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Perfect sound forever ? Not even when new...

Has anybody else noticed "ticks" and "pops" on new CD's ? Within the last month, i've purchased two different CD's that have LP-like noise bursts on them. One of them is REALLY bad and highly noticeable. These were not a result of poor handling, etc... as they both exhibited the problem the first time into the machine.

The funny thing is that i can hear these ticks and pops quite plainly in any of the players i have at home. I took the first disc back to the place of purchase ( local record shop ) and we could not hear it at all. Then again, they are using Pro sound reinforcement EV speakers with 12" woofers and a horn in each fed by something like 50 - 100 feet of zip cord. Not exactly revealing to say the least. Based on the lack of noise in their system, the sales clerk would not allow me to return the disc for an identical version. As such, i'm not doing business with them any longer. The second disc came from a Best Buy and i doubt that they will give me a hassle, but we'll soon find out.

Anyone else have problems with this / find it to be a current problem ? Sean
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sean
sean OP
6,231 posts
 
Both are "rock" discs. The first disc that i noticed this on was "The Vines: Highly Evolved"*. The second disc, which has far more noticeable ticks that are louder in amplitude, longer in duration and greater in quantity, is "Queens of the Stone Age: Songs For The Deaf"**. The "Queens" disc has one CD in it and includes a free DVD that has the band playing live on it. I have not watched the DVD to any great extent, so i don't know if that is as "whacked up" as the cd is.

Newbee: I do not doubt your experience with the Telarc dual layer aka "hybrid" CD / SACD's in the least. It was with these very discs that i suffered listening fatigue within 10 - 15 minutes and a near instant headache. In my opinion, something is VERY wrong with them. For the record and sake of clarity, we were listening to these on SACD machines at the time. Sean
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* The Vines are part of the "Neo-Mod Brit Rock" scene. They have been lumped in with other bands such as The Hives and The White Stripes due to having a "somewhat" similar sound.

** Queens of the Stone Age sound something like a cross between more current Monster Magnet and Soundgarden. If you like either of these bands, you'll probably like QOTSA. Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters / Nirvana is listed as one of main band members, but there is also a very long list of guest musicians, etc..
jc2000
92 posts
 
Since I get most of my CDs from the library, I'm quite used to pops and ticks, since many discs look like they had taken a trip through a gravel pit. However, I was interested to discover that one newer disc that's not in bad shape has a defective aluminum layer. (Looking at it with a strong light, you can see little holes like you would on a disc that's rotting out.) This may be a rarity--or else it may be that I'm right when I cynically say that recording industry just doesn't care about quality.
cdc
1,828 posts
 
Jc, probably made in Switerland.
cheese
sean OP
6,231 posts
 
I just returned and picked up another copy of the QOTSA cd that was defective. This disc does the same thing. Since Best Buy had this disc on a nation-wide special last week, i'm thinking that the manufacturer probably cranked out TONS of discs as fast as possible. As such, it might be possible that they are all "defective" and have these ticks and pops in them. I'm going to try returning it to a different Best Buy tomorrow and hope for the best. Sean
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