gregr (04/21/83)
After reading the many complaints about record quality on the net during the last few weeks I feel compelled to speak. THERE IS A SOLUTION. I have suffered through the same frustrations as everyone else over the last 10 years going through periods of returning records, writing letters, calling executives of record companies and all the rest. Believe me none of this will make the slightest difference beyond the immediate poor record you have purchased. If you believe that you will ever make a difference then you must be new at this game! About two years ago I quit buying any "standard records" and only purchased "audiophile editions" from that time on. Although this dramatically improved the percentage of listenable records that I purchased I still had to put up with far more ticks, pops, and surface noise than I could listen to. I will freely admit to being a MUCH MORE critical listener than most, even others who would classify themselves as audiophiles. (I don't own a cassette deck, I can't stand the sound of tape hiss, Dolby B, reduced dynamic range, etc. etc.) But I also know that there are others equally particular about the quality of their sound. Finally, about a year ago I simply quit purchasing any records and waited.... THE WAIT IS OVER. Run do not walk to your nearest audio store that carries the Sony CD digital player. I listened for 30 minutes and plunked down the cash. You will not have to listen to another tick, pop, warp, or disk surface noise again. Never! This is the ONLY available answer to the problem of bad disk quality. HOWEVER, this will do nothing about poorly recorded, poorly miked, or poorly played music. In fact you will probably be bothered more than ever about these problems because they become so obvious without the poor disk surfaces to cover them up. I believe improvements in these areas will result from the CD disk technology because each of these areas are measures of individual personel pride in these arts. This is getting a little long so I'll make only one last comment. If you have followed the debate about the digital sound vs analog sound you should realize that most opinions have been based on listening to conventional analog disks reproducing digital recordings. I believe that when those critical of digital get to hear the true digital disks they may need to reevaluate what the source of their discomfort with the analog/digital disk really is. Anyway, as for me, while others continue their useless complaints about disk quality or debate the sound of digital vs analog, I intend to simply sit back and listen to my system and smile. Happy at last (about surface defects anyway) P.S. There are great differences in the quality of the master tapes both digital and analog used for these disks. So what did you expect? On the Also sprach Zarathustra disk (CBS/Sony) the mikes appear to overload badly on the timpani during the famous 2001 opening. I checked several disks, several players, and used a storage oscilloscope to examine levels and waveshapes. It is possible but appears very unlikely the problem occurred during the disk production. Why then I ask would CBS choose this recording for a digital disk knowing it was defective? Where did I leave the CBS executives telephone numbers......?