Jfz, you should also know that the Nespa everyone is talking about here is the $895 Pro version. |
Leec, I believe you about your tests although I will try them myself, but from my understanding of how the Nespa works or is said to work, I would expect no improvement on a cd-r.
As I understand it the Nespa heats the cd and gets a closer bond between the silver cover and the substrata by removing space between the two occupied by gas. Since the cd-r has no overlay, at least as I understand how they work, I don't see how there could be any benefit. I would have expected a fourth disc where the original was Nespaed and then copied would have been best and that Nespaing the cd-r had no effect.
Since my vinyl is so good and digital is getting equally tedious, maybe I should only listen to vinyl. |
Nespa#1 is soooo gooood. It made me enjoy in CD's which I have not listen to for a long time because they sounded badly. Obviously it helps to overcome failure in manufacturing process of CDs. XRCDs treated with Nespa are equal to the best SACDs. |
The question remains: how much improvement does EACH provide? (Nespa vs RC). I realize each can improve the other, but what if a person can only afford one. Has anyone done a direct comparison: just Nespa vs just RC? |
OK, this took some time but I made 4 RCCD's: One of the black CDR's was Nespa'd before making the copy, one was never Nespa'd the 3rd was Nespa'd before and after and the 4th Nespa'd only after it was RealityChecked! Got this so far. The best sounding of all was the one that was Nespa'd after it was copied via the RealityCheck process. Nespaing (a new word now) a blank CDR before it was copied, did not have the openess and bass control that a copied RCCD/Nespa CD had. This was not subtle. Still, as in my previous posts, I'm enjoying just zapping each CD with the Nespa unit and forgoing using the RCCD process, yes it's better doing all but the difference and time it takes is just not worth it, IMHO, yours may differ, or you have a lot of free time. Enjoy, hope this has helped. |
Last Sat. we treated a CD ( previously treated with RealDisc and ClearBit on the rim) with the Nespa. We then burned RCCD CD-R. Compared to a pre-Nespa version, the Nespa version was improved.
RCCD and Nespa work well together.
Steve |
PureMusic:
I've only tried the Nespa on the CD-R AFTER burning it. Per Steve Klein, the distributor of the Nespa, I also Nespa the original prior to burning. I can't verify that this makes any significant difference, but judging from what it does to the CD-R, I'd venture that it improves the original CD as well--which would, in theory, improve the burning process, because the burner would have an easier time reading the original. Whew, now I'm totally confused. What was I saying? :) |
John (Jfz), you volunteering to be the 'test subject'? Just kidding :) |
The obvious question now, to me, is: has anyone compared an RC CDR to an original that has been Nespa'd? Of course using two originals (in my experience, one would have to make sure the two sound the same as well first - i.e. I've found they don't all necessarily sound the same!)would be the most fair comparison: original Nespa'd (without fluids) vs. fully RC treated CDR. Then, I suppose, the next step might be comparing a fluid treated Nespa original with a Nespa original that had not been treated with fluid. And comparing the fluid treated Nespa with the CDR. All in the name of better sound with the least amount of hassle, of course. And, of "double course", in the spirit of science, but while having fun doing it. |
John, I've only Nespa'd the RealityCheck CD's AFTER they were made, thinking this would give me the most bang for the buck, and it was a wonderful improvement even after the copy was made. Still, at this time, not duplicating any more RC copies, just blasting them with the halogen light and enjoying muzic as it should be......... |
Leec and Hooper,
Leec mentioned that there was an improvement if the Reality Check treatment was followed by Nespa's treatment. Is there an improvement if the Nespa is followed by Reality Check? If so, then both may be useful to get the optimal sound out of the CD (but at the cost of greater PITA).
Best Regards, John |
I own both, and I agree with Leec that the RealityCheck,if you want to extract the maximum from it, is a PITA to use. But it and George's fluids DO work, so I just suck it up and slave through the ritual. Really, it's not that much different than cleaning LPs. As for the Nespa, I own the Pro version, and it does work extremely well. I was at the same demo as Dlwask, and I was pretty stunned by the difference. I picked up my Nespa at CES, as I had ordered it a couple of months earlier. The main differences I noticed were a significant increase in resolution and a much more dimensional sound. It was not subtle, at least to these ears. |
Actually I have a RealityCheck duplicator. Yes I do like it but it's the biggest pain in the ass to use. First you have to clean both the original CD and then clean the CDR, then copy it then make a lable, a VEY time consumming job. I'd rather be listening to music, that's what's it all about, correct? The Nespa is simple and quick, for the very short time I've had the unit, it is fantastic, I've even used it on my black duplicated CDR's and heard improvements, but I think I'll stop using hte RealityCheck unit and just Nespa all CD's and get back to listening.
After talking to the importer of the Nespa, he's sold now 50 units, there is a 3 week wait now for more, I would think there are now more Nespa units out there than RealityCheck units. My own RealityCheck unit will not be used for a long time. Lee |
I heard it demo'ed at CES in the Audio Note room on a track I know very well. Playing the track "as is" on this system was a treat to begin with and I hardly had any complaints. After treating the disc and playing again I noticed a more dimensional and life like presentation. The "as is" disc presented the music like a film on a screen, flat. After treating it was much more 3 dimensional and layered. |
Thanks Leec. I assume that not too many people have the Nespa, or I suppose maybe they are not very excited about it. It certainly has not generated discussion like the Reality Check! In any case, thanks for sharing your thoughts about it. Do you use the Reality Check as well? If so, I'd be interested in a brief "comparison". |
Just got my unit this week. WOW, it really works. Bass is tighter, top end cleaner and more transparent, a big improvement all around. I had to pay full retail but once heard it is well worth the price of admission! |