Cheap CD reissues - poor quality?

[Wanderer]

...because who can listen to all those boxes quickly enough to spot faulty discs...

If by quickly enough you mean within the month, I've always been doing it and it works just fine. A quick check also reveals the occasional missing or duplicate (or extra!) disc in a boxset. Better be safe than sorry.

[Madiel]

If by quickly enough you mean within the month, I've always been doing it and it works just fine. A quick check also reveals the occasional missing or duplicate (or extra!) disc in a boxset. Better be safe than sorry.

Well, I bought about 35 discs at the time. If you're able to get through 35 discs in a month - and I do mean get through them, because I use the 'scan' feature on my CD player to play 10 seconds of every track when they arrive, and it doesn't reveal the kind of problem I'm having with this particular box - you're a quicker listener than I am.

Especially with brand new discs, because those are the ones I tend to listen to more slowly, getting to know them. I can't put such things on as background music.

PS I can actually be a bit more precise. There are 26 works in the box. In the first month I listened to 2. Then 2 the next month, then 2 in the next couple of months after that. Then a gap until 2 this week.

[mc ukrneal]

Okay, noted, so I shouldn't develop a bias against cheap boxes.

I'm still wondering what to do about the particular case. May experiment with some ripping/burning to see if it happens to bypass the problem. Too late to return the discs. See if I can buy any offending tracks online?

I may just end up making warning notes for myself so that I don't jump quite so far...

Try contacting Sony - even though it is doubtful they will do much, they might be willing to replace them or something.

[Wanderer]

Well, I bought about 35 discs at the time. If you're able to get through 35 discs in a month - and I do mean get through them, because I use the 'scan' feature on my CD player to play 10 seconds of every track when they arrive, and it doesn't reveal the kind of problem I'm having with this particular box - you're a quicker listener than I am.

Especially with brand new discs, because those are the ones I tend to listen to more slowly, getting to know them. I can't put such things on as background music.

PS I can actually be a bit more precise. There are 26 works in the box. In the first month I listened to 2. Then 2 the next month, then 2 in the next couple of months after that. Then a gap until 2 this week.

This isn't about listening, this is about quality control. 35 discs a month? 1 per day? How is this undoable, provided you buy things you actually want to listen to instead of hoarding them? Upon receiving one or more of the big boxsets I'm usually able to spin 2-5 discs a day in the background with the explicit purpose of locating faulty discs/passages. They then return to the "new arrivals" pile awaiting their proper listening session(s). Background playing, as I've noted elsewhere, apart from this explicit purpose, also familiarizes with works/composers one is not really fond of and, in my case, it is a good way to get me out of my comfort zone and/or get me a first idea of the included performances. However, this is irrelevant. Regarding the issue at hand, which has nothing to do with how one properly listens to music and everything to do with damage control, I think that not checking/listening to what you buy quickly enough so that you may require a replacement if anything is faulty is basically bringing it upon yourself if something ghastly comes to your attention 6 months later.
That said, it's always an infuriating thing to discover faulty CD's and I feel for you. I do hope you may be able to get a replacement after all.

[prémont]

[asin]B004H6P2M4[/asin]

When I first received the box (in a larger haul) about 6 months ago, I did my usual basic check that all the discs would play, and I did notice ONE example of the issue I'm having, which is a sudden burst of static. But as I go through the discs I'm encountering it again. I should have kept more notes I suppose, but... it happened twice in the 1st movement of Violin Sonata No.1, and it's also happened once in Violin Sonata No.2. Those are the examples I've experienced this week, so 3 of these static bursts in the first half of this particular disc.

I'm pretty sure it's basically a disc pressing issue. It's only a brief problem, but it's pretty annoying as when it happens it makes me jump a mile - the sudden adrenaline burst is not the kind of thrill I'm looking for here.

