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Japanese Mini-LP Obi CD's -- Audiophile Quality?

Hello all,
My comment/question is concerning with those often called "collector" CDs imported from Japan as Mini-LPs often including an "obi."

Now I have no question that the CD cover & artwork is REALLY nice and almost always above typical & audiophile CD stuff. The "obi" I could really care less about but some folks like and are willing to pay for. And lets not forget that these things are EXPENSIVE, as far as CDs go.

OK, so the real question is are they worth it??? Are they remasters from the original masters? Are they realy considered audiophile grade or is all this just MARKETING junk.

I have mixed thoughts of my own - some are great, some are comparible to Wal-Mart, some are overly remastered to the point of loosing warmth.

So, the next question is: if there is so much difference from one to the next -- what are the realible high quality producers/labels?

Cheers
128x128grateful
rwwear
2,847 posts
 
Long ago the japanese discs were the only CDs that were sure to be remastered from the master tapes. And they sounded better than most american CDs. This is no longer true. The price difference is based on the exchange rate more than anything else.
rja's avatar
rja
2,356 posts
 

I own many (approx. 100, most purchased direct from Japan) of these CDs and there's no definitive answer to your question. Many of the CDs are excellent but not all. Most of the Blue Note releases sound superb. The recent Santana CDs sound excellent (Abraxis, III, Caravanserai). The Bruce Springsteens I thought sounded harsh although the second half of Greatest Hits sounds great. The gold Pat Methenys sound wonderful. So to a great extent sound quality on these is a crap shoot. The prices reflect the higher cost of CDs in Japan to begin with plus all related costs to get them here etc.
slaw3
139 posts
 
I agree, although there are many titles which are only available as remasters from Japan. For instance, I'm a big YES fan (I know, beat me hurt me). The Anderson, Bruford Wakeman Howe CD available in the USA is a terrible piece of flat garbage, but the Japanese remaster is wonderful! Space! Shimmer! Actual bottom end slam!
So if the title is only available remastered in Japan, I always go for it. Haven't been burned on that yet.
Conversely, the Japanese "Kind of Blue" doesn't hold a candle to the USA remastered version. It's compressed, flat and impossible to listen to. It IS quiet though. Go figure.
How will you know the diff? Beats the heck out of me, although reviews on Amazon.com, Tower and other sites can be helpful in this respect if you wade through them and find someone who comments on sound quality.
Good luck!
jaybo
4,478 posts
 
the manufactured quality of cd's varies wildly(and dvd's too) from plant to plant. many of the mini lp's sound better, even though the masters are the same. their relative value for many though is the attention to detail(packaging is becoming a lost art), and the fact that their numbers are limited. they are in most cases as good of a pressing as you are likely to find.in a hobby where we overspend on equipment as a rule, there's nothing wrong with insuring the best software is collectable too.
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