Music

How Many Different Types of CDs Are There? Careful Before You Answer

The answer is a lot more complicated that most people realize.

The standard CD that everyone knows is based on technology that goes back to the 70s and really hasn’t changed much since then.  But there have been (and continue to be) attempts to improve on the compact disc.  

DVDs were one such improvement, but they became the domain of video and computer software–and they, of course, yieled to Blu-ray, which won a fight with a competing format called HD-DVD.

But back to audio-only discs.  Back in 1999, there was a fight between DVD-Audio and Super Audio CDs. Both sounded better than normal CDs thanks to their higher sampling rates, but the public gave them both a big collective yawn, partly because they tended to be more expensive but mainly because you had to buy a new CD player to enjoy all that extra fidelity.

What about since then?  Glad you asked.

I own a couple of SHM CDs, one or two HQCDs another couple of BSCDs.  Ever heard of any of them? I’d guess not.  

As we’ve seen many times in the past, the industry cannot get its act together when it comes to pursuing a new format.  Instead of one successor to the CDs, we’ve ended up with five non-compatible ones.  Let’s go through them one at a time.

SHM stands for “Super High Material” and is essentially a standard CD made of better material which is said to make the disc less prone to errors (all CDs contain some kind of digital errors; the trick is to minimize them).  The thinking is that a new 1.2 mm layer of polycarbonate resin will allow the player’s laser to read the digital information store in the pits on the disc, resulting in greater accuracy and, theorteticall, greater fidelity.

HQCD (“High Quality Compact Disc”) is based on the same theories, offering a better polycarobonate casing along with a silver alloy used in HD-DVDs to allow for more light to be picked up by the player’s laser, again with the end result being better sound.

And finally, BSCDs (“Blue Spec Compact Disc”) is a Sony creation–Sony always has to go it alone, don’t they?–which involves manufacturing the CD master with a blue laser instead of the standard red one. Blue lasers are more accurate than red ones, which leads to more precise creation of the data pits on the disc and, again, better fidelity.  To complicate matters, Sony also has Blue Spec CD2, which is an improvement on standard BSCDs.

So do they sound better?  My SHM version of Dire Straits’ Love Over Gold does sound crispy and more full than my standard version.  And those who have sampled both HQCDs and BSCDs say that they have a lot more of everything in a way that’s hard to describe.  

Strangely, though, some say that none seem to be as good as what can be heard on some SACDs from more than a decade ago.  And some prefer the sound of gold CDs.

Me?  I’m confused. I may just stick with vinyl.

 

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 37893 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

2 thoughts on “How Many Different Types of CDs Are There? Careful Before You Answer

  • My copy of The Devil You Know by Econoline Crush is an HDCD. I randomly noticed the logo when I just happened to be playing it on Windows Media Player for some reason. (Random fluke because I rarely have ever played CDs on computer without ripping them, much less with WMP. Hell, I haven't even listened to that album for 10+ years.)

    The only SACD I have is The Downward Spiral. I can't really tell a difference, but I don't have a good way to listen to it with headphones. I also have the DVD-A version. It does seem more dynamic at least, but I find it hard to perceive a significant difference.

    Just yesterday I received the DVD-A of Refused's The Shape of Punk to Come. I listened to it once on the 5.1 system. That really is an entirely different experience… parts of the album have been remade, new intros outros, instruments are often all isolated to specific channels. It was very strange listening to it at first, but started to enjoy it after a couple of tracks.

    Reply
  • all i know is the ramones sound like shit compared to my vinyl

    Reply

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