SHM material warning

It saddens me to inform all of you that are interested, that I broke one of my SHM SACDs last night. I was simply wiping it off with a microfiber towel. I applied a little pressure but barely enough to bend the disc. The disc snapped in two pieces.

I have wiped literally thousands of cds sacds and dvds over the years and have never broken one.

I can't imagine trying to pull a SHM SACD from a tight fitting spindle. That thing would snap so fast.

Just a fair warning here. SHM SACDs are VERY brittle, like a thin piece of glass.

 

Ouch. I've never heard of such a thing. You'd think there were more people on this board experiencing the exact same thing with their SHM SACDs.

 

Wow, I guess it's true - it really is a harder polycarbonate layer than a regular CD.

 

It certainly is not a flexible as a CD, not even close.

 

Yes, it's a harder material than polycarbonate. So people should be aware of this. Think of it as a 78's record or a laser disc.

 

You heard from Mr Espen first folks. SHM-SACD's are the 78's of digital media!!!!


Nice to know they charge all that extra $$$ for a more brittle [inferior] physical product. Why can't they use standard SACD blanks and drop the cost $20?


Mr Espen since you are the SHM ambassador are you going to finally put your money where your mouth/keyboard is and reimburse poor Mr Tullman for his loss? C'mon dude this your chance to finally put up or shut-up!

 

I agree with this statement. For all I know, the brittle plastic used for SHM is actually cheaper/less expensive.

I wish I would have been warned about the SHM's being so brittle. I would have taken extra care. That is why I started this thread. I didn't start this thread for snarky comments or ongoing fueds.

People, don't drop these things on a hard surface or you can kiss it goodbye.

 

Understood. You want to get the word out. Problem with that is there is one who has already posted to this thread that will do his best to minimize and dispel your message.

I do believe the SHM material to be cheaper as well.

 

Let's hope this weakness leads to price decreases and a healthy used market.

 

Perfect sound forever.

Tullman, sorry to hear about this. I had no idea that the SHM-SACDs were less flexible than standard polycarbonate.

 

Me either.

 

glass CDs for $9.99?

http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/22/near-perfect-glass-cd-hits-stores-in-akihabara-shibuya-for-831/

 

From that link:

"They are not affected by heat or humidity and remain in perfect condition forever."

Where have I heard that before? I guess it's impossible to damage these glass CDs.

 

YES!!

 

Just because one SHM-CD broke easily doesn't really mean anything other than the OP probably just got a bad disc, unfortunately. I once snapped a new CD right in half by removing it from the CD hub. If I remember correctly, half the CD literally flew across the room! It was just a badly manufactured CD, one in a million. Stuff happens. Again, too bad for the OP, but certainly no reason for alarm.

 

You may be right, but I don't think so. I wouldn't dare flex anymore of my SHM-SACD's. I don't have any of the SHM CD's. Like I said, I don't really buy into the SHM thing.

I am willing to bet that most the people on this forum that spend $60. on a SACD handle them pretty carefully.

 

I handle all my discs the same, regardless of cost.

Who "flexes" their discs, anyway?

I truly believe you got a bad disc. Did you buy it recently? If so, I'm sure you can return it for replacement.

 

Well...if one is wiping the disc with a towel and hold the disc with fingers, there is some flex.

I hope your right about the disc being defective. I just think it is the material.

 

I think to be on the safe side (for any cd/disc) the best way to treat clean a disc is 1) spray the surface 2)then place it back in the jewelbox by touching only the center-playing side up 3) then wipe off the treatment or cleaner that way there's no chance of bending and or breakage when the wiping force is applied.

 

Tullman,

Ouch, it's sad when these occurrences happen and sorry to hear of your loss. Perhaps a quick email to the manufacturer will result in desired compensation?

 

I never clean my discs unless they need to be cleaned. Like the original CD sets for LIVE PHISH VOLUMES 1 through 20 ... and then I simply used soap and water. Boy, did I ever apply elbow grease, however, and those discs took the beating just fine.

 

+1
Kind of a Chicken Little phenomenon!

 

I'm sorry to hear of your experience.

It could be a defective disc, or it could be that, in general, the SHM material is more brittle than normal CD polycarbonate. But that does not necessarily mean that the SHM material does not have certain properties that make it a better choice for digital discs.

I will certainly take your advice to handle my SHM-SACDs with care.

 

Jesus Mary Joseph. I'm sorry for your experience as well.

This may explain the cardboard sheath (and packaging) the SHM-SACDs comes in. With my SHM-SACDs, I remove the sheath from the Mini-LP packaging (very tight fit...zoinks!) (from now on even more carefully) and place them behind the rear-square (back side of the) OBI. Easy, in, easy out.

Oh, and this should be a PSA Sticky.

 

HeyTtullman,

Thanks for the heads up. I never would have guessed something like that to happen.
I don't clean my discs per se, but do have difficulty getting them out of the sleeve.
I remember one poster saying to pinch the case to make it easier to release, but your note will get me thinking.
I wonder if a note to CD Japan or wherever you purchased the disc would be warranted.