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I've been going through my CD collection and re-ripping things that need it, and occasionally buying new copies of CDs that are significantly scratched (not necessarily unreadable, but below the standards I want in my collection). One such CD was 'Rated R' by Queens of the Stone Age - readable with no C2 errors, but some unsightly scratches so I replaced it since QotSA is one of my favorite bands. I bought a brand new copy, and did a visual comparison - same exact packaging, same UPC, and same serial number on the label of the disc. On the underside of the disc, it's clear the two discs are from a different pressing due to the style / rings on the disc - although the serial number on the inner ring is the same on both copies as well. I did some tests, and the CRCs were different for every track (in the same drive obviously).
Both discs are the exact same size and length according to Nero CD Speed, and each track is the identical length down to the millisecond. When ripped with EAC, the peak volumes are the same as well. The size of the uncompressed files is identical. Comparing the two WAV forms shows them to generally look the same - the amplitude looks identical, and doesn't at all look like the 'remastered' discs I've seen (where the amplitudes between the two versions are very noticeably different). There may be some microscopic differences in the WAV forms, but nothing I can imagine someone purposefully doing for a re-release. And of course there's no audible difference.
Is this par for the course with CDs? I don't know enough about how CRCs are generated to know if this is just the result of a new pressing, or if a new CRC would mean something was actually changed in the song. For CDs that were actually remastered, I've held onto both copies - but I'm unsure in this case if there's really any difference between these two save for undetectable offsets or something. Any information on situations like this would be greatly appreciated - not that this is in any way a big deal, but it has piqued my curiosity. Thanks.
Both discs are the exact same size and length according to Nero CD Speed, and each track is the identical length down to the millisecond. When ripped with EAC, the peak volumes are the same as well. The size of the uncompressed files is identical. Comparing the two WAV forms shows them to generally look the same - the amplitude looks identical, and doesn't at all look like the 'remastered' discs I've seen (where the amplitudes between the two versions are very noticeably different). There may be some microscopic differences in the WAV forms, but nothing I can imagine someone purposefully doing for a re-release. And of course there's no audible difference.
Is this par for the course with CDs? I don't know enough about how CRCs are generated to know if this is just the result of a new pressing, or if a new CRC would mean something was actually changed in the song. For CDs that were actually remastered, I've held onto both copies - but I'm unsure in this case if there's really any difference between these two save for undetectable offsets or something. Any information on situations like this would be greatly appreciated - not that this is in any way a big deal, but it has piqued my curiosity. Thanks.
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