Sony Music Entertainment Inc. has used its Blu-ray Disc technology to develop an audio CD with high sound quality. The Blu-spec CD complies with the standard for conventional CDs and it is compatible with current CD players. The company said that it would release 60 titles of classical music, jazz and other genres in the new format for 2,500 yen (US$25.10) apiece -- 715 yen more than a conventional CD. The first releases will be available in Japan on Dec. 24.

Sony developed a high-quality Audio CD by applying its technology know-how on manufacturing materials and laser diodes used on the Blu-ray format.

The new "Blu-spec CD" is conforms to the standard audio CD (CDDA/Red Book) format and it is compatible with existing CD players.

The new discs are built using polymer polycarbonate materials as well as an optimized Blue Laser Beam cutting technology that improves the quality of the laser beam.



The applied Blu-ray Disc polycarbonate polymer material introduces less jitter (noise) and thus, high-quality audio reproduction. Sony claims that the produced "Blu-spec CD" discs offer a quality similar to the master.



The company plans to release its older and upcoming music titles on the new format, while it will also encourage other companies to adopt the format for their audio CD releases.