Thread: Asai Kenichi
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Old 2008.10.22, 03:18 AM   #51
Glathannus
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*double-post*
(should be permitted after a month)

It's just been announced that 8 of Blankey Jet City's albums are being released in SHM-CD, after most of the normal CDs have been out-of-print for years. Release date is December 17th, 2008. All of these releases are limited edition, but coming from Blankey Jet City - that's really not unheard of. They've kept most of their CDs and DVDs throughout the years as limited, and reissued them in small (but still limited) batches. Usually it hasn't been so many of their albums/concerts at once.

For anyone who doesn't own many of the albums yet, this is a great opportunity. Just try not to take the SHM-CD hype too seriously - it's not worth replacing an original Blankey Jet City CD. If the first (or the only) thing you do with your CDs is rip them, and listen to your own high-quality MP3s/FLACs/whatever, or burn a copy for your car, then SHM will make zero difference. The 1s and the 0s on the CD (the laser either reflects off or it doesn't) are what dictate the inherent sound quality, and they are the same no matter what material the disc is made out of.

SHM can make a difference in expensive CD players, not because there's any hidden information, but because CD players are so stupid about how they read CDs. But the best CD player sound, isn't going to be better than the best computer sound. There are $15000 CD players, and while they may sound noticably better than $50 CD players, it's like producing a house of cards in chateau form - it is still a house of cards.

If you burn a copy of an SHM-CD, the CD-R will sound the same in any computer as the original SHM-CD in the same computer. At the end of the day, SHM is merely a CD that is easier for players to read, and carries no exclusive information.

The reasons to get excited about a slew of SHM-CD releases, are that:
1.) You know the albums were recorded & mixed properly the first time, because none of the SHM releases seem to be remasters. This means there's a very strong chance there won't be any CD "remasters" of Blankey Jet City later on. You buy the SHM-CD (or the non-SHM CD that came before it), and the rips or the burnt copies will be as good as you are ever going to get out of a CD - the SHM editions just happen to be the more accessible of the two choices right now.
2.) For roughly $200, you can now have 8 of Blankey Jet City's previously elusive albums, which is practically all of them.
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