SHM Platinum Discs , how much better ?
- Thread starter Jazzhead
- Start date
Bruce B
WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
I have some and they are exactly the same as any other Redbook CD's. Waste of money.
Want to buy some??
in my experience a fair number of SHM or BluSpec Japanese CD's do have the best mastering of any CD releases. The Byrds first 4 albums come immediately to mind. Likewise some of the SHM-SACD's have the best mastering; Who's Next and Quadrophenia, the post-Abkco Stones, Elton John...
Am better aquatinted now with the SHM Platinum and Blue Spec 2 Cd's . Packaging is top notch , but let's get straight to the SQ ... On first listen its a bit disconcerting coming off regular mastered Redbook . Everything sounds dull , muted in expression , limited in dynamic range . The bass perhaps more so , a very different texture and tone to the norm . A flat transfer is exactly what it is.
As one gets acquainted on further listening , you can discern the seeming dullness blossom into what is analogue warmth , voices and textures take on natural organic perspectives , you begin to hear dynamic transients in their natural envelopes . With no compression added to the transfer the comparative dB levels are on the low side , but the headroom is such that it is eminently crankable
without distorting on peaks . A metal/folk/rock album like Queens "a Night at the Opera" produced back in 1975 , becomes so much more involving , the guitars snarl , snap and howl but never fatigue .
The biggest shocker is going back to regular digital pressings ... Back to the glare , the now so evident post production heavy handedness . Even though I am not a Vinyl nut , I do see clearly what analogue has to offer over digital . This is as close to it as I can get , with the convenience of digital as an added bonus . Pricey yes , worth it ? Most definitely .. I 'll be ordering a second batch soon .
The Blue Spec CD's while not as pure , are still a definite step up on the regular versions . Have a listen these will please .
As one gets acquainted on further listening , you can discern the seeming dullness blossom into what is analogue warmth , voices and textures take on natural organic perspectives , you begin to hear dynamic transients in their natural envelopes . With no compression added to the transfer the comparative dB levels are on the low side , but the headroom is such that it is eminently crankable
without distorting on peaks . A metal/folk/rock album like Queens "a Night at the Opera" produced back in 1975 , becomes so much more involving , the guitars snarl , snap and howl but never fatigue .The biggest shocker is going back to regular digital pressings ... Back to the glare , the now so evident post production heavy handedness . Even though I am not a Vinyl nut , I do see clearly what analogue has to offer over digital . This is as close to it as I can get , with the convenience of digital as an added bonus . Pricey yes , worth it ? Most definitely .. I 'll be ordering a second batch soon .
The Blue Spec CD's while not as pure , are still a definite step up on the regular versions . Have a listen these will please .
Am better aquatinted now with the SHM Platinum and Blue Spec 2 Cd's . Packaging is top notch , but let's get straight to the SQ ... On first listen its a bit disconcerting coming off regular mastered Redbook . Everything sounds dull , muted in expression , limited in dynamic range . The bass perhaps more so , a very different texture and tone to the norm . A flat transfer is exactly what it is.
As one gets acquainted on further listening , you can discern the seeming dullness blossom into what is analogue warmth , voices and textures take on natural organic perspectives , you begin to hear dynamic transients in their natural envelopes . With no compression added to the transfer the comparative dB levels are on the low side , but the headroom is such that it is eminently crankable
The biggest shocker is going back to regular digital pressings ... Back to the glare , the now so evident post production heavy handedness . Even though I am not a Vinyl nut , I do see clearly what analogue has to offer over digital . This is as close to it as I can get , with the convenience of digital as an added bonus . Pricey yes , worth it ? Most definitely .. I 'll be ordering a second batch soon .
The Blue Spec CD's while not as pure , are still a definite step up on the regular versions . Have a listen these will please .
jazzhead. Pretty spot on. Very astute observations.
Indeed these seem to be flat transfers as advertised. Remember, sometimes, this may not be a good thing. In some cases is
is a VERY good thing.
The best advice for one shopping for these expensive discs is to either listen to samples, if available, (in most cases they are not) or scour the net for user
reviews. For the most part the ones I have are very good.
I did one interesting comparison yesterday. I compared the Platinum SHM of the Who's Quadrophenia to the 96/24 Pure Audio Blu Ray
rip, and the Blu Ray rip was to my ears far more transparent and a better product, SO..YMMV.
The Queen, Rainbow, and Cream discs are especially good, but again the 192 Khz Disraeli Gears download is better, and the it is a toss
up between the P-SHM and the Steve Hoffman DCC remaster they are too close to call.
Happy collecting!
In my experience, the expensive cd formats TEND to be better than redbook cd's because their mastering is better.
When people pay $30 to $ 60 for a cd instead of $12, they expect more. Sometimes we are happily surprised, sometimes disappointed.
When people pay $30 to $ 60 for a cd instead of $12, they expect more. Sometimes we are happily surprised, sometimes disappointed.
Definitely. I don't think it's the "pressing" per se.
Was this the SHM-SACD of Quadrophenia, or the SHM-CD?
I agree and am the owner of several SHM-CD titles in most of the cases the mastering is well done. I haven't noted anything special about the pressings. Since I rip everything once purchased ...
... The characteristics of the specific SHM remain...
Jazz head & rbbert. Your posts are great reading, with so many different types of audio i am not sure if i have found the perfect sound to my well trained ears, bluray, 5.1
surround sound, bluespec, dvd audio, sacd, and there is so much hype is it worth it in the end, i have found online from Japan besides CD Japan, an extra 2 links and the
prices vary from how rare and recent album and whether it's out of print, they have around 4,500 albums listed in the various Japanese formats to suit bluespec, sacd,shm.
