SHM-CD reissues from Japan

[makropulos]

I'm not really an audiophile, and though I have decent equipment, I listen to many historic recordings, so sound quality can't always be much of a priority. However, I recently ordered Karl Böhm's Vienna Philharmonic Heldenleben (DG) in the Japanese SHM-CD reissue. I've two other (Japanese) issues of this recording and though both are good, they are blown out of the water by this "Super High Material" release which apparently uses a higher quality plastic for pressing the discs. I'd not really expected that this would also transform the sound: there's a kind of effortless transparency to it, and a lot of warmth too, at least on this recording.

Do forum members with more expertise have any views on this? Has anyone else heard some of these reissues?

All I'm going on is what my ears tell me, and I don't think they're being fooled. I'm very tempted to try a few more of these SHM-CDs which are not that expensive if ordered directly from Japan (most SHM-CDs are around 8.75 each at cdlapan.co.jp). There are also SHM-SACDs of a few titles, but those are more expensive.

I'd be fascinated to hear the experience of others with these discs.

[HighlandDougie]

I've bought several SHM-CDs over the past year, mostly of Claudio Abbado (Gurrelieder, Berg etc) but also Karajan's Second Viennese School set. Makropoulos's ears are not fooled as there is a marked improvement in clarity and warmth. I've made straight A/B comparisons, with the most telling being the Abbado/Boston SO Debussy/Ravel coupling (one of my personal favourite recordings), with the 'Poem of Ecstasy' added to it. What in its previous incarnation always sounded a bit muddy (recorded in a very resonant acoustic) now has much more sense of orchestral layout with an added depth to its sound. The Karajan 2VS set is also much enhanced, sound-wise. The service from cdjapan.co.jp is excellent - great packaging and fast despatch. Single CDs from the sort of "100 Great VPO DG and Decca recordings", which include the Bohm/Bruckner and the Abbado/Berg CDs come under the UK customs limit so I've never had a problem with duty.

If you want to really splurge out, though, there are Platinum SHM-CDs. I've just come back from a quick business trip to Hong Kong bearing with me the Abbado/Argerich Prokofiev/Ravel (just in time for CD Review) and Abbado Rite of Spring. The former, which I've never thought of as a particularly great recording (unlike the great performances), is still not a great recording but is greatly improved, especially the recording of the piano. I could have gone bit mad in the CD shop (a real Aladdin's cave, located in the swanky International Financial Centre shopping mall) but restricted myself to the two Abbado discs and the Ashkenazy/Previn Prokofiev set in its SHM-CD guise. I'm back in HK in June, though, already thinking about what I wish I had bought on Wednesday morning.

[jayne lee wilson]

I have the SHM-CD of the Boston SO/Kogan/Monteux of various violin concertante pieces. I've nothing to compare it with, but it does say "remastered at 24/96" on the back. I have compared the "Blu-Spec CD" of the Salonen Messiaen Canyons aux Etoiles with the Sony SBK, and yes - a marked improvement all-round. Sounds remastered but doesn't say so (unless it's in the Japanese ).
But I'm suspicious whether most of these gains aren't down to remastering, acknowledged or not... a few years ago I found some audio discussion about it, possibly on audiogon or similar, which seemed to confirm this.

Last year I got the Kubelik/BPO/Schumann cycle on DG SHM-CD, and in direct comparison with the SBKs I felt the improvement was... there, but slight. Nothing about remastering on those either.

Buying them is probably pot luck I'm afraid!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Sawallisch/BPO/Schumann cycle on DG SHM-CD

?

[jayne lee wilson]

Thanks fhg! . Duly corrected. It was of course the KUBELIK Berlin Schumann, sorry everyone.

I got it wrong for the same pressing reasons I haven't heard the Sibelius 5/6/7 yet...

[HighlandDougie]

Having finally got round to giving the Ashkenazy/Previn Prokofiev cycle a proper listen in its SHM-CD incarnation - and with both the earlier CD and the original LP to hand - the improvement in sound quality is fairly remarkable. More warmth yet with no loss of clarity - and a certain veiled quality to the piano sound (at least on the earlier CD) completely gone. As Jayne suggests, no doubt it's due to careful re-mastering rather than the CD being made with rare and precious metals but it makes a very convincing case for this format. It sounds almost as good as the 24/96 download of the Chandos J-E Bavouzet cycle. If anyone is thinking about buying a CD from the Universal back catalogue (think VPO, Karajan, Abbado - but, alas, not his Petrouchka) and doesn't mind spending a bit on the postage (around £3.00 per CD), it's worth checking the likes of cdjapan.co.jp to see if it has been released as an SHM-CD. The cost of the DG/Decca reissues is reasonable - the Abbado/BPO/Hindemith has just cost me £9.00, so no customs problems with single CDs.

[mikealdren]

Like Jayne, I suspect that the difference is in the remastering. Has anyone tried copying the disks on a computer and seeing whether the CD-R copies sound the same? That should answer the question of whether it's the physical disk or remastering.

My CDs are all on computer now anyway so as long as they have copied correctly, the CD medium is irrelevant. I have seen some considerable improvements in remastering over the years though.

Mike

[richardfinegold]

I ordered a couple. I'm always a sucker for High Resolution formats. cdjapan has been very quick shipper in the past so I expect I will have it in 1-2 weeks.

