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Is it just me? or do classical CDs fail to properly rip more often than pop etc?

uncl_nigel

uncl_nigel

pfm Member
AT LAST !!!
I have just finished ripping the last of 2303 albums (probably nearer 2700 actual CDs) and have had many more failed rips on the classical third of the collection.

To be clear, the pop/rock/folk was mostly done before the end of 2017 and the classical has been mainly done over the summer form early June to 30 minutes ago (dbpoweramp 14.x up until this summer and the current version since). All the defective classical CDs were tried on both WIN7 laptop and iMac.

The problem CDs from Hyperion were no problem at all (they have a wonderful customer support service for "bronzed" discs).

All told I have had 25 classical CDS that have failed to rip to "secure" or "accurate" files with dbpoweramp. And the "insecure" files do sound bad if they actually play often with a sort of chugging in the background. One CD has visible physical damage, the Hyperion discs were brownish around the edges, the others appear to have no visible signs (to my poor eyes at least).

Labels concerned:
Denon
- Mahler, symphony 3 (2CDs)
DG
- Vivaldi, Four Seasons
Deutsche Harmonia Mundi
- Handel, Rodelinda (3 CDs)
EMI
- Beethoven, Symphonies 2+4
- Elgar, Cello concerto etc
Erato
- Liszt, Eine Faust Symphonie
Harmonia Mundi
- Handel, Water Music
Hyperion
- all 11 replaced with either discs or files thanks to their generous after-sales policy for bronzed discs; my grateful thanks to them!
Linn
- Handel, Messiah SACD (2 discs)
RCA
- Vaughan Williams, symphonies 3+4
Teldec
- Ars Britannica (2 CDs)

I had major problems with only two "bronzed" pop CDs (Genesis - Selling England, and Carly Simon - No Secrets) and five or six copy-protected discs most of which involved fiddling with the software settings and took more time to rip but produced decent files all the same. There was also that home-brew CD I should not have bothered buying on a market in Malta... All told less than five that were replaced for nearly twice as many CDS.
 
I don't see why this should be, but...

- It could be just dumb chance. You don't say how many of your CDs are classical and how many pop. The more of your CDs are classical, the more likely it is just randomness.
- Are your classical CDs, on average, older?
- Do you play your classical CDs more?
- Are the two types stored in different places?
- Maybe your ripping drive has deteriorated since you ripped the pop CDs?

In context though, the failure rate is just over 1%, which isn't too bad. Given that you've worked around the problems with some, the replacement cost for the remainder is a tiny fraction of what it must have cost to build up your collection in the first place. You could try secondhand (many CDs available for £1 to £2 now) or downloads from the likes of Qobuz. As a courtesy to PFM's owner, to help keep the site going, you could check out Tony's CD lists to see if he has any you need first?

I assume you've tried cleaning the remaining offenders e.g. with washing-up liquid, and a soft cloth, wiping from the centre outwards? Some people also say toothpaste can fill any little imperfections but, as it is mildly abrasive, that one sounds like a last resort to me, only to be used if the disc is otherwise junk.

Anyway, congratulations on getting 99% of your collection ripped. It's a very time-consuming and boring process, and I sympathise, having done the same with a significantly smaller number. All the best for the remaining 1%!

Kind regards

- Garry
 
About one third classical two thirds the rest so approx 800 and 1500 respectively which gives a major imbalance to the failure rates... 25 over 800 or 3.125% for classical as against 5 over 1500 or 0.333% for the pop / rock / folk!

In general the classical CDs are a little older and I play them less often.

I systematically tried cleaning the CDs in question but in no case did that improve matters.

I am really unhappy about three titles - the Linn label Handel, Messiah, the RCA Vaughan Williams; symphonies 3+4 and the Denon label Mahler, symphony 3. Quite a few of the others contain music I am not that fond of...
 
That's a very interesting stat you stumbled upon, Nigel. You're on to something there. I'll keep an eye out on that too from now on.
 
CDs play from middle to rim and classical tends to be longer than pop. Disc damage, corrosion and pressing errors are concentrated at the rim
 
davidsrsb said:
CDs play from middle to rim and classical tends to be longer than pop. Disc damage, corrosion and pressing errors are concentrated at the rim
Click to expand...
For my CDs: that holds true for the visibly bronzed CDs but is not systematically the case for the others.
 
Vaughan Williams sorted thanks to a friendly PFM member

Many thanks to you Nick

Anyone out there who could help with Mahler 3 (Denon, Inbal) or Handel's Messiah (Linn)?
 
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