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Scratchy distortion on last tracks of CD

I have an ASV CD of Gordon Ferus-Thompson doing Ravel's piano music. I've had it for several years, and it has played just fine in the past. I happened to play it today, and in the last couple of tracks, there was a crackly scratchy distortion to the piano sound. At first, I thought it was a noisy tube (which gives you an idea of the sound), but I tried it on a different CD player and got the same effect. The first 10+ tracks play fine--it's just the last 2 or 3 that are a problem. (Unfortunately, this CD can only be replaced, if at all, via a rather pricey special order import.)

Anybody have any clue what is going on with this CD, and whether there is any repair that can be done? I should add that there is no visible clue that I can see that would explain this oddity. (I do recollect that some years ago there was a problem with a particular pressing plant in the UK. I think it had something to do with a deteriorating reflective coating on certain of the CDs made at this plant. I had a few of those CDs, and you could see the deterioration, which caused a coppery discoloration. That is not apparent here.)

Many thanks
eweedhome
rwwear
2,873 posts
 
CD rot I suppose. It is worse close to the end of the disc due to the fact CDs play from the center out and oxidation usually starts on the outside edge of the disc. It will get worse over time. Some players may play it fine for a while. Try making a copy of it in a computer. Or if you can find a player that will play it OK use it to burn it with an outboard burner.
photon46
1,086 posts
 
I've had this happen to me on several discs. Sometimes it occurs after they've aged and sometimes it happens on a brand new disc. Interesting that it's always been classical music discs. Like Rwwear says, I just burn a copy and it's always played fine.
eweedhome OP
227 posts
 
Many thanks. But what is CD rot. Anything you can do to prevent it? I'm surprised that I've logged many, many 1,000's of hours of classical CD listening and haven't had to face it before...except for the specific pressing incident I mentioned in my post. (But then, I guess I don't have that many CD's that I listen to more than 2 or 3 times, to be honest.)
musicslug
430 posts
 
you might try burning a CDR of it and see if the burned one plays better. computer lasers can often extract information better than a CDP. it's a bit of a long shot, but CDRs cost about a quarter...
rwwear
2,873 posts
 
CD rot is caused by moisture getting through the laquer coating that protects the reflective substrate. It usually begins at the edges because they are more susceptible to damage and wear.
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