Before diving into these pages of reviews, it is worth noting that discussions about sound quality are subjective opinions of the respective authors.
Many websites like to use alpha-numeric grades to give an indication of the sound quality. In such reviews, sound quality would be rated an 9/10 or a 4/5.
We do not to that because such grades are fundamentally unfair. Assigning such grades assumes there is an objective, universal yardstick of perfection which is knowable and describable.
However, such perfection does not exist. Enjoyability of a particular recording is depdendent upon several factors including rarity of material and intrest in the artist, and the form of the source recording.
We believe that sound quality is subjective. These reviews are an attempt for us to describe, rather than rate, what we hear on these particular releases. It is your decision whether a recording is worth having or not.
4 Comments
For that matter the review itself is also subjective, maybe more so, depending on said reviewers personal feelings for an artist/band in general. Sound quality is a technical evaluation (or, should be), and not an emotional one. Considering that, perhaps a sound quality rating would carry a less subjective bias than the review itself, and thereby must be considered an important aspect of any complete review. Speaking for myself, even if a release is of a favorite band, and even a great performance, if the sound quality is poor, then, the release becomes more a curiosity, and one time listen, and does not even deserve a place in my collection. On the other hand, if a completist, then, sound quality or any review makes no difference. However, when RoIO’s are at the price levels of today, then, I would like to have as much input as possible before making a purchase, and sound quality certainly plays an important role, even if not thee most important, and even if subjective to a degree, just like the entire review. I say the more info & input the better. Bring on the sound quality ratings!
Notwithstanding Gold Disc CD’s or DVD-A, Silvers are optimised for use in professional audio CD recorders, using an ultra-stable Phthalocyanine recording dye to achieve exceptional recording accuracy and a secure archival life of 100 years.
Orange Book specifications are exceeded in all areas with the critical Reflection Ratio increased to greater than 74% through the use of a silver reflective layer, resulting in greater compatibility with a wider range of CD recorders and players. (Silvers are pro cdr’s)
That said, so what. If the original recording that is burned on it is subpar then you still get a subpar sounding Silver, however you will hear subpar more clearly and you will have a subpar recorded Silver for a lifetime. Obviously the opposite is also true.
Nevertheless, having had both regular CDR’s and Silvers of same shows it is easy to see why COLLECTORS would want the Silver.
Gold & DVD-A don’t gain you anything w/ boots unless the SQ is 9+ or 10, professional over average SB, and even then it’s a case by case situation. For nostalgia purposes and lower costs I go for the vinyl more often. However, for boots in the last 2 decades that isn’t much of an option but there have been exceptions for special high end releases like Zep’s O2 show.
Costs for many Silvers are high and quite frankly out of bounds for the medium, but as with anything it’s what the market will bear. I look for sales, trades and even non compressed dwnlds(flac).
Afterall, it’s a boot for christ sake, made by a particular kind of fan for the enjoyment of similiar fans(the majority of a fan base is out of the loop), so why should it have to costs so much? Ask the label makers.
I would like somebody out there to speak on the overwhelming amount of cdrs being sold for rather high prices now.
I would like to hear opinions on the difference of sound quality regarding silver, and pro cdrs.
I see alot of titles that are reviewed here that I would like to purchase….
but either I can not find them or they are offered in a cdr format and for the amount of money that they are asking for them is the difference in quality, if there is any worth it?
…and they are speaking about their specific listening experience on whatever playback equipment and speakers/headphones they are utilizing… some older tapes actually sound better on my car CD player and no low-end speakers than they do on my 100 watt five channel home stereo…