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  3. 1165242766

CD Buying Guide???

I was wondering if anyone knows of a book/mag/publication that rates the sonic quality of (most/all) of the CD's on the market. It seems like it would be possible. I have been disappointed to say the least with some of the digital recordings in my collection. I'm not interested in rating the content but more the quality of the product from a strictly fidelity based aspect. I see that remastered CD's are getting VERY popular but I would like a guide to help me avoid the dogs while picking up the gems. The thought of re-buying CD's isn’t all that appealing to me but the chance of getting some of the rotten first attempts at digitizing analog cleaned up is very appealing. I just wish I had a guide. It seems long ago I had picked up such a book from Powel’s in Portland. It gave each disc a 1-5 rating for audio quality and information about how, when, where it was recorded. I thought it was a yearly publication. Man would that be nice when I get on line or head to the local used CD store. There is a lot written on vinyl but I cant really find anything on Compact Disc.

HELP ...
128x128horseface
kgproperties
53 posts
 
I have been frustrated over this subject for quite some time. Many of us have invested (dare I say) tens of thousands of dollars into awesome audio systems, but the source of the music, the CD's are more often than not poorly engineered. The reason for this is simple: there's no profit incentive for the music companies to put out quality. The vast market for recorded music today is on MP3 - highly compressed and available directly through ones computer. The "artist" records the music and a minimal amount of engineering goes into the production of the final product. The market accepts this poor quality since it wants it on MP3 (where everything sounds lousy) and there aren't enough purchasers of CD's (who might actually care) to justify the added costs of making it sound correct.
I'm convinced we audiophiles are a dying breed... Ken
zar
185 posts
 
This would be great. A bad cd is going to make even the most expensive system sound, well bad. I too have bought remastered cd's that don't sound all that great. On the other hand some others have been exceptional.
horseface's avatar
horseface OP
222 posts
 

It gets worse ...

Go to www.youtube.com and do a search for "loudness war" the production of modern the CD has gone to the dogs ... or worse ... the MP3.
mmakshak
589 posts
 
I, too, am bothered by cd's that sound bad. It is more of a problem(an expensive one at that) with cd's than lp's. When the sound is bad on cd's, you won't listen to them. My current thinking is similiar to Jaybo's. I think that they are doing a better job now. I do wonder about cd's made in the eighties and early ninety's. Most of them sound horrible. Is there anything that can be done about them? I think most of the original analog can benefit from how they make cd's now(with some exceptions). When I have a bright, recent cd, I have used Liquid Resolution to good effect. Does burning those eighties or ninety's cd's improve them to the point where they are listenable?
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
I have a remastered copy of "Tea For the Tillerman." Man that music brings back the memories. Unfortunately, the cd is overly bright on most cuts, IMO.
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