shm cds verdict.

Posted by: keith waring on 07 February 2008

just received my shm cds from japan , free fire and water and cream disraeli gears.first free ,this was different from the british pressing, it sounded like it had been remixed which it had not been guitars sounded easier to follow and drumming clearer .the cream cd was not the new deluxe remaster but the first remaster which i thought was better , again the sound was good with the group easier to follow .these are not impressive cd more natural.has anybody else got any different titles on shms cds

Posted on: 16 July 2008 by 151

hi 555,can i ask you,standard cds can sometime sound a little harsh,in your experience with shm cds are they any better in this regard. regards 151

Posted on: 16 July 2008 by 555

To my ears they are definitely better in this respect 151.

Have you considered a Bedini Clarifier?
IME this device is a very good way of dealing with CD harshness.

Posted on: 17 July 2008 by 151

thanks 555 for the info,one more thing please, MFSL vs shm,what do you think. regards 151

Posted on: 17 July 2008 by keith waring

afriend of mine has just received two paul weller shm cds , wildwood and stanley road both are good but be warned the wildwood still has what sounds like bad distortion on the track can you heal us ( holy man ) this was on the deluxe edition and seems that the same tapes where used .

Posted on: 18 July 2008 by ewemon

Just to let you folks know. My local PO have advised me that parcels from other countries will now take longer to arrive. Apparently it is for security/drugs purposes.

So I also guess that means the Customs boys may pick up on more of the stuff we order from Japan.

I ma currently waiting on a parcel from cdjapan that has now entered it's 3rd week of non arrival.

Posted on: 18 July 2008 by 555

Bad news Ewemon!

Trying to look on the bright side maybe this will deflect HMRC investigations of packages for duty & VAT?
Three weeks wait for your package seems OTT; what shipping method did you use?
BTW what did you make of the Stones SHM CDs?

151 - As a 'dodgy' general rule SHM is consistently best IME.
I don't have many MFSL, but those I do I'm happy with.
I've no SHM/MFSL duplicates so I've not made direct comparisons.

Posted on: 18 July 2008 by JamieWednesday

Taken the plunge and ordered the Led Zep box...

Posted on: 18 July 2008 by Chris Kelly

I don't think you'll regret it Jamie!

Posted on: 18 July 2008 by keith waring

just seen the led zepp box at spin records for £235 , so from cd japan at about £135 with p and p it a bargain,even if those nasty custom men pick it up .

Posted on: 19 July 2008 by Steve S1

Come back from a short break to find a neat little pile of SHM CD copies of the Steely Dan albums, plus some Supertramp.

But some sharp eye in Customs wants a ransom paid for my Nick Drake set. You can't win 'em all.

Steve

Posted on: 19 July 2008 by 555

Bad luck Steve.

Posted on: 19 July 2008 by keith waring

all the jimi hendrixs shm cds re released are sold out at hmv japan, so any cds you want from the first batch of shm cds move fast .

Posted on: 20 July 2008 by 555

quote:
all the jimi hendrixs shm cds re released are sold out at hmv japan

Posted on: 20 July 2008 by keith waring

you cannot get round the customs with the gift option ,they still put the cost on the box .has anyone tried the plain discreet delivery option ?

Posted on: 20 July 2008 by Chris Kelly

Yes I have Keith. But... it's a maximum of 2 CDs and they won't do it for cardboard sleeves. The customs duty seems applied very randomly as so far about one in 5 of my shipments gets caught, but I'm not sure with the tightened vigilance if that will increase. Probably.

Posted on: 20 July 2008 by JWM

I looked into it recently as I was worried about getting stung by HMRC for duty on LPs from USA. The threshold for excise duty is goods to the value of £36, gifts or not.

James

Posted on: 20 July 2008 by 555

With goods imported from outside the EU it's £36 if it's a gift from one individual to another,
otherwise it's £18.

So far I have received 14 packages of SHM CDs from CD JPN,
& only one has been spotted & got a customs charge.
Even with this one I didn't have to pay,
as the postie forgot to ask for the £££.

Let's hear it for incompetent Britain!

Posted on: 20 July 2008 by keith waring

555 is right, anything over £18 you are over the limit if purchased from a shop , if picked out by the customs ie pot luck you have to pay £8 to the post office , then the whole vat on the £18 plus anything over that, this does not matter how many cd , glass cases or paper sleeves .

Posted on: 21 July 2008 by tonym

quote:
Originally posted by 555:
quote:
all the jimi hendrixs shm cds re released are sold out at hmv japan

Whew! Must have got my order in just in time! They're on their way...

Posted on: 21 July 2008 by 555

Phew Tony!
BTW for anyone who wants these, they are still available from CD Japan.

I received this today.
Great music & sonics too; I hope more new records are released direct on SHM CD.

Posted on: 21 July 2008 by carruthers esq.

22 Dreams is winging it's way to me as we speak from CD Japan along with wildwood, I'll let you know my opinion when they have arrived, these will be my first SHM CD.

Posted on: 21 July 2008 by Steve S1

Right. Had a trawl through my new acquisitions.

Nick Drake (the set); Steely Dan (all 7) and a Supertramp compilation. I must say they are all superb. Large improvements in all cases over the previous copies.

Steve

Posted on: 23 July 2008 by Briz Vegas

quote:
Originally posted by 555:
It's all down to personal preference; for me they are worth the money.
They work out about £15 per CD delivered if you shop in the right place.

The Bjork SHM CDs sound much better than my standard UK CDs.

I've found the HDCDs I've bought very variable in quality,
whereas the SHM CDs have been consistently good.

I would compare good quality HDCD (e.g. Doors 'Perception' box set) to SHM CD quality.
I did a three way comparison with 'Catch A Fire'

1: Original Tuff Gong Mastered by Barry Diament
2: DCC Gold remastered by Steve Hoffman.
3: SHM CD Mastered from the original two track analog master tapes by Ted Jensen.

Not surprise they all sound good & I could happily listen to any of them.
I prefer the SHM CD version because it has much more detail & sounds more natural.

There are three bargain SHM CD samplers you could try Briz.
Each release is two discs.
One is a standard CD & the other a SHM CD,

both with the same contents for you to compare at your leisure...

Rock/Soul/Blues Edition 2

Jazz Edition

Classical Edition

They cost 952 yen from CD Japan + 800 yen P&P (total roughly £8.32).

Give me a few choices and I will get the wrong one. Instead of the shm CD I grabbed the dual disc version of Bjork's Debut as I figured electronic music would suit surround sound.

Ok not a complete disaster - the videos are cool and the surround mix is OK. The DTS 96/24 may be high resolution but my Marantz receiver as a processor could not match the 5x/flatcap staight into my CJ CA200. Straight CD version side is far more musically satisfying, clearer, more detailed and natural. To be honest I suspected this might be the result but took the plunge as I had the disk in my hand - shm required an internet order and would have been more expensive.

Maybe I will try something else in SHM CD.

Posted on: 23 July 2008 by Steve S1

Gritted my teeth, paid my customs bill and picked up:-

Jimi Hendrix comp - "Experience Hendrix"
Thin Lizzy - "The Boys are back - comp"
Quincy Jones - 'The Dude'

Steve

Posted on: 23 July 2008 by keith waring

the who , a quick one to come out in shm as a two cd edition on 24th sept cost 10,000yen .must be a similar box to the my generation set .