproduced albeit in miniature, and the hope that Japanese manufacture and mastering might be superior. Then came SHM CDs and I picked up a few of those. While some sound very fine most suffer from the loudness wars and what is initially perceived as better detail (Wow I never heard that before !) was in all likelihood achieved by boosting the mix.

What finally put the nail in the coffin was the very liberal use of the term Limited Edition. For a while they were limited but endless represses and subsequent introduction of a host of 'superior' techniques  - SHM; Rubidium Atomic Clock; 20 bit K2; 24/96 Mastering; Blu-spec 1 & 2 etc., has led me to conclude that the Japanese are at the zenith of what the record industry does so well - get us poor punters to keep buying the same stuff over and over.

It would be interesting to compare the waveforms or DR numbers of some of these Blu 2's to original unadulterated CDs and see what's up.

And yes, CD Japan provide a great service if you get hooked.

Gazza posted:

Xenasys posted:

Theres a sampler out there i googled it

Feel The Difference of the Blu-spec CD - Rock Selection [Blu-spec CD]

Catalog No.: SICP-20048 | Release Date: 2009/03/04 | Sony Music Entertainment

01. Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan [6:11]
02. Mr. Tambourine Man - The Byrds [2:34]
03. You Don't Love Me When I Cry - Laura Nyro [4:21]
04. Spinning Wheel - Blood, Sweat & Tears [4:09]
05. Nantucket Sleighride (To Owen Coffin) - Mountain 5:55]
06. Family Affair - Sly & The Family Stone [3:07]
07. Jolie - Al Kooper [3:52]
08. We're All Alone - Boz Scaggs [4:15]
09. More Than A Feeling - Boston [4:49]
10. Dust In The Wind - Kansas [3:28]
11. Turn To Stone - Electric Light Orchestra [3:51]
12. I Want You To Want Me [Live] - Cheap Trick [3:42]
13. Boogie Wonderland (With The Emotions) - Earth, Wind & Fire [4:51]
14. You're Only Lonely - J.D. Souther [3:52]
15. Open Arms - Journey [3:22]
16. Africa - Toto [4:58]
17. Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye [4:00]

 

Thought I would try this.....it’s about £28 on Amazon UK or £8 from Amazon U.S inc shipping, I did the latter.

I'm noting this is a Blu-spec CD,  not a Blue-spec CD2 ...otherwise I would have joined you in a purchase; it's got a few great tracks on. 

There is a a feel the difference blu spec 2 sampler you can google it at your river site, nice selection.

rjstaines posted:

Skip posted:

What are your favorites?  I would love to try a couple but except for a couple of Dylan's I have on vinyl, nothing jumped out at me.

The one I bought already is Ultimate Paul Simon. It contains both solo and with Art Garfunkle tracks... twenty of their / his  memorable ones.  It was £47 last Friday, I notice it's £48 today  (Does Amazon follow this Forum?  ).

And I just love Celine Dion, so her The Best so Far - 2018 Tour Edition at £37.72 is calling me to buy it,  but so far I'm resisting... thirty seven pounds - ouch again.

I also like Sade, so Mike B's suggestion above could be a winner.  I'm not sure about Miles Davis... will investigate.

So... last night at about 11pm I caved in to temptation and pressed 'go' to buy this Céline Dion CD (The Best so Far - 2018 Tour Edition).  It arrived at lunchtime today (so just over 12 hours from placing order to playing on my CD555... you have to hand it to Amazon, they are logistics experts).

It's absolutely amazing  

I was worried it may be a recording of her tour (I'm not keen on so called 'live' recordings), but it's not, it's the original tracks of the play list for her set (what she'll sing on tour) - if you like Céline, chances are you'll love this album. At the risk of repeating myself... it's amazing.  Worth thirty seven smakeroos?  You bet !

Roger

rjstaines posted:

rjstaines posted:

Skip posted:

What are your favorites?  I would love to try a couple but except for a couple of Dylan's I have on vinyl, nothing jumped out at me.

The one I bought already is Ultimate Paul Simon. It contains both solo and with Art Garfunkle tracks... twenty of their / his  memorable ones.  It was £47 last Friday, I notice it's £48 today  (Does Amazon follow this Forum?  ).

And I just love Celine Dion, so her The Best so Far - 2018 Tour Edition at £37.72 is calling me to buy it,  but so far I'm resisting... thirty seven pounds - ouch again.

I also like Sade, so Mike B's suggestion above could be a winner.  I'm not sure about Miles Davis... will investigate.

So... last night at about 11pm I caved in to temptation and pressed 'go' to buy this Céline Dion CD (The Best so Far - 2018 Tour Edition).  It arrived at lunchtime today (so just over 12 hours from placing order to playing on my CD555... you have to hand it to Amazon, they are logistics experts).

It's absolutely amazing  

I was worried it may be a recording of her tour (I'm not keen on so called 'live' recordings), but it's not, it's the original tracks of the play list for her set (what she'll sing on tour) - if you like Céline, chances are you'll love this album. At the risk of repeating myself... it's amazing.  Worth thirty seven smakeroos?  You bet !

Roger

Dammit! Why was I so stupid as to trade my CD555 while there was this unexpected life in the ‘old girl’ yet, and at only (gulp) €42 a disc. Makes my subsequent purchase of 24bit recordings at at about €15 average seem rather mean, in the circumstances. Won’t make the same mistake again!