Klarinet Archive - Posting 000210.txt from 1999/06

From: "Michael Bryant" <michael@-----.uk>
Subj: Re: [kl] Defective recordings, was: Finzi/Stanford recording
Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1999 18:42:17 -0400

Ageing CDs.
Many thanks Jack for putting me straight on this. Good job.
You would make a better spy than I. Naturally I shall,
for a moment, steer Joanna away from the music
profession 'goss' at which she is so adept,
after her next concert on Wednesday 9th June.
I don't find Richard Howard's chemistry so convincing
- it was ASV's version that I repeated parrot-fashion.
I have checked all my Hyperion CDs and found one that
is discoloured, but it sounds normal when played
on a not-very-special CD player, - Stanford and
Parry Nonets CDA 66291 (1989). Usually the
tracks worst affected are at the end of the disk.

Mike Bryant
Michael@-----.uk

Jack Kissinger wrote [04 June 1999 20:55 Defective recordings, was:
Finzi/Stanford recording]

>As it turns out ASV is only the tip of the iceberg. While it is true that
they
>have had a significant number of pressings reported as defective (100+),
>Hyperion had a significant number of disks subject to "bronze corrosion" as
>well. In fact, writing in the March/April "American Record Guide," Mark
Lehman
>writes (p. 58): "... I would like to thank Hyperion Records for being
especially
>conscientious in making collectors aware of the problem. Richard Howard of
>Hyperion not only described bronze corrosion in internet postings, but he
sent
>me the complete list (published in my original report) ["American Record
>Guide;" November/December, 1997; p. 64. The issue lists about 300
Hyperion and
>Helios releases along with a few releases each by ASV, Pearl and
Unicorn.]of
>Hyperion and Helios CDs pressed by PDO during the specified period and
hence
>potentially susceptible to bronze corrosion. Hyperion also has a web-site
>devoted to the problem at:
>
> www.hyperion-records.co.uk/bronzed.html
>
>[Here the quote ends. I left off the quotation marks so that the address
would
>work.]
>
>
>According to Lehman, two companies, the English division of Phillips and Du
Pont
>(PDO) and the Italian Optical Media Storage (OPTI.ME.S.) pressed the
recordings
>subject to deterioration during the late 1980s and early 1990s. As he
describes
>it, the problem is not due to contaminants in the air but rather the use of
>faulty lacquer "made with silver instead of aluminum." Hyperion indicates
that
>the lacquer is "not suitable to withstand the corrosive effect of the
sulphur
>content of paper used in the printing of CD booklets and other paper
parts."
>
>According to Lehman's latest update, companies whose CD's have been known
to
>exhibit the problem (in addition to ASV, Hyperion and Helios) include:
>
>Albany
>Appian
>DG Archiv
>Cala
>Collins
>CRD
>Danacord
>DG
>IMP
>Oiseau-Lyre
>Pearl
>RPO
>Testament
>Unicorn
>
>PDO pressed all of the above labels. Only a few releases are affected in
most
>cases except for Pearl (about 200) and Unicorn (about 60). (See Lehman's
>articles for detailed listings of defective PDO and OPTI.ME.S. pressings.)
PDO
>also pressed for London/Decca during this period but, so far, Lehman has
>received no reports of bronze corrosion on this label.
>
>Labels with releases pressed by OPTI.ME.S. known to have corroded are:
>
>ADDA
>Arkadia
>AS Disk
>Bongiovanni
>Classical Collector
>Fone
>Fonit Cetra
>Memories
>Nuova Era
>Opera Viva
>Ricercar
>Tactus
>
>In most of these cases, except for AS Disc (20+) and Nuova Era (35+), only
one
>or two releases are affected.
>
>Mark Lehman notes that Hyperion and Albany have been particularly helpful
in
>providing lists of disks susceptible to corrosion. Other manufacturers
have
>been less forthcoming. Both PDO and OPTI.ME.S. are willing to replace,
free of
>charge, any of their pressings that exhibit this problem. According to the
>Hyperion site, PDO has been replacing the disk (but not jewel box or liner
>notes) on receipt of a list of defectives (so far, they have not required
owners
>to submit the defective disks). OPTI.ME.S requires that any requests come
>through the record company that owns the copyright to the music. This may
be
>difficult in some cases because some of the record companies no longer
exist.
>
>As Mark Lehman puts it, "So much for 'perfect sound forever.'"
>
>Best regards,
>Jack Kissinger
>St. Louis
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Michael Bryant wrote:
>
>> Please correct me if I am wrong, I don't think it was Hyperion
>> that had this problem, but ASV. If I had to confess it, I have many CDs
>> from Hyperion and never a problem, beside which Joanna Gamble,
>> who sort-of ran Hyperion for Ted Perry, for most of the 90s, is a friend
>> of mine (played the horn once upon a time) so l would have heard about
it.
>> On the other hand, this major problem occurred at AVS.
>> They produce all of Emma Johnson's CDs. Philips (UK) or PDO Discs Ltd,
>> Philips Road, Blackburn, Lancashire BB1 5RZ, England - do their
"pressing"
>> and for a period in about 1989-1991 their vacuum deposition stage became
>> contaminated with air, water and iron (!) so that the CDs eventual (1995)
>> went rusty
>> causing major dropouts and noise. At enormous cost, they have undertaken
>> to replace free of charge all CDs returned to them (there is an inland
>> Freepost address).
>> I have had to return all Emma's CDs for replacement. I know this does
not
>> help if you
>> are thousands of miles away, but I needed to put a word in for Hyperion.
>>
>
>
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