Those first Japanese CD pressings from 1983-84 — the CBS/Sony discs with "CSR COMPACT DISC" stamped around the hub — often sound harsh. Shrill highs, fatiguing to listen to. The culprit is pre-emphasis: a high-frequency boost baked into the mastering that CD players were supposed to reverse automatically.

The problem? Many of these discs have the emphasis applied but the flag telling players to compensate was never set. The cdHistory database tracks affected releases. Dark Side of the Moon, Thriller, Abbey Road — all the early Japanese pressings need de-emphasis applied manually or they'll forever sound wrong.

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