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Dropped some cash on a copy of this release (#010 of 110, blue bottom, 1 of 20 made) in pursuit of a bounty.
Get it, pop it into EAC to rip away. Track 3 freezes and takes forever. A couple of hours later and it's done. Score a 45 out of a possible 100, suspicious positions in a few places. Mismatched CRCs. Confidence 1, AR v2.
Try a different computer. 45 out of 100. Come back home, do it on burst mode, score a 49 out of 100.
Nothing in the spectrals indicates detritus in the digital. Proceed to listen to it. Can't hear anything at the suspicious positions. Disc looks relatively clean, a few minor scratches. Clean it with a banana. Rip it again. Hang up at Track 3. Same spot. Then toothpaste. Hang up at Track 3. CUETools repair attempt. 0/2, no match.
Nothing in the spectrals indicates detritus in the digital. Proceed to listen to it. Can't hear anything at the suspicious positions. Disc looks relatively clean, a few minor scratches. Clean it with a banana. Rip it again. Hang up at Track 3. Same spot. Then toothpaste. Hang up at Track 3. CUETools repair attempt. 0/2, no match.
Get out the LED flash light and scrutinize the thing for a long, long time. Wouldn't you know it, there is a defect there underneath the surface, right where Track 3 would most likely be (reading inside out).
Put it back in, put on the noise cancelling headphones, crank it up and there it is. Barely audible but there is some 'clicking' just under the surface. If you didn't have the log to point you to the place, you'd be hard pressed to hear it. Now I can't not hear it.
Listen to the same track on this release, no noise. There is a v2 and a 320 out there, no noise. Dammit. The $50 for my record collection helped pay for this one. Reminds me of a song.
Anyhow, the guy I bought it from says he ripped it once to mp3 and didn't hear it, bought it for the collectibility factor. True or not, after his lame a** response - "maybe it's the equipment you are using" he says - I definitely would not recommend him to anyone (in fact, quite the opposite) for any purchases on discogs.
The seller he bought it from is a good seller on discogs I've used before but guaranteed he didn't do high level geek rip on it. Doesn't matter because I banana'd it. And toothpasted it.
The seller he bought it from is a good seller on discogs I've used before but guaranteed he didn't do high level geek rip on it. Doesn't matter because I banana'd it. And toothpasted it.
Reinforces why I hate CDs (especially CD-Rs) and why I have become friends with digital. Stop the overpriced resale market for CDs, especially junk CD-Rs such as this one.
First time I've ever taken a loss in pursuit of bounty. OCD kicking in, must stop. I can stop. Really.
P.S. 50 Grit sandpaper and a cement wall did not help it either. Now a limited edition of 109.
Sorry you got screwed over. You're right though...CDs are pretty lame. They were never all that reliable if you ask me in spite of all the industry hype about how they would last forever, be indestructible, blah blah blah. The CD players were especially prone to problems because of laser/reading issues. I must have gone through five or six machines before giving up on the technology for good once and for all. Same goes for vinyl/turntables but at least with records, the sound was often really excellent when everything worked properly and the pressing was good. Can't say the same for CDs which always sounded pretty thin. Anyway, it still sucks you were sold bad product. Guess you'll be sticking with the digital from now on. Definitely the way to go even if computer files aren't "collectible" like LPs, CDs, etc. Who knows, maybe this whole cassette resurgence is the wave of the future LOL. Best wishes, Brian
ReplyDeleteThanks for the sympathy. My gut told me that I was taking a risk. Should've known when he took it out of discogs that I would be right. Such is the 'black market' for CDs as they die a slow death. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI must say, I was schooled on cassettes (vinyl right to cassette was my MO) so have a real soft spot for them. No way of playing them other than a $10 Walkman but that just adds to the ambiance, no?