First there was SHM-CD- Super High Material!!???
Now this rubbish:


Sony Music Entertainment Launches Blu-spec CD Format

Blu-spec CD format boasts a new approach to the faithful reproduction of music by utilizing the leading edge blue laser diode technologies optimized for the manufacturing of Blu-ray. During the manufacturing of CD, laser beam is pinpointed to encode data on the microscopic tracks molded on the polycarbonate plastic constituting the surface of the disc.

Compared to the conventional laser beam used for the manufacturing of standard CD, the blue laser beam used for the manufacturing of Blu-spec CD has a shorter wavelength, allowing more accurate encoding of the data. The use of the laser also eliminates the need to use cooling fans that cause vibrations. Furthermore, polycarbonate plastic optimized for Blu-ray is used to ensure accurate reading of the data. Amazingly and importantly, Blu-spec CD format is fully compatible with standard CD players.


You gotta love the Japanese!

Are the discs in a Blu Ray box or in a jewel case?

Snake oil, indeed. (With a shot of squirrel water on the side.)

"Squirrel water," never heard that one before. As an old linguistics major, I had to Google it. Learned something new today!

I'm holding out for gold Blu-spec CD's. Remastered by Steve Hoffman. At $40 a pop. Not.

I knew this would bring mucho chortles and guffaws from the ICE'ers. I'll bet the Hoffmanites are hoping for such releases.I mean, who else but those golden ears could hear the sound of a mouse pissing on a cotton ball?

Some of these are already available as Japanese imports... seems kind of silly without a hi-res/CD hybrid option, though.

On another music forum (which I won't name) the blu-spec CD of Electric Light Orchestra's Out Of The Blue is said to be identical sound-wise to the 2007 remastered CD. One forum member said he went over to the mastering engineer's house to do a comparison and on his system, he could hear a slight difference on the blu-spec.

I have no idea how much is the mastering & how much is the disc surface, but the SHM's I've heard are an improvement over previous editions

From what I've read, it seems to be about 50/50. Some like you, Geff, say they hear a difference and others say they either can't hear a difference or the difference is slight at best.

The Led Zeppelin SHM cd's are better imho than the last reissues that came out in the 90's.

I suspect it requires a high end audio system to hear it. My power amp is still blown up from the static electricity of a few weeks back; I wouldn't think of doing a serious comparison with the (adequate) Onkyo receiver & cheap speaker wire I'm using at the moment.

Although it did give me a chance to play my B&W 301's for the first time in years; I think they're one of the great audio bargains of all time!

How will this sound on a crowded #7 train as it speeds above Roosevelt Avenue during the height of rush hour?

But there shouldn't be a difference if the data on the disc is the same. If you hear a difference in such a situation, something is going amiss.

This is pure marketing bullshit, plain and simple. There are absolutely no inherent audible gains from changing the material used to make the disc. We went over this with gold CDs...I can't believe people are falling for it again.

Here's all the proof I need:

Well, I can't argue with that...

This issue seems to polarize people, kinda like left vs right in politics. At this point, I suspect only those in the middle are likely to change there opinion!

I'll bet they sound better if you use a green marker around the edges.

Alan

Yes, they do; especially older cd's on older quality equipment.

http://www.stereophile.com/reference/59 ... ndex5.html

http://www.stereophile.com/reference/59 ... index.html

We need to do one of those poll threads about the old "green magic marker" issue. I didn't realize that people were still actually doing that to their discs. Or are they?

I'm no longer doing it due to issues with collectors & resale value. However, I do believe in it 100%.

Alan's secret identity is Wayne Green.