COMPACT DISC: Digital Audio

[AKA]

Why are most early CD covers branded with this logo? God, it's annoying.

[Grant]

It was a selling point, just like DVD is now. The technology was new to the public and, while it had it's faults, the medium offered advantages no other format had ever before.

Back in the early 80s, the CD was something really special. For the first time you could hear music without any effects of wear, the sound was cleaner, you could jump to any track you wanted to in an instant, it was compact, no warps, clicks, no cleaning, cartridges, tone arms, wow, no flipping the album over midway, no innergroove distortion...

Sure, the sound reproduced wasn't perfect. Audiophiles and many recording engineers knew there were things wrong, but many others also thought it was great, but just disn't know or understand how to harness this newfound technology.

Anyway, to the mass public CD was the holy grail. But many held on to their casettes, not because of the sound, but because of the cost of switching over. Many who had vinyl held on to it because they were simply more comfortable with it. Many felt the CD cheapened the music and made it disposable. Some said there was no interaction with the playback, It felt like a cold, impersonal stranger.

I'm rambling and i'll stop now. I forgot the point I was trying to make. I should go to bed after a looong day at work.

[ericpeters]

you could jump to any track you wanted to in an instant, it was compact, no warps, clicks, no cleaning, cartridges, tone arms, wow, no flipping the album over midway...

It might be a shock for you, but you can still do that with the current CD players

[Dave B]

Yeah, but you couldn't with any previous medium (records, cassettes, 8-Tracks etc.)

[Bob Lovely]

How about an 8-Track thread?--I still have a few of those packed in a box somewhere...

Bob

[Dave B]

Bob, I once had at least a hundred of those miserable things. Possibly the worst musical medium ever invented. I have to say they were convenient to use in the car, but man those song breaks every 10 minutes or so. It was particularly bad because in the '70's there where a lot of long songs. I personally think that's one of the things that made cassettes so much more appealing. I was willing to give up some dynamic range in exchange for uninterupted music. Maybe we can start a thread - Worst 8-Track Song Breaks. I seem to recall the Moody Blues - Days Of Future Past only had one natural break out of the four tracks.

[Bob Lovely]

Dave,

I have two for you...

I'm Your Captain--Grand Funk...a fade down then fade up.
Blues (Part II)--B,S&T...same fade up, fade down

My dad actually purchased an 8-Track recorder and we made our own compilations from vinyl...

Tasty stuff...looking back I cannot believe we just had to have one!

Bob
:)

[Beagle]

Originally posted by AKA
Why are most early CD covers branded with this logo? God, it's annoying. It was so people would not try to play them on their turntables or slip them in their 8-track machines :D

It's a trademark, just like "Compact Cassette", which you used to see on all cassette tapes.

[KLM]

Another statement that you saw on the early cds (but not anymore) was the AAD, ADD or DDD symbols on the back cover or printed on the cd itself. I remember buying cds and getting excited when it was "A Full Digital Recording" DDD like the Brothers In Arms CD by Dire Straits. How ignorant I was back then and now wish I didn't necessarily think that digital meant better.

I hate to admit it, but I also use to like to buy cds that had nonoise or CEDAR noise reduction thinking that somehow it was better. Especially on the old Fats Waller, Duke Ellington or other early 1900 jazz recordings.

How I've grown since then.....

[Bob Lovely]

I like having the codes (AAD, ADD and DDD)...were they called SPARS codes or something like that?

No Noise, Cedar...remember Q sound?

Bob :)

[Dave B]

I believe those codes where supposed to be a guide to the consumer to inform them that they were buying a completely digital product or a digtally mastered version of an analog recording, etc. Funny but once people started to realize that none of it guaranteed good sound, the codes more or less disappeared.
I'm not sure but I think including that Compact Disc logo was part of the licensing agreement with Sony/Phillips.

[Bob Lovely]

I agree with your observations...as I recall the SPARS codes disappeared at the behest of the recording industry that really did not want to share such information with consumers. I may be wrong, but that is my recollection.

Bob :)

[Grant]

The SPARS code was not accurate. If a supposed DDD recording ran through an analog board and effects it really isn't DDD. It's actually more like DAD. Some things were mislabled, like the first run of David Bowie's "Let's Dance". To this day, I'm not sure what it is because starting in 1983 producer Nile Rodgers recorded digitally.

[BradOlson]

Yes the SPARS code wasn't always accurate. So many of ASV Living Era's CD's have a SPARS code as ADD when they are really AAD as they are 78rpm disc dubs, the same with Sam Cooke's The Man & His Music CD which has many rechanneled tracks.

[Kayaker]

I seem to remember everyone getting on CBS for just putting on the cover under the Compact Disc logo:
"Digitally Mastered"
"Analog Recording"
or
"Digitaly Mastered"
"Digital Recording"
Felt they were not telling enough about the process.
Funny, I used to get excited in the early CD years if I saw that it was digitally recorded. Now I worry.