Why are CD's decling in quality?


When CD came out in the 80's , they were marketed as 'indestructible'. They were built in such a way that they were almost impervious to any scratches and other damage.
As time went on, they declined in quality to the point that you could buy a cd and find it skipped on the first playing. Now many CD's I buy in the 21st Century seem to be incredibly vulnerable to damage. This is very frustrating.
.Does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts on this topic?
Or knowledge of why this has come about
acidfolk

Showing 7 responses by lowrider57

I have not found the quality of the modern CD disk to be inferior over time. That said, buying prerecorded CDRs is a different story; it's buyer beware.
But, I think others will share my practice of treating a CD as I treat my vinyl, with kid gloves.
"I think we're finally getting someplace with some of the best sounding CDs coming out recently."

I'll agree with that Rja.
Quick story... around 1985 when I bought my first CDs, I found out quickly that they were not superior to vinyl (I had a $250 CDP, so who knows). They were also marketed as indestructible, so I tossed a CD across the driveway a few times and you can guess the result.
The Japanese use 2 different technologies.. SHM-CD and XRCD. SHM-CD uses a special polycarbonate plastic on the data side and allows for more accurate reading by the laser. There is also a SACD version. So the disk material is actually different than regular CDs.

XRCD is a process patented by JVC for producing Redbook CDs; these are the very expensive ones. The source is converted to 24-bit and jitter reduction is applied.
Both formats will play on Redbook CDPs.

I have researched this before I spend $30-50 on a CD.
Bifwynne, I think we may have discussed this subject. What I am finding is SHM-CD is affordable and there is a large selection, not so with XRCD.
My question is have you ever ordered from the Japanese based vendors and if so, was the transaction favorable?
There are many Japanese vendors on Amazon selling mostly SHM-CD.
There is an online Japanese store that somebody here recommended but I never bookmarked it.
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Found it in the archives...XRCD, SHM-CD, Blu-spec CD

[url]http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/music/index.html[/url]
OK, thanks...I found some threads. BTW, I like the CD Japan selection, but the shipping prices are high.

Funny, just a thought, since audiophiles spend so much on equipment, yet are reluctant to pay tow or three times the amount on CD's for best quality of them.
CD's are actually the source component , that might effect the sound quality of the whole chain of reproduced music in the system

That's a very profound thought.