CNet: Getting a better-quality CD experience without having to upgrade your CD player sounds delightful, doesn’t it? Sony’s new Blu-spec CD format promises just that, employing the same technology used to author Blu-ray discs to master standard CDs.
Blu-spec CDs are written using the shorter-wavelength blue laser diodes used in Blu-ray disc production. These blue lasers are far more accurate when it comes to burning pits in the readable surface of CDs, theoretically improving final sound reproduction, due to the reduction of reading errors when the disc is spinning in typical CD players.
Is this all marketing nonsense? Colour us a distinct shade of sceptical. Firstly, unlike Super Audio CD — a modern format that’s physically more capable of storing significantly higher-quality audio — Blu-spec CDs use standard 16-bit, 44KHz audio encoding, so you’re not gaining additional sonic data.
Secondly, Blu-spec CD is really just a fancy way of saying ‘improved error correction’. The CD format already incorporates decent error correction (called ‘Cross-Interleaved Reed-Solomon Coding’, which everyone knows, stupid), and computer-based CD rippers like Exact Audio Copy build on this with advanced software-based error correction.
So what’s the point of Blu-spec CD, and does anyone really care? The vast majority of noticeable read errors result from scratching CDs over time, not because the CDs were botched during the authoring process. Now, give us even better SACD or DVD-Audio discs, authored with blue lasers if you like, and we’ll be less dismissive. It’s just that, if you’re going to invest in higher-quality CD production, at least tackle the fundamental issue CDs suffer from — limited bit rate and comparatively narrow frequency ranges when put next to more modern disc technologies.
Sony is initially releasing 60 back-catalogue titles on the format, including work from The Clash, Miles Davis and ELO, some of which, as Steve Guttenberg points out on The Audiophiliac blog, is available on Amazon.com now.
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DJEquipmentSpeakers | Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 16:01
Looks like a ploy from Sony to get some sales. If the sound is no better than why spend money on something that will only lead to further spending? Let me guess now people will get this new player and then go out and buy all the cd’s they already have again in blue-ray?
bugpup | Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 21:41
Looks like they are finally addressing some aspect of the problem of laser scatter with CDs. Hopefully these are well-balanced production CDs too. Certainly, the Blue Ray is a different beast entirely.
It may a little too late for an improvement on the CD format as the new 24-bit, 96KHz CODE format for DVD sounds amazing and is compatible with ANY DVD player.