[jayne lee wilson]

Often the best Japanese Remasters don't acknowledge it now. The King Record Sanderling Sibelius series has re-appeared recently (2011-12, 1& 6, 2& 7) with white fronts/yellow borders at top, formerly they had b/w photos of Sanderling conducting - that one of No.4 says "hyper-remaster". They ALL have "Deutsche Schallplatten" on them somewhere though, that's the key. And they sound marvellous. I was virtually hypnotised by No.6, and I already loved it on Berlin Classics! The Sanderling Mahler 10 is just out, only heard a few minutes from the scherzo but -

The Berglund BSO Sibelius which appeared on EMI-Japan (ex-Toshiba) in 2012 again have glorious sound (better than the decent Royal Classics issue) but - no acknowledgement of remastering, by our mysterious old friend Yoshio Okazaki or anyone else... some of these are still there with the Warners label on them now - with different serial nos.! I expect they'd be the same, but it's increasingly difficult to tell. The classic series of Toshiba-EMI went from 13000s to 16000s (with the original LP cover art) but then the waters muddied with SHM, Blu-Spec, and "HQCD" - which might well be the latest name for our old friend's recreations...

[Beef Oven!]

Often the best Japanese Remasters don't acknowledge it now. The King Record Sanderling Sibelius series has re-appeared recently (2011-12, 1& 6, 2& 7) with white fronts/yellow borders at top, formerly they had b/w photos of Sanderling conducting - that one of No.4 says "hyper-remaster". They ALL have "Deutsche Schallplatten" on them somewhere though, that's the key. And they sound marvellous. I was virtually hypnotised by No.6, and I already loved it on Berlin Classics! The Sanderling Mahler 10 is just out, only heard a few minutes from the scherzo but -

The Berglund BSO Sibelius which appeared on EMI-Japan (ex-Toshiba) in 2012 again have glorious sound (better than the decent Royal Classics issue) but - no acknowledgement of remastering, by our mysterious old friend Yoshio Okazaki or anyone else... some of these are still there with the Warners label on them now - with different serial nos.! I expect they'd be the same, but it's increasingly difficult to tell. The classic series of Toshiba-EMI went from 13000s to 16000s (with the original LP cover art) but then the waters muddied with SHM, Blu-Spec, and "HQCD" - which might well be the latest name for our old friend's recreations...

Can I ask why? What is going on here? Why are these Japanese issues so much better? What are they doing that others aren't?

[Nick Armstrong]

Can I ask why? What is going on here? Why are these Japanese issues so much better? What are they doing that others aren't?

You spoke my thoughts aloud, Beefy!

I wonder.

Also, jayne - could you perhaps post a link or two where the Sibelius remasterings you're talking about can be obtained? I had a ferret around after reading your post on the Sibelius 4 thread and ended up unsure of what I'd found.

[Petrushka]

Can I ask why? What is going on here? Why are these Japanese issues so much better? What are they doing that others aren't?

I posed this very question on a thread on a similar topic some time ago but never had a response. If these remasterings are so much better why are they not generally available on the European market?

[vinteuil]

Can I ask why? What is going on here? Why are these Japanese issues so much better? What are they doing that others aren't?

... they have added 'woo'.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Audio_woo

[Beef Oven!]

... they have added 'woo'.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Audio_woo

[jayne lee wilson]

... they have added 'woo'.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Audio_woo

Some of the posts above, cheering on ignorance, are very disappointing... Look guys. BUY one. MAKE SURE you have the European issue to hand (don't matter which, Berlin Classics, EMI - Forte, GROC, Testament, oh whatever... )

Listen and compare**. On any system capable of revealing fine differences (between say, VPO and BPO) you'll hear: more vivid acoustic, clearer definition of instrumental individuals & orchestras within their performance space, finer timbral definition, clearer, smoother HF - above all, greater presence AND naturalness - similar (but not identical to) the best of 24-bit. An attentive listener should hear those qualities (the bigger & more open the soundstage the better, of course...). Whether you respond to them is up to you. (Rather like fine wine, really...some people just want to get wrecked, don't matter what on).

I can recall the first time I saw "Toshiba-Emi 24-bit remaster" on Amazon - Richter/Maazel in Bartok 2 and Prok 5. I bought it out of a passion for beautiful music & great sound - out of sheer curiosity. After listening (oh, it was quite a session - I didn't need any comparison to twig this level of quality ) I visited HMV Japan, carefully sifting and selecting a further 12 issues.
Now, why d'you think I'd DO that guys? Self-bloody-delusion? They weren't cheap to get here, right? (though at the time, 2007, about £4 per disc - the delivery costs doubled that. Customs, bless 'em, overlooked THIS package).

AS to what the remastering engineers do - ah! Many have sought answers, few have found them. Google "Yoshio Okazaki" (the name which used to be credited as remastering engineer on the TOCEs), you find nothing.
It can only be down to - better sources, better equipment, MORE TIME SPENT ON EACH ONE, A DEDICATED COMPANY PHILOSOPHY, AN INDIVIDUAL ENGINEER'S EARS, PASSION & DEVOTION. Japan has always tended to have a greater passion for high-end hifi than GB or Europe, so the market for these issues here is limited, as is the market for high-end equipment. And at one time some hifi manufacturers would voice equipment for GB with a sweeter, less exacting sound than elsewhere, as it was felt that we preferred that to all-revealingness, warts & all. This could easily have affected CD versions too.

But THE HAPPY FEW who discovered them any which way, soon knew we were onto something...ALL WE HAD TO DO WAS LISTEN... Whether there'll be any more is doubtful, under the various pressure of the diversified market, HD video, streaming, computer audio, blu-ray etc etc....
Which is a shame - the great thing about those Toshibas was - you didn't need yet another machine to perceive, and submit to, their pleasures...

(**NOT that the comparison is the point of course - the musical experience itself is the addiction...)