UHQCD???

chrisw6atv · Posted: 04 May 2025, 18:05

admin wrote:

Do you want more marketing silliness and snake oil merchants?

it will not play on CD players that are not compatible with CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable) discs.

So, someone maybe took regular CDs (or those fancier ones with the added acronyms) and copied them onto CD-Rs and sold them at even higher prices? :crazy:

Does that article really have an ¥825,000 "Internet radio" or network music player? :lol:

elahrairrah · Posted: 05 May 2025, 15:27

admin wrote:

Do you want more marketing silliness and snake oil merchants?

Jeez, they just keep making more of this swill and I'm sure there are some "audiophiles" that keep lapping it up!

I found a few others too.

Like Master Quality Gold Compact Disc - MQGCD--as if having the reflective layer on a CD be gold will make it sound better. It's reflecting! Not conducting!

Didn't MFSL make Gold CDs in the 80s too claiming to be master quality as well?

Then there's K2HDCDs, where the claim is "K2 HD Mastering enhances the sound spectrum to a bandwidth of 100kHz and 24-bit resolution, while retaining all the charm of the original recording. K2 HD mastered CDs offer extended nuances, dynamics and musicality and are playable on any CD player." But it's still 16-bit/44.1KHz. Aren't most CDs made today from 24-bit or higher masters? So it's just a remaster.

Lastly here's one I haven't been able to find any information on ARMCD. It's another one on "24 Karat Gold CD." Hard to see the text on the cover of that Carpenters album, but I think that says "Apex Resolution Mastering." A google searched turned up very little on that.

admin · Posted: 06 May 2025, 01:56

elahrairrah wrote:

Didn't MFSL make Gold CDs in the 80s too claiming to be master quality as well?

Yes, you already mentioned them earlier in this thread.

The intent was probably in good faith. Gold was not about conductivity, it was about corrosion.

Industry is using cheap aluminum that -- we all know it very well in the LD world -- oxides and creates laser rot.
The idea was to use an inert metal that does not corrode with oxygen like aluminum over a long period of time.

But CDs being single-layered, it doesn't seem to have really mattered in the end. My mid-80's CDs still play just fine 40 years later.

Julien

elahrairrah · Posted: 06 May 2025, 16:49

Ahhh, that makes sense.

If only they made actual gold LDs (rather than just the yellow colored acrylic we have seen before), we'd never have laser rot! Of course, that would probably up the price considerably on LDs since two 12" diameter discs of gold is a quite a bit of the shiny stuff.

While single layer CDs with rot are rare, there is a lot of talk of "disc rot" from the retro gaming community on some Sega Saturn and Sega CD games since some report "pinholes" in the reflective layer of the discs. When I traded in my Dreamcast and games, the game store checks for these things and found one of my games with a pinhole (game was Gunbird 2), but thankfully it still played without issue.

I'm guessing this also happens on Playstation 1 games, but we can't really see them due to the polycarbonate for those games being pitch black!

admin · Posted: 23 May 2025, 03:22

More snake oil:

https://www.everythingjazz.jp/everythingjazz-catalogue/?utm_campaign=51289_0523+EJ+NEWSLETTER_360994_JP

No disclosure that this guy works for SONY (who's still getting a royalty on each physical CD sold) as an evangelist of all their products.

And I am not sure his 75-year old ears can fully appreciate the ... total lack of difference from 2 identical bitstreams.

With his background in game consoles, I'm quite sure he knows it's bull, but he's probably getting well paid for this.

Quote:

UHQCD (Ultimate High Quality CD) is a high-quality CD developed by the disc manufacturer Memory-Tech. The material used for CDs has been changed from the conventional polycarbonate to a photocurable resin, which has low viscosity and allows for pit molding that precisely follows the shape of the grooves in a mold. As a result, the amount of information transmitted when the laser is reflected by the CD player has increased dramatically, resulting in a dramatic improvement in sound quality. The sound produced is without a doubt the best of any CD.

The splendor of UHQCD is particularly evident in classical and jazz acoustic recordings. In classical orchestral works, the bass has a bouncy and natural texture, the midrange has a thickness and density, and the high range is transparent, and is reproduced in a well-balanced way. The nobleness of the tone is impressive. The delicate texture of the strings and the fine overtones enhance the sense of being there, and the musical fun and joy are felt in a rich way. The sound field is particularly noteworthy. You can clearly hear the particles of sound spreading widely throughout the venue. In jazz works, the bass is clearly defined, the piano is dynamic, and the drums are sharp. In vocals, the emotional lines of the voice are depicted in detail and colorfully.

Listening to UHQCD is nothing less than experiencing the essence of music.

-Audio critic Reiji Asakura

Julien

elahrairrah · Posted: 23 May 2025, 16:16

"The essence of music"

What a joke!

signofzeta · Posted: 23 May 2025, 17:41

That is some serious BS.

elahrairrah · Posted: 09 Apr 2026, 05:22

So ran across a Facebook group for this nonsense . . .

SHM-CD and other japanese special CD formats

Quote:

The high quality SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) format features enhanced audio quality through the use of a special polycarbonate plastic. Using a process developed by JVC and Universal Music Japan discovered through the joint companies' research into LCD display manufacturing, SHM-CDs feature improved transparency on the data side of the disc, allowing for more accurate reading of CD data by the CD player laser head. SHM-CD format CDs are fully compatible with standard CD players. Experience the high-fidelity audio quality of the SHM-CD format.
Meanwhile, some special formats Japanese have developed, such as the SHM-SACD, HQCD, Blu-spec CD, Blu-spec CD2.

Still can't believe people are buying these discs.

admin · Posted: 09 Apr 2026, 07:07

elahrairrah wrote:

So ran across a Facebook group for this nonsense . . .

"A fool and his money are soon parted"

But in a modern context of FOMO and filling up social networks with contents to exist online... they do address specific needs.

This is similar snake oil to audio premium cables.

Sounds the same but since you spent quite a bit of money to buy them, your brain's cognitive bias commands you to prefer the most recent/most expensive option.
And cables are not sexy to show off online.

Julien

UHQCD???

Who is online