Alion International Records

nikku76 · #1 13th July 2008, 07:29 AM

So I finally opened the package containing my copy of Rainbow, which had come in the mail a few days ago. And as I kind of figured, it wasn't by Avex Japan. Or Avex Asia, for that matter, but a company called Alion International records, who after a little research I found out to be a Taiwanese bootleg company. But hey, you get what you pay for I guess.

I was just wondering if any of you guys have ended up with an Alion bootleg and how you would rate the quality. For me, the paper in the booklet was thin but it was pulled off better than some official overseas versions I've had. The ink didn't bleed and create weird colors in many places except the credits page. Even the fold-out part was done well enough, though I can't really compare any of this to the Japanese version since I don't have it.

As for the quality of the music... I find I have to turn my stereo up louder than with most cds. This is surprising, given that this was a 2002 release. And the big thing.. there seems to be a lack of bass in some of the tracks. I tried comparing it with the HQ mp3s I have but sometimes suggestion can be more powerful than evidence, if you know what I mean. ><

So can I get some outside opinion here?

Coelacanth · #2 13th July 2008, 07:42 AM

My first Ayu CD was an Alion bootleg of I am...

The booklet was really grainy. The sound quality was decent I guess, but I noticed some slight background fuzz in M which annoyed me a little.

Delirium-Zer0 · #3 13th July 2008, 09:05 AM

Prime used to have an Alion International copy of RAINBOW also (we gave it to my sister when consolidating our Ayu collections), and we briefly compared the quality to my Japan avex version.... the printing is COMPLETELY different. The quality just isn't comparable. Granted, the original booklet was all uber-glossy in the first place, but even if they weren't next to each other it'd be a pretty big difference. I didn't listen to his copy of the album though so I can't comment on the sound quality. But the printing was just horrid. The colors were a bit off too - the contrast especially was just too high, and the midtones were too dark. The colors were too saturated inside the booklet too.

Honestly these look very much like they were made from one person buying the album, scanning & printing the booklet pages, and making mp3s of the cd & then burning them to the new disc. They're very convincing on first glance, but undeniably cheap when you actually open them up.

pommy48 · #4 13th July 2008, 09:08 AM

@_@...i never buy from online, so i don't know, but do bootleg cds have the avex shiny sticker too? can you make a avex shiny sticker?

nikku76 · #5 13th July 2008, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

Prime used to have an Alion International copy of RAINBOW also (we gave it to my sister when consolidating our Ayu collections), and we briefly compared the quality to my Japan avex version.... the printing is COMPLETELY different. The quality just isn't comparable. Granted, the original booklet was all uber-glossy in the first place, but even if they weren't next to each other it'd be a pretty big difference. I didn't listen to his copy of the album though so I can't comment on the sound quality. But the printing was just horrid. The colors were a bit off too - the contrast especially was just too high, and the midtones were too dark. The colors were too saturated inside the booklet too.

Honestly these look very much like they were made from one person buying the album, scanning & printing the booklet pages, and making mp3s of the cd & then burning them to the new disc. They're very convincing on first glance, but undeniably cheap when you actually open them up.

Ouch. Ah well, I suppose I can always get an official copy later down the line. For now it works as a good place-holder.

And pommy, nope, no shiny sticker. I pretty much knew it was a bootleg when I bought it. I was just hoping the quality would be ok. And the sound isn't THAT horrid. I mean, I can live with it and enjoy it even. Doesn't mean I'm not curious to hear the real thing and see if there's a difference but I can be patient. Right now bootlegs are all my wallet will allow.

Have I ever mentioned how much I wish I lived near a book off?

**sugarbasil** · #6 13th July 2008, 10:09 AM

4 1/2 years ago when I first bought my RAINBOW and I am... CD I had accidentally bought Alion versions. Actually, I didn't realize this until about 3 months ago when I went back to the same store to buy more CDs. Needless to say, I was quite angry. :/ They were my first Ayu CDs ever and meant a lot to me, so to find out they were fake really shot me through the heart. I'm still trying to get over it... :/

However, besides the printing (which looks like it came out of somebody's home printer), I cannot find a single thing wrong with the CDs. To this day I still cherish them. The sound is great, and the label on the CD is perfectly fine. It almost seems like maybe years ago they were okay distributors.