My item suffers from identical symptoms. Yes - twice bursts during the first movement of Violin Sonata 1. Good that I had been warned beforehand . I have not listened to Sonata 2.
Might be interesting if Gordo´s item has got the same disease - I know, he owns the set.

[Madiel]

My item suffers from identical symptoms. Yes - twice bursts during the first movement of Violin Sonata 1. Good that I had been warned beforehand . I have not listened to Sonata 2.
Might be interesting if Gordo´s item has got the same disease - I know, he owns the set.

Well, THAT is interesting.

[Moonfish]

Maybe it is just Stern's technique...?       

Actually, I have noticed that as my cd player is getting older (it is now about 15 years old) it is sometimes getting a bit sensitive. I suspect that the culprit is a combination of dust particles accumulating and the quality of the discs. However, if several of us have the issue at exactly the same spot on the discs we can probably safely conclude that the issue is the disc.

[ritter]

I don't have that Isaac Stern set, but I have trouble playing this set from Sony / RCA's same series:



On more than one CD player at home, it appearss if the equipment won't recognize the CDs...it does play OK on the computer and in the car, funnily enough...

May it be that this super-budget "Masters" series doesn't really have very high production standards?

[Madiel]

Maybe it is just Stern's technique...?       

Actually, I have noticed that as my cd player is getting older (it is now about 15 years old) it is sometimes getting a bit sensitive. I suspect that the culprit is a combination of dust particles accumulating and the quality of the discs. However, if several of us have the issue at exactly the same spot on the discs we can probably safely conclude that the issue is the disc.

I've had discs before that one or another player doesn't like, but this time I knew it had to be the disc because I tried more than one player with identical results. But yes, it's definitely interesting to know that it's not just MY disc, but other copies with the exact same problem.

So, bad master disc? Someone mentioned the glass masters before. I don't actually know all that much about the CD manufacturing process, I only actually heard about the glass a couple of days ago while trying to research my problem. You certainly can have a bad one - I actually stumbled across a blog from someone involved with Steely Dan talking about the trouble they had with a CD, with a factory making a lousy glass master.

But surely you're supposed to check these things. I guess that's part of what makes me wonder about cheap boxes - if they don't have the quality control.

I tried the German Sony website, my hopes weren't inspired by the dead link to the page for this series. My experience with big record copies is that they never even reply to your e-mails so I'm not sure I'm going to bother.

Also, very annoyed because iTunes would let me buy the relevant tracks if I lived in Germany or Qatar, at least, but not Australia. It is utterly stupid that I can buy the CDs from anywhere in the world, but not the downloads.

[Bogey]

And like Todd said on the first page, it does not always have to do with less expensive sets.  This is also true in the DVD world.  Criterion, who prides themselves on quality have even had issues.   Some are finding a "browning" issue with the dvd that is starting to effect playback.  I am guessing cds are the same, but that is just a guess.

[kishnevi]

I'm wondering whether people have tended to experience any problems with relatively cheap editions of CD recordings. Not with the packaging or anything like that, but the actual discs.

The reason I'm asking is because I've encountered some issues while listening to this box:

[asin]B004H6P2M4[/asin]

I've seen plenty of indications of other GMGers listening to other boxes in this same series, for example.

When I first received the box (in a larger haul) about 6 months ago, I did my usual basic check that all the discs would play, and I did notice ONE example of the issue I'm having, which is a sudden burst of static. But as I go through the discs I'm encountering it again. I should have kept more notes I suppose, but... it happened twice in the 1st movement of Violin Sonata No.1, and it's also happened once in Violin Sonata No.2. Those are the examples I've experienced this week, so 3 of these static bursts in the first half of this particular disc.

I'm pretty sure it's basically a disc pressing issue. It's only a brief problem, but it's pretty annoying as when it happens it makes me jump a mile - the sudden adrenaline burst is not the kind of thrill I'm looking for here.

