Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
kross

China/Hong Kong printed CDs?

Recommended Posts

Hi,

 

I see more and more hawkers selling those CDs with versions, CD covers which are not those marketed in the CDs stores. Most of them are printed in China. I am wondering whether they are legal? And any chance that they are actually pirated CDs in disguise? And sometimes I also see some of those CDs store carry these China printed CDs, selling them at lower price than the Singapore versions they carry.

 

I actually bought them before and well, they sound not bad..

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't think they are illegal, more like parallel imports. Not sure what this means exactly, but basically these are cds meant to be sold in the china market. Alot of them sold in Bugis area, and I agree they don't sound very different from conventional cds to me

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

For pop music I think no difference lah, pop music is often poorly recorded anyway. But classical and jazz may have quality difference. For casual listening, I guess no problem.

 

OT - I find some of the HK audiophile CDs of Chinese orchestras are very good in recording quality but not cheap.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Most of the time, these are parallel imports. The CDs (and DVDs are appearing too) are meant for the China market and not meant to be sold outside China. Sometimes you can see a label indicating so. Some of them has gross misspellings and funny Chinglish translations (both ways) of song titles too :P

 

I bought the China version of this CD from "Audiophile Haven", a Sembawang Music spinoff many months ago and realised it's missing the song "Mack the Knife".

 

IPB Image

 

Besides missing a song, the sound quality is also not as good as the US pressing I ordered from amazon.com. Having said that, the differences are very small and without comparing them side by side, you probably won't notice anything.

 

Regards

CK

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

meant for chinese market, and those people make money by parallel importing and selling them here.

quality wise no big difference especially for pop music. Most of the time they're the way to go especially if one's tight on vitamin M :D

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

meant for chinese market, and those people make money by parallel importing and selling them here.

quality wise no big difference especially for pop music. Most of the time they're the way to go especially if one's tight on vitamin M :D

Also a good way to "try out" an album without having to spend too much money or downloading from you-know-where. :P

 

Regards

CK

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have always wanted to compare the sound quality of China pressed and say Japan/US pressed cds side by side but I often don't want to waste the money to buy two copies so I just buy the cheaper ones and enjoy the muic :)

 

however, when I try to reason it out, I don't think those recording companies will press separately in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. just for the Asia market right? It don't make sense and cents to them. I think most likely they press in China and market them differently in different countries, like add some freebies, add some packaging...so I am wondering whether I am paying extra for those freebies when I buy CDs marketed as "Singapore version".

 

Also, maybe you guys can help on the pressing thing. Basically CDs are just 1s and 0s, data...so how pressing affects the reading of the signals, assuming they are the same 1s and 0s...?

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Blind tested Andrea Bocelli Amore CD for both the $11.90 Singapore Version and the normal $21.90 version. No difference in quality.

 

Personal view is this. If that CD is by a singer or artiste that you support or you value his/her vocals or music arrangements and stuff, its better to buy the more expensive one. If not there will always be this question lingering in your mind when you buy the $10 bucks one, " would Mr XXX sound better in the other CD? Would the soundstage or instrument sound better in the $20 CD??"

 

But if it is an artiste you just wish to listen to and not much emphasis on the songs, the $10 type of CD will suffice and make you a law abiding citizen.

 

Parallel Import CDs are totally legal as the Copyright Law has the Exhaustion of Rights Principle. Meaning if the CD is sold in China, the company has no right to enforce that the person only listens in China and cannot resell the CD to other jurisdiction.

 

So feel free to buy China CDs if its just for trying out the songs or adding CDs to your collection. The singer still earns his/her royalties. No worries. :))

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Is there a quality difference in the printed material - the lyrics booklet and such? They usually seem less well-printed, the Chinese ones. Or is it a trick of the light and mind?

I wonder if the same is true of the print on the CD itself. I buy CDs for collecting if I really like the artiste, so it's usually only the Singapore and Japanese (ouch) version that gets my money.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I bought snow patrol's eyes open album SG version at $11.90. Quality is very good but the inlay is only a piece of paper folded in half! :yawn:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I can safely said more and more chinese pressed CDs are getting better.. But i still buy those from the same few chinese companies.. very good resonable recordings so far...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey nakedtoes, care to share which are your trusted few chinese companies?? ya, i agree that the quality is getting better over the years. some even come labelled as HDCD..:)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey nakedtoes, care to share which are your trusted few chinese companies?? ya, i agree that the quality is getting better over the years. some even come labelled as HDCD..:)

 

Of those I borrowed from a friend, the HDCD appears to be for real as it lights up the HDCD LED of my Rotel CDP. Interestingly the "rest of the world"/US/etc version does not have HDCD but the China one does...

 

Regards

CK

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

haha..so that's the strange and interesting part right?? Sometimes I don't even know how real they are....

 

Even there are HDCDs versions, they are definitely more expensive than what those China versions are going for.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
however, when I try to reason it out, I don't think those recording companies will press separately in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. just for the Asia market right?

 

CDs are still a physical medium and thus international shipping costs can be substantial enough to justify individual pressings for each country. Maybe not for Singapore, but the Taiwan and China markets are probably large enough.

 

Anw, some of the China pressings I've heard do sound inferior to their Taiwan/Singapore counterparts.

 

I bought snow patrol's eyes open album SG version at $11.90. Quality is very good but the inlay is only a piece of paper folded in half! :yawn:

 

Yep, those who intend to get the SG version would do well to know that no lyrics booklet/artwork (other than the cover art) is included.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...