BUT the last time I bought a CD at that store (and this is how I found out they were fake) the CD (it was A Ballads, actually) was actually printed on top of a different CD. I could see the previous CD's label underneath!!! O_O It was like...some anime soundtrack or something. I was so ticked. I didn't even bother listening to it; I was sure the songs would be all screwy. Luckily I got my money back. :/

Edit: woah, how did I get 6 years ago??? O_o Major typo. XD

nikku76 · #7 13th July 2008, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sugarbasil

6 years ago when I first bought my RAINBOW and I am... CD I had accidentally bought Alion versions. Actually, I didn't realize this until about 3 months ago when I went back to the same store to buy more CDs. Needless to say, I was quite angry. :/ They were my first Ayu CDs ever and meant a lot to me, so to find out they were fake really shot me through the heart. I'm still trying to get over it... :/

However, besides the printing (which looks like it came out of somebody's home printer), I cannot find a single thing wrong with the CDs. To this day I still cherish them. The sound is great, and the label on the CD is perfectly fine. It almost seems like maybe years ago they were okay distributors.

BUT the last time I bought a CD at that store (and this is how I found out they were fake) the CD (it was A Ballads, actually) was actually printed on top of a different CD. I could see the previous CD's label underneath!!! O_O It was like...some anime soundtrack or something. I was so ticked. I didn't even bother listening to it; I was sure the songs would be all screwy. Luckily I got my money back. :/

Wow, that sounds pretty ghetto. Well, I'm glad the sound wasn't messed up for you on your first cds. I'm starting to think my imagination might be finding more of a problem than there is because when I stop looking for a problem, I find myself rocking out to it. ^^; If I could know for sure that it would be at least the same quality, I would try to get a bootleg of I am... too. But it seems that they aren't maintaining any level of quality now days so who knows I wouldn't get one like that copy of A Ballads you picked up.

BTW, they have shops that sell Japanese cds (or at least knock-offs) in Milwaukee? Haha, it seems Virginia is just lame, 'cause I live in the capital and the closest thing we have would be this asian supermarket that sells a few unlabeled chinese cds in a rack under some herbs and stuff. -__-; Cannot wait to visit New York one day...

Delirium-Zer0 · #8 13th July 2008, 11:02 AM

All we have here in Albuquerque is ONE anime store that has some jpop stuff... ALL the CDs & DVDs there are bootlegs (for which they ask japan-version prices, it's ridiculous), and I'm pretty sure most of the merchandise is too.

Depressing.

#9 13th July 2008, 11:29 AM

Luckily, I've never bought an Ayu bootleg, I've always just been way too careful about it. I once got bought a Hikki Bootleg, it was awful o.o I can't remember which company it was from though... but it had songs from other singers on there o.o

Northerner · #10 13th July 2008, 06:44 PM

I've never dealt with Alion, but I have a few DVD's from Miya Records (another Taiwanese company).

Even though the originals would obviously be better to have, I actually can't find anything wrong with these except for the slipcase being paper instead of plastic (they are ARENA TOUR sets). The picture quality is very good, and they even included the lyric booklet!

Seiko Yua · #11 13th July 2008, 07:04 PM

i might have accidently bought a bootleg but paid full price... i bought A BALLADS from an anime convention like 4 years ago and the sound and graphics are all great. according to the divine ayu cd scan section, the booklet and slip cover all perfectly match except for the cd itself. while on divine ayu it shows this intricate detail around the middle, mine is just a simple plain custard color with no pattern whatsoever (but of course with the, "ayumi hamasaki/ A BALLADS" title on it). maybe because i had bought it over a year after its release that the printing company didn't print the pattern anymore or maybe it's just a REALLY good knock-off XD

but would dealers at anime conventions really sell knockoffs??