To get you all hyped up, each album released they suggest it sounds amazing in comparison to the original release and on numerous occasions there are extra tracks,
I am lucky i have one cd on sacd it sounds quite good Toto's "Hydra" very very cheap, and now on the way are 4 albums on shm, now i will compare and what the fuss is about, i have the original album on normal cd Asia S/T and now buying the shm version and also Creedence "Cosmo's Factory" i have a best of with all those tracks, Free "Live", and Eagles "Hotel California" and a best of Eagles too, but as they're classics in their own right, i have an excellent sound system, recently bought an $800 Marantz
cd player and a powerful Yamaha amplifier, will there be a difference, let's hope it's not a waste of time
surround sound, bluespec, dvd audio, sacd, and there is so much hype is it worth it in the end, i have found online from Japan besides CD Japan, an extra 2 links and the
prices vary from how rare and recent album and whether it's out of print, they have around 4,500 albums listed in the various Japanese formats to suit bluespec, sacd,shm.
To get you all hyped up, each album released they suggest it sounds amazing in comparison to the original release and on numerous occasions there are extra tracks,
I am lucky i have one cd on sacd it sounds quite good Toto's "Hydra" very very cheap, and now on the way are 4 albums on shm, now i will compare and what the fuss is about, i have the original album on normal cd Asia S/T and now buying the shm version and also Creedence "Cosmo's Factory" i have a best of with all those tracks, Free "Live", and Eagles "Hotel California" and a best of Eagles too, but as they're classics in their own right, i have an excellent sound system, recently bought an $800 Marantz
cd player and a powerful Yamaha amplifier, will there be a difference, let's hope it's not a waste of time
Hi Bruce...not sure how i missed your reply. Which titles do you have? Just curious.
Bruce B
WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Here's an experiment we did. You can read about it here.
Crystal-Disc-US-1600-was-played-with-Genesis-Speaker
Interesting...i do recall that. Seeing as i am rbcd only, if i come across a glass CD, i will listen to it and see what all the hype is. Thanks!
Hi Lloyd. I have bought a few SHM cds from CD Japan starting with a compilation disc Welcome to the Top of the World and the sound quality of that was enough to persuade me to buy a few more. The most recent purchase was the Rolling Stones Aftermath which is an Abbco DSD remaster. The sound quality of that is tremendous and noticeably better than the earlier Abbco Stones SACDs which I have. The Blu spec CDs I have had from them 1& 2 have all been very good too.
Thanks...i have also got a few SHMs, Universal Japan Remasters, etc...i did find a number of them superior to the $1 CD i bought 2nd hand 10 years ago. So i have kept going when i can find these 2nd hand at 'decent' prices. I also have bought Sony MasterSound Gold, MFSL, DCC Gold, etc...and enjoy them all.
I would say everyone once in a while, i think 'probably would not have bought that one again' relative to a regular remaster...but its still nice to have.
These glass CDs however at $1000+ per CD are a different level, and i am really more morbidly curious than anything else.
Unfortunately, for a time over past years I have acquired a lot of CDs with the "remastered" tag, only to realise as my setup got better and more revealing that this obviously meant "remastered for iPod" - in a vast majority of the cases. Way too loud, compressed, clipped and with glare that would have the family dog running for cover. So I have spent the last 12 months doing a lot of homework and tracking down pressings that were made before the remasters, to replace them in my collection.
I have quite a few Japanese SHM discs including the platinum series. I don't look for them particularly but when in doubt they are a safe bet for a decent master, particularly when it is confirmed from sources online like the DR Database. Yes sometimes a flat transfer can sound really strange at first when there is a big difference, but you can keep turning that volume up without fear of fatigue and enjoy the dynamics as was intended. A good recent example for me is Roxy Music's Flesh & Blood as per the album DR ratings here:
My 2000 remastered version: DR7
My new Japanese Platinum SHM: DR13
A HUGE difference in the way they sound and to be honest, DR 10 or 11 probably would have been fine as well.
Of course newer music doesn't have older releases to fall back on......so the well will eventually run dry. It's probably why I find myself enjoying a lot of newer electronic music, as it doesn't sound as bad as traditional rock or acoustic material with similar levels of compression.
I have quite a few Japanese SHM discs including the platinum series. I don't look for them particularly but when in doubt they are a safe bet for a decent master, particularly when it is confirmed from sources online like the DR Database. Yes sometimes a flat transfer can sound really strange at first when there is a big difference, but you can keep turning that volume up without fear of fatigue and enjoy the dynamics as was intended. A good recent example for me is Roxy Music's Flesh & Blood as per the album DR ratings here:
My 2000 remastered version: DR7
My new Japanese Platinum SHM: DR13
A HUGE difference in the way they sound and to be honest, DR 10 or 11 probably would have been fine as well.
Of course newer music doesn't have older releases to fall back on......so the well will eventually run dry. It's probably why I find myself enjoying a lot of newer electronic music, as it doesn't sound as bad as traditional rock or acoustic material with similar levels of compression.
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Here is some good information on the SHM/Platinum SHM.
Most, if not ALL of the standard Japanese SHM discs are the identical masterings to domestic releases here and the UK.
The so called Super High Material is purported to have sonic benefits, which are ultimately useless if you are ripping to a server.
The PLATINUM series is a different animal. These are made with the following method:
DSD transfer of flat master tape>176.4/2>Mastering>44.1 for CD.
I have found most of them to be much quieter and more dynamic that their standard "remastered" counterparts
although a bit more laid back and less exciting in some cases.
I have probably around 30-40 Platinum and around 100 SHM discs.
I recently purchased the SHM-CD of Rickie Lee Jones' debut album and thought it was an improvement over the domestic release. Even for only a marginal fan of this album I think one would appreciate the clearer and more dynamic presentation.
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