1990 Carpenters 12 Album CD Compilation - Degraded Quality

[ianbrayzier]

I wonder if anybody has had the same problem. I have a numbered limited edition 12 album Carpenters CD set from 1990 which is now unplayable due to a worsening distortion - some CD's seem worse than others. These are an A&M recording and have been looked after with the rest of my collection - only these have degraded. Is there anything I can do to rescue these? Can I replace them anywhere? This was quite an expensive limited set and I am loathe to give up on it!! Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Chris May]

Are you talking about the Carpenters' "Compact Disc Collection" released in the United Kingdom, both 12"x12" box as well as "book-style"? -Chris

 

[PHIL]

That's very worrying Ian - I have the same (it would seem) set, and as yet have had no problems. As it's one of my treasured possessions, I would be very upset were it to suffer the same fate as yours - I recall that when I bought it, I could barely afford it and I didn't even own a CD player at the time!! Sorry I can't offer any helpful suggestions, hopefully one of our friends on this board will have some bright ideas.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Can you describe the sound more? Do the CDs still play, yet sound distorted? Or do they skip and cut-out? If the latter, you may be a victim of CD rot, which is when the aluminum layer in the CD degrades usually due to humidity.

I've never experienced it myself, or even seen it firsthand, and I've still got some of the original CDs from back in the early 80s, but then I'm not in a real humid climate either. I think the problem is relatively rare given the billions of CDs in circulation.

If the disks still play through but sound distorted, well I've never heard that one before.

 

[Rudy]

If the discs LOOK funny, then it could be CD rot. But if they look OK, I'd almost suspect the CD player. Try them on another known good player first--doesn't hurt to rule out a hardware issue first.

Reason I mention this is because my first CD player from 1983 was kind of shaky, and certain discs would give it fits. Discs that looked perfectly fine would not play--and it was often from specific pressing plants. (For instance, I had trouble with the Warner Bros. discs that were made by Polygram in Germany.) Could be just a dirty laser assembly.

I had a Led Zeppelin set go bad on me, but only because I carried all four discs with me for a couple of years straight in the car.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Hi,

Was this UK set pressed by PDO in the UK? Some of the discs they pressed had a silver reflective coating which tarnished and bronzed easily. Please show us some photos. PDO may well be able to supply you with replacement discs. A & M Records in the UK then were pressed by that plant.

 

[Rudy]

Hey Kent! Nice to see you here!

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

(For instance, I had trouble with the Warner Bros. discs that were made by Polygram in Germany.)

LOL! How 'bout any CD manufactured by Polygram in Germany. Those things were terrible. I had a ton of those things rot on me. YUCK!

Ed

 

[newvillefan]

How 'bout any CD manufactured by Polygram in Germany. Those things were terrible. I had a ton of those things rot on me. YUCK!

Well touch wood, my German CD of Christmas Portrait is still in fine condition. What actually happens to a CD when it starts to 'go off'? I assume it doesn't go like rotten eggs or anything

 

[Harry]

I've got plenty of Poygram discs made in "West Germany" that are fine, with no signs of deterioration. There were some batches from that factory that have gone bad though, and many more that are just fine.

Harry