[charmerci]

I have a European pressing of Mainstream Masters - a classical jazz compilation. I'm afraid that it was not stored in the best of conditions, i.e. desert high temps. There suddenly appeared a hole about the width of a needle (1/32 inch 1.5mm) just on the aluminum backing. But to my surprise it plays without a problem. Very interesting. I would think with a hole that large that there would be a problem.

Anybody have similar experiences?

[bprice2]

There probably is a problem and your cd player is skipping over it.  If it's the type of hole I think it is, it will become bigger.  This is just my opinion, but you should try and get the best rip from the cd you can, if you want to salvage it.

[some young guy]

There probably is a problem and your cd player is skipping over it.  If it's the type of hole I think it is, it will become bigger.  This is just my opinion, but you should try and get the best rip from the cd you can, if you want to salvage it.

Agreed! Good advice IMHO.

[jqp]

You may recall that CD players play the CD from the inside near the hole out towards the edge of the CD. Depending on where the hole is, it may not be readd by the laser. Also CDs/CD players have error correction, so maybe it is able to put together the data. But I also agree, get an archive of that one. I advise using one of the "exact" audio copiers since you may have to adjust how it is archived. In other words it may play on your CD player but fail to archive with typical burner software.

[charmerci]

It's a 60 minute CD and the hole is within the recording area. I did archive it on my computer. It plays fine there.

Then I sent it to my brother!  aa