Hello and welcome back... I'M Turning Japanese and i like it.
No, not me. I'm talking about Japanese issued CDs
I love everything about Japan, their culture, their technology and their yummy food.
CDs issued in Japan usually represents the best you can get, sound quality & build quality.
I have only one Japanese Issued CD at the moment which is 'Roxette Greatest Hits' (no OBI) but the CD booklet is in Japanese
There is sometimes a few problems with Japan Issued CDs.
One is cost. Some CDs sell for double, even triple the cost of a normal CD. This is usually because of the demand for something that is high quality.
The other problem is Time. It can take about 1 month (sometimes longer) to get your CD sent to you.
I am currently waiting on a Japan issued CD (Dead or Alive - Youthquake). Once i get it, i will share with you guys. (hopefully)
Also i hope that this CD will be the first one in my collection with a OBI Strip.
What is a OBI Strip I hear you ask?
An OBI Strip is the tiny piece of paper on the CD cover with a bit of information about the said CD
Looking at the pic above, the OBI strip (on the left hand side) is like a sash of authenticity and will often add value to your CD
The second thing is on the top left. The BSCD2 tag.
What is BSCD2?
It means its a Blue Spec CD Ver2.
Blue Spec is a Sony invention. On most western CDs, a process called Red Book (Red Laser) is used in the writing to the CD.
Blue spec is where a Blue Laser is used producing more precise grooves in a CD which, according to Sony, reduces distortion during playback.
Version 2 is a Blu-spec CD format which employs a more precise BD cutting machine, a master disc that is made from the same smooth material as silicon wafers for chip
manufacture, and a different recording layer material for the master
disc. Sony refers to this process as "Phase Transition Mastering"
Another thing you often see on Japanese made CDs is "HMCD" mark, this is often found on a Toshiba/JVC branded CDs.
HMCDs is an improved CD product with the greatest change being a different polycarbonate material that allows more precise physical representation of stored bits during pressing and less laser
scatter during reading.
These improvements aim to facilitate playback
by producing fewer errors and potentially better sound quality.
Both formats will play on a normal CD player
MP3 / AAC /FLAC VERSIONS
Japan Issued versions of Flac or MP3/AAC can also be hard to get your hands on. One album i have in my collection is "Madonna - True Blue" which i will share with you.
I noticed straight away the difference in sound quality between the normal CD version of the album and the AAC Japan Version.
The Japanese version sounds more crisp and vibrant but i will let you make up your own mind, if you can, leave it in the AAC file format, I find that if you change music to MP3, you lose on quality.
MADONNA - TRUE BLUE (REMASTERED JAPAN VERSION) (AAC 320Kbps)
Track List
01. Papa Don't Preach
02. Open Your Heart
03. White Heat
04. Live To Tell
05. Where's The Party
06. True Blue
07. La Isla Bonita
08. Jimmy Jimmy
09. Love Makes The World Go Round
10. True Blue (The Color Mix)
11. La Isla Bonita (Extended Remix)
LINKS
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fFJOWCzkasyIf3rB7L1Mrjt8V1wULtml?usp=sharing
I Hope to share some more Japan Issued albums with you shortly.
The sound quality is nothing short of Palpable.
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