CDs with Pre-Emphasis

[hifinutt]

read this recently with regard to cd `s

What is pre-emphasis? It was a method of equalizing that was used on some CDs originally manufactured during the 80s. If you play these back on a CD player or computer that does not automatically de-emphasize, they will not sound right. They will be oddly tinny and thin sounding.

seems interesting. any thoughts ?

http://cratedigging.co/13/11210/cds_with_pre-emphasis

[Theadmans]

There's loads of them...

As a Factory Records fan I bought the first UK (made in Japan) Factory copy of New Order "Low-Life" on CD.

When years later I ripped it to Flac...

...it didn't sound right until I wrote a DOS batch file to process it with SOX to de-emphasize the Flacs.

71 pages of CDs with pre-emphasis here:-

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thread...s-list.121188/

[struth]

I think it was part of the Redbook do any machine following it should decide it automatically

[Theadmans]

Yes but a load of modern CD players don't do this...

...and anyone who has ripped early CDs to flac on a computer - needs to be worried.

[Theadmans]

Just a few more names for you to toy with:-

Human League, Heaven 17, OMD, China Crisis, The Blue Nile...

...and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

[Macca]

I think it was part of the Redbook do any machine following it should decide it automatically

True but a lot don't these days, and probably some 'boutique' efforts from the past might not either.

Worst case played back without de-emphasis it will sound a little bit brighter/toppier than it should do. Like a tape with dolby switched off. It won't ruin the sound.

Mostly it's early 1980s Japanese CDs

[Theadmans]

True but a lot don't these days, and probably some 'boutique' efforts from the past might not either.

Worst case played back without de-emphasis it will sound a little bit brighter/toppier than it should do. Like a tape with dolby switched off. It won't ruin the sound.

Mostly it's early 1980s Japanese CDs

Actually we are not exclusively talking about expensive Japanese imports here...

...thousands of early UK CD albums are affected.

As this is a Hi-Fi forum I would suggest that it is a mute point as to whether the sound is ruined.

If you were the kind of person that only started buying CDs with "improved" remastered sound in the 90s - you are probably not going to have many discs with PE.

But I started buying discs around 1984 - and have quite a few PE discs (all of which I have re-ripped with SOX processing).

If you buy old discs from Charity Shops - you might want to check Discogs (which will often tell you about the presence of PE).

There is a flag for PE which is displayed in EAC - but not all discs with PE have the flag set. BTW even though EAC can display the flag - it doesn't compensate for it when creating flacs. For that you need SOX etc.

My £950 Creek CD50 CD player bought in 2016 does not handle PE (I asked Mike Creek).

[Macca]

Actually we are not exclusively talking about expensive Japanese imports here...

...thousands of early UK CD albums are affected.

As this is a Hi-Fi forum I would suggest that it is a mute point as to whether the sound is ruined.

).

I don't see anyway it can sound 'ruined' but it won't be the correct balance I agree.

I think I read somewhere that not compensating would give a 2dB lift to the HF but I can't find that now.

Have you compared a CD with pre-emphasis on a player that compensates and one that doesn't?

I have some early CDs so I will have to check to see if they qualify. None of them sound poor though and I doubt either of my DACs has compensation.

HDCD is another one where people say they sound bad' if not decoded, but they don't. I have one of those I had for years before I noticed the logo on the case. Never noticed anything wrong with the sound.

[struth]

Think it was 10db at the 10khz point added in the analogue domain. It was used to reduce noise, but a to d convertors by late 80's got so good it wasn't needed.

[Haselsh1]

I remember owning a Cambridge Audio CD2 back in the late eighties that had an LED to show de-emphasis was on or off. I also remember that Howard Jones' album was recorded that way.