MFSL Blind Faith – Ultradisc vs. Ultradisc 2

Yeah! It's happened once before. Remember when all of those people kept saying that Kiss's "Music from the Elder" sucked so they could drive down the market price?

Some people are really crafty, I think.

 

Aw man, didn't you hear? That Elder CD blows.

 

I can vouch for that. Just a week ago I took an Oasis CD, Be Here Now, that's had a scratch on it and would not play through the track 'Stand By Me' on any player, and I ripped it to my hard drive into AAC. It took forever to rip that disc, but eventually it did and the resulting AAC files played back without any detectable errors. So, I decided to make a CD-R copy of the disc. Again, during the process it choked at certain points and took forever to copy, but it did. When I play back the CD-R and compare it to the tracks on the original CD that will playback I hear NO DIFFERENCE. I know people like to talk about 'jitter', but, IMHO, this only comes into play if one cannot extract the identical data from a disc. Why are we to believe, that if you can take two CD's, put them into any CD-ROM drive and always extract identical data copies, and in addition always burn copies which can then have data identical to the originals extracted from them, that suddenly, when someone puts these discs in their CD player and listens to them , they will magically be different? Bits is bits.

 

Roland, I understand your intent with this post. You were hoping for a glint of in-depth knowledge about the recording/remastering process and you thought this was the best place to get it. The last thing you likely wanted to hear is that "If one sounds great, then why worry?" Am I right? Anyway, there are a lot of very helpful people here you just have to catch them in a moment of weakness. Do so and they will tell all.

 

Amen!!!

 

Very interesting thread....

 

I'm not Chris, but this answer is a definitive YES. 0.5 of a db is more than you think. That difference will clearly be represented by the level meters in your audio software. You can boost the playback level in the software to hear the difference. It is not tricky. If there is no difference, the meters will either display the lower limit of the resolution set in the software (-96 db at 16 bit, -144db at 24 bit). If there is a 0.5 db difference, the meters will dance at .5 db above that.

 

I didn't wrote see difference!
WinABX plays file a then plays file b (same track from different release) then it plays file x and you don't know is it a or b. If in 10 times or 20, 30 times you may guess which file was x a or b with more then 50% accuracy then you may make some conclusion.
When you simply A-B-ing two CD's you know which one is playing and it may bias your hearing experience.

 

Not when you're spouse does the changing of the CDs and will not tell you which is which until you are through. It's the only fair way I can be certain of the results. No false perceptions based on visual stimulation here.

 

The only way to REALLY A/B two CDs fairly is to have two identical CD players feeding into your preamp and switching back and forth on there. That way you can hear one and then instantly switch to the other, both playing simultaneously.

Echoic memory is too short; you can't truly hold onto the sound of one CD in your mind...by the time you get the other one in the player and playing, most of the details of the first one are more than likely gone.

 

Leave it to a thread like this to have Mr. Goodwin rise like a phoenix! Thanks for trying to inject some sense into this.

Dave, you know I love ya, nothin' personal...

 

Don't worry; I've made my point, and now will descend from whence I arose.

 

Arin, and David... I can assure you that I've always only ever been completely honest if you're referring to me, with no ulterior motives other than the truth. This does not mean that these things you mention do not happen of course, and I can only speak for myself.

Arin, David, daveman and Rob, I honestly wish that we all lived closer to one another because I would be able to convince you I'm certain, and most others for that matter, with 3 albums in one afternoon. Instead, all I can do is tell everyone in hopes that they can hear the difference as well. Some do, some don't. Should you ever make it up this way I'd love to have a listening/comparison session with any of you. Oh, and please bring your UD2's with you because I no longer have any where there is a UD1 available.

 

I was just kidding, Dave. That's what the smiley D) was for. I know you wouldn't hose anybody like that.

Of course, I probably should've just said I was kidding...

 

Well, I am pretty amazed about the direction this thread took. My original post included the following qualifier:

I have no reason not to believe, for example, a forum member like Dave, when he claims that he can hear certain differences in some cases.

I wanted to find out more about what kind of differences they are hearing and to find out about the "magnitude of differences" by using some examples.

My question was answered, not fully, but to some extent by Dave.

I didn't think the UD1 vs. UD2 discussion is such an emotional and sensitive issue. I sure didn't mean to upset anybody by my posts.

Roland

 

By the way, I would be really curious to know whether Steve can hear any differences...

 

Has anyone ever found digital differences between a UDI and its UDII counterpart?

 

from www.aurealm.com

Is the UltraDisc version the more valuable of the two?

Most collectors don't seem to have noted the difference between the two versions. The UltraDisc versions are generally harder to find, but in terms of sound and/or monetary value, the difference is negligible at this time. To all but a few hard-core collectors, a Mobile Fidelity gold CD version of an album, whether it is an UltraDisc or an UltraDisc II version, is good enough.

\

 

I'm not sure where the emotional or sensitive part is. I'm not sensing that at all.

Conjecture, objectivity and levity are all I've seen. The components of a typical thread.

 

The UltraDisc vs. UltraDisc II has been discussed previously here in the forum with strong opinions on both sides about differences. A little of that past history creeps back into the conversation anytime the subject comes up.

 

If the inner ring on a UDII says JVC, do this mean that the disc was sourced from glass made in Japan, or did JVC have facilities in the US as well?

 

Yes, JVC did have US facilities.

 

What where these backup tapes? Digital, or analogue?

 

But without a remastering from I to II (the same mastering), does everyone agree that a I and II would sound identical?