I tried many products, all changed the sound. Some brighter some more bass, that is unreal when you think about it, how any added spray can change the sound. I use a very high-quality car wax now, just a dap, spread, let it cure and then I buff it well, play side only. Hands down the better sound and when compared to the mythical vinyl it more than holds its own, and sometimes better. I use Griots Poly Wax, you can even water it down with the same result..$300 of a CD cleaner nope, just $19.99, I could bottle this and call it an audiophile name and sell it for $100.00 a small bottle!. Kidding!, This I could say It Was Used By NASA which seems to be the new buzz word or medical field use. Got to love our hobby. Serious this product works well. I buy CD's weekly and will continue to do so and I grew up on Vinyl and I enjoy it. I do clean by disc 1st with a lens cleaner then a touch of the wax, buff and enjoy. For what its worth.
Are there any really good cd cleaners out there?
I was wondering if there are any really good cd cleaners on the market . Like maybe an ultra sonic cleaner? Right now i am just using a spray cd cleaner and a cloth. Thanks...
55 responses Add your response
@2channel8..... La Art du son cleaner came a few days ago..Been using it since and it is an excellent cleaner. Takes off all marks and prints that i thought were on for good. Leaving it like a mirror finish. Also giving it an excellent sound quality that i haven not heard before i used it. Alot more detail in the recordings. I highly recommend it. Will def continue to buy more. |
I just uncovered a stash of Liquid Res. Hurray! Also, I’ve heard conflicting reports about whether mold release compound is used in manufacturing CDs. Anyone know the real story? Maybe an old episode of How Things are Made. I also invested in Essence of Music a few years ago but I’ll be darned if I hear any change. Am I going deaf? |
I've spent some time on this, so I'll share what I've found... for what it's worth. Why clean a CD (SACD, DVD, etc.)? New CDs have a mold release compound on them, much like LPs. They may also be covered with 'micro-dust' from the plant where they were pressed. Both impede the laser and cause more error correction. In most cases, you only need to clean (or treat) new discs. Warm water & mild hand-soap will do about 90% of the job, but a good treatment will do even more (for better or worse - read on...). I've tried a number of CD treatments, Ultrabit, Liquid Resolution, Shine-Ola and maybe a few more. All provided 'cleaner' sound, but also added brightness to the sonic balance. Liquid Res. was the most neutral of those above (but no longer available). HOWEVER... the absolute BEST of all is L'ART DU SON. It not only cleans the CDS, it also provides a very natural sonic balance and almost seems to enrich the midrange. I use it on every new disc I buy. VERY highly recommended! |
Besides the issue of leaving residue on disc surfaces and potentially creating difficulties for the lazer pickup... Armorall= shiny surface= reflectivity. Well, it seems that the Japanese are going in the opposite direction with their SHM material and special coloring to eliminate the smallest hint of reflectivity... |
Armor All is made of silicones and glycerin to be left behind. Its raison d'etre is humans like shiny stuff. It's designed to leave a residue. Residue is a no-no on anything optical. Windex can also be nasty stuff also leaving a residue. It requires mechanical removal to the dry surface. Dish soap or car wash rinsed away and dried by blowing the water away leaves discs 100% clean and 100% residue free with 0% chance of drying damage. @georgehifi +100 on the bogusola @ Machina Dynamica and its progentitor. |
tattooedtrackmanVinyl =plastic, car dash = plastic, guess what CD=plastic. Armor-All is a plastic protectorant! Cheers George |
@phillyb Car wax usually has oils and other bonding agents, that's how they stick to the car surface and resist being washed off by rain, snow etc., as well as resisting UV... best to use a ph balanced (non acidic) cleaner, like your dish washing soap, or if prefered a nice car shampoo! (The likes of Dodo juice, Wolfgang, Sonax can be googled) and under no circumstances (as in: never ever) use car polish, they have abrasives which are very unfriendly to your 1 and 0 digits. -:) |
Best cleaner is soap and water. I use drop of car wax to really clean them good. I rise them in warm water and use a micro towel. Many new good CD releases, and as far as sound quality of mastered well superb. I love vinyl but nothing wrong with CD. Don't follow the trends,many great recordings,in the CD format, thousands in my collection and counting. I do own a excellent SACD player though, the K-O1. The new Marantz, is very good also. I liked the physical formats and I have no disire,to burn them or MAQ just so the can get you to rebut and get stuck with another format. 99% if listeners enjoy streaming radio, portable phones etc. Billions of downloads, Hundreds of million CD sales still and 10's of million vinyl, so something for everyone. |
georgehifi,I did mine (only one mind you) with Armor-All probably 25 years ago, after reading this I gave it a whirl yesterday and it’s still plays perfectly, and still has that lovely golden hue about it. I think that’s a bit of a furphy like cd rot. Was it Sam Tellig? Whatever. All was really never a top contender anyway. In fact I don’t even like how it look on vinyl upholstery. But it makes sense George would like it, assuming he was serious, which is highly doubtful. You know...It was Sam Tellig that told me about it, he and his son are both Lightspeed customers of mine. Maybe you could use it on that "wit" sure could use some polishing as it’s dull as! And it’s sure more believable than some of product you peddle on your web site. https://www.machinadynamica.com/index.html My common sense tells me that it is not made for cds.Neither are half the voodoo tweaks around on these forums, eg $200 for $1 fuses and being directional, just have a look at Geoff’s web site, it’ll make your head spin. At least just about everyone has a bottle of Armor-All Original Protectant in their garage, put it on a crapy disc like I did that you don’t cherish and try it, I haven’t said anything about it sounding better or worse, just that it polished up one of my disc’s and gave it a nice golden hue. Cheers George |
If you’re looking for something a little more than just cleaning, there a number of sprays, gels and what have you, but until Brian Kyle at Xtreme AV passed away a few years back his Liquid