[microsound] the great myth about Anomalous, CDs and CDRs

[Dale Lloyd <dkl37@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>  Anomalous (first the distro and now the label), 

Ok, first of all Anomalous Records (the distribution) did not close due to financial
trouble. It was due to stress and other personal issues. The distribution side was doing 
the best business it ever had when Eric decided to close it last year. The label is 
now closing due to what Eric terms "a lack of interest in his releases."
 
Second, I can no longer contain myself in regard to the CDR conversation because I 
run a label that PROUDLY releases CDRs and CDs, and this kind of pessimistic talk is 
the kind of biased DISS-isinformation can dissuade people from buying my releases 
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. And I have a customer base that can vouch for the quality of 
the discs I release. If some of them have run into problems, then they haven't contacted 
me about them, and should immediately.
 
I noticed that no one has bothered to mention that CDs are just as susceptible to "disc 
rot" as badly made and/or badly handled CDRs. Just take random CDs in your collection 
and hold them up to a strong light and see if you find any pinholes. THIS, my friend is 
"CD rot".
 
One way to prevent CD rot is to have your CDs made with full faced printing because 
contrary to common belief, the top (printed side of the disc) is the most vulnerable and 
this seems to help protect it. There is also the problem of bronzing with CDs that were
not made according to high standards. In fact I sent a CD to a plant in the UK for 
replacement, because they will replace certain CDs that were made during the early 90s, 
where that particular plant ran into contamination issues. But who's to say that 
more CDs won't pop up in another 10 years with the same issue?
 
As far as a sonic difference in the two formats, I have found this to be technical nano-talk 
(nano-babble?) that hasn't manifested to anything significant in the everyday world. And if 
there was a readily audible difference, this could depend on the brand of CDR or the 
particular copy that you are doing a comparison test with, as well as the kind of CD 
player and number of CD players you've played things on.
 
I have CDs that won't play in my iMac drive and I remember the first time I had a CD 
made, I noticed how it sounded more muddy than the original, and was very disappointed 
at the time. So, basically I'm just trying to tip the scales a bit more to the other side of 
this conversation because frankly, what we don't need in this world is more unfounded 
"this versus that" arguments. It's all good, and they all have their issues as well.
Just enjoy the darned music and get on with life.
 
Best, Dale
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 



Dale Lloyd: http://www.and-oar.org/dalelloyd.html
and/OAR: http://www.and-oar.org/