Standard & SHM-CD Compared


While the SHM-CD release tested here shows somehwat less jitter on playback, and fewer C1 errors, note that neither the standard CD or the SHM-CD yield any C2 errors.  The only other notable technical difference is that the peak level of the the standard CD is 0.0 dB (!) while the peak level of the SHM-CD is -0.6 dB (see waveform displays below).


There is no indication from listening tests or inspection of the waveforms that the SHM-CD has different audio files compared to the standard CD.   Neither does the packaging of the SHM-CD contain any information indicating that it is a remaster compared to the standard CD.   The order of tracks does however differ between the two releases.  So apart from the difference in limiting, one would not expect the audio files to sound different when played back from a computer hard drive through the same D/A converter (using identical software).


The conclusion at least for this title is that the increased price of an SHM-CD is not worth the money compared to the standard CD release.  The same is likely true of many other SHM-CD releases.



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