Sony Music Entertainment Japan has used Blu-ray technology to develop an audio CD with higher sound quality, the Blu-spec CD [JP, PDF] .

Sony says the Blu-spec CD (what a name) complies with the standard for conventional CDs, so nobody interested in the new technology has to buy special players. The company claims it uses a new kind of machines to produce the discs. Supposedly, master CDs of a higher quality can be manufactured and then copied.

The first Blu-spec CDs will be available in Japan on December 24. Sony plans to initially release 60 titles of classical music, jazz and other genres (including Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, an Aerosmith album and Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue). CDs in the new format will cost $25 apiece.