SHM CD Value for money

Posted by: Franx on 24 January 2011

I ve read some good stories about shm cd. Has anyone ever bought ever and/or compared with normal cd's or mfsl? Is it superior and worth the extra investement or not?

I suppose everyone knows the format, however this is what i found on a japanese website selling these discs.

"The high quality SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) format features enhanced audio quality through the use of a special polycarbonate plastic. Using a process developed by JVC and Universal Music Japan discovered through the joint companies' research into LCD display manufacturing, SHM-CDs feature improved transparency on the data side of the disc, allowing for more accurate reading of CD data by the CD player laser head. SHM-CD format CDs are fully compatible with standard CD players."

What cd's are recommended for the "best" sound and best music. I like steely dan gaucho and have this one also on mfsl 24k gold which definately is superior to the original recording.

Best regards,

Frank
Posted on: 24 January 2011 by GML
They were all the rage once. I can only comment on the Dire Straits (same name) SHM-CD. I thought it very good when compared to the 1996 SBM remaster.
I then bought a 'Japanese target' copy and sold the SHM-CD.
Posted on: 24 January 2011 by ewemon
It depends on the mastering used for the SHM cd from the ones that I have heard.  It is a disc by disc thing.



If you post the titles you were interested in a few of the members may give you some advice.
Posted on: 24 January 2011 by Harry
^ what he said.

I have some SHM-CDs, probably around 30. Some are very good, some are good, some are no different, some are not good at all. If you have any titles in mind you will probably get some feedback here.
Posted on: 24 January 2011 by BigH47
Reference:
"The high quality SHM-CD (Super High Material CD)

Sorry I thought it was Seriously High Markup. 

I have 2 of the sampler standard and SHM_CD packages, and really couldn't tell the difference.
So never bothered to buy any more.
Posted on: 25 January 2011 by tonym
I think a good few of us had an ordering frenzy with these for a while and as folk have already mentioned there are good and bad ones.

Given the current exchange rate they're too expensive to take a chance on really - I wouldn't bother.
Posted on: 27 January 2011 by Franx
Hi Naimaholics!

Thanks for your comments. I don't have a wish list at this moment. SHM-cd's cost around 30-35 euro here in The Netherlands. That is quiet a lot of money if it isn't superior toa regelar cd. I am very curious. I have always been searching for the holy grale. Most important is not the sound quality but the music itself.

Until now i found out that imho hdcd's are normally better than normal ones and very often available for reasonable prices (e.g. Bryan Ferry for 5 euro). I even think that these hdcd's sometimes sound better than for example MFSL recordings. (I have a hdcd decoder in mu CDX2). Like some of you confirm, the sound quality depends strongly on the master...

If you have any recommendations I m looking forward to hearing these.

Best regards,

Frank
Posted on: 28 January 2011 by Harry
Like you, I have a number of HDCDs, most of which I treasure aside from a couple of duds, which are more to do with the recording quality that any fault of the format. There is a discussion about SHM-CD further down the page in the "Remasters" thread. Some recommendations on albums to both investigate and avoid. I hope the thread propagates because I value the views of people who for the most part have like minded ears.