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

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