So, yes, basically I'm wondering whether other people have experienced this or similar problems with cheap boxes of this nature, where you basically just get the discs and some cheap cardboard and that's it. I was prepared for cheap packaging, but I still expected to be getting proper discs, and at the moment I'm a little put off grabbing one of these 'bargains' again.

Just to be sure....I fetched out my copy of this box and right this moment am playing that problematic Sonata 1.  I heard nothing in the first movement that would correspond to the noises you report.  Perhaps my copy came from a different run?  Is there a way to tell?

[king ubu]

Will have to check my box ... has been, I guess, two years, since I played any of it, but I don't remember any issues.

[Madiel]

Perhaps my copy came from a different run?  Is there a way to tell?

The only possible way I can think of is the 'matrix number' on the bottom of the CD, but then I'm not certain how often those change.

The number on my disc of the op.12 sonatas is A0101730775-0309  11.  I suppose that really only means something if yours doesn't match but premont's disc does match.

[kishnevi]

The only possible way I can think of is the 'matrix number' on the bottom of the CD, but then I'm not certain how often those change.

The number on my disc of the op.12 sonatas is A0101730775-0309  11.  I suppose that really only means something if yours doesn't match but premont's disc does match.

The number on my copy is A0101764100-0309 13.

[Madiel]

The particular disc (disc 3 in the box) actually got worse as it went. Every track of the op.23 sonata has a blip.

In total:

Track 1 3:17
Track 1 6:26
Track 5 4:16
Track 8 6:22
Track 10 2:11
Track 11 5:24
Track 12 2:20

I played through the whole of disc 1 of the set without a problem. So now I just have to go check all the others and then find someone to be cross with. I'm quite effective with being cross with people, so here's hoping...

Honestly, I've never ever encountered a problem of this nature with a disc before. The whole reason I do the checks that I did when this box arrived is because they'll catch the problems I know about. This was a whole new one.

[Madiel]

Well, I'm now playing through the 8th disc out of 9 total, and guess what?

It's the violin sonatas.

So far, every other disc in the set - orchestral works and piano trios - has been absolutely fine. Still have one to check, but the trend is clear. 5 flawless discs so far and I expect it will be 6.

Whereas all 3 of the violin sonata discs have the exact same problem. 23 times I've counted.

I suppose it's good to be able to be more specific about what's wrong, but it just makes it obvious that someone specific has been completely careless.

[Madiel]

Just to let people know, premont does indeed have the same disc pressing number on his disc, and therefore the same faulty batch.

Also, Amazon US has offered me a refund, which is good. I'm still debating whether I'll use that to try and get a 'clean' copy.

[Todd]

Also, Amazon US has offered me a refund, which is good. I'm still debating whether I'll use that to try and get a 'clean' copy.

There's a chance you end up with another bad copy.  A good chance.  I've tried the same thing a few times before - Leotta's last LvB volume on Atma, Skrowaczewski's Bartok set on Vox, one or two others - and ended up with more duds.  If you got to keep your set, I say use the refund for something else.

[Madiel]

There's a chance you end up with another bad copy.  A good chance.  I've tried the same thing a few times before - Leotta's last LvB volume on Atma, Skrowaczewski's Bartok set on Vox, one or two others - and ended up with more duds.  If you got to keep your set, I say use the refund for something else.

Yeah, I think you're right. Best thing I can do is sit back and enjoy the Stern/Rose/Istomin piano trios from the box, keep my notes about exactly where the static is so that if I listen to the Stern/Istomin violin sonatas I'm forewarned and won't have a heart attack, and buy Cerovsek/Jumppanen as a static-free substitute.

[Madiel]

I thought it was worth mentioning that I managed to find someone at Sony Classical in Germany who responded.

I admittedly flailed at 4 or 5 email addresses I found and sent them all a message, because let's face it, the big record companies don't really give the impression that they are interested in hearing from you and tend to make it quite difficult. But the end result was that I found someone was interested and wanted information about the faulty discs to follow-up.

Credit where credit is due.