Bad Wolf · #12 13th July 2008, 09:14 PM

^ I don't think they would... I mean, it seems a little far-fetched D:

I haven't heard of Alion before, but I have heard (and have a few things by) Miya Records. They aren't so bad: the quality of CDs and DVDs from them (unbeknown to me, my copy of A BEST 2 -WHITE- was a bootleg from them~) are REALLY high. The only way I can tell it's a bootleg is that the slip case seems a little flimsy and the picture on front of the CDs seems a little faint / not the real photo used for AB2, but even that is secondary to the fact that the content and quality is very well done.

I hope you can get to a Book Off some day - or make friends with someone in NY who doesn't mind buying them for you XD

Hazuki · #13 13th July 2008, 10:54 PM

Dealers at Anime Conventions do actually sell knock-offs.
At least, here they do.

I went to a convention last year, there were sellers in another building,
sells merchandise like dolls, plushies, clothes, DVD, CD, etc..
those people selling CDs were Miya Records, asking for a VERY high price.

I never bought an Alion, but I used to have Miya records,
they pretty good quality, except for the CD side,
which has the CD title written in black on white.

LOL The bootlegs for ayu-mi-x 6 are SO UGLY.
They aren't even shiny, especially the gold one,
it's not gold, it's barf orange with hints of green!

KuroixShiroi_Namida · #14 14th July 2008, 12:35 AM

Yeah the anime conventiosn here sell bootlegs too. I looked at one of miyavi's album and the cover was off and the printing was ugly...

visionfactory · #15 14th July 2008, 12:54 AM

lol I have the same RAINBOW bootleg as you.
I have I am... and A BALLADS too, all of them from Alion

First I bought RAINBOW thinking it was original but it ended being a bootleg but I didn't noticed any low quality sounds or anything, except for the credits page and the CD art. Then I bought I am... and A BALLADS because I couldn't find the original to buy them and I loved the covers and the songs that were in these, that's my story.

Kashoku · #16 14th July 2008, 01:04 AM

the GUILTY album I got was bootleg from some company in China...I forget the name. But I quickly bought an Authentic afterwards.

extepan · #17 14th July 2008, 01:45 PM

i have never heard of this allion records...

i buy all my cds from shops in hong kong, and they are all HK OS or *** versions, original and authentic!

Seiko Yua · #18 15th July 2008, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cart-RAT

i might have accidently bought a bootleg but paid full price... i bought A BALLADS from an anime convention like 4 years ago and the sound and graphics are all great. according to the divine ayu cd scan section, the booklet and slip cover all perfectly match except for the cd itself. while on divine ayu it shows this intricate detail around the middle, mine is just a simple plain custard color with no pattern whatsoever (but of course with the, "ayumi hamasaki/ A BALLADS" title on it). maybe because i had bought it over a year after its release that the printing company didn't print the pattern anymore or maybe it's just a REALLY good knock-off XD

but would dealers at anime conventions really sell knockoffs??

damn it all! i checked and it IS a bootleg from alion T_T

jeffycue · #19 15th July 2008, 06:49 AM

^ lol.. i think we have the same A BALLADS cart-rat. it's the only bootleg i got... since i was so desperate on having... i thought it was real but turns out it wasn't.. oh well... am still in search of a real A BALLADS cd.

Seiko Yua · #20 15th July 2008, 11:10 AM

i checked yesasia and they still have A BALLADS in stock. both the japanese and overseas version. and same price as i paid for my KNOCKOFF!!! XO lol okay, i'm over it.

though, i should've known something was wrong with it -_-;; when i imported it to my itunes, all the info was correct except for the YOU remix which is correctly named: "northern breeze" but it turned up, "nothern breeze." (although, yesasia made the same mistake in their track listing? o_O)

next time i see that label, i'm haggling the price down to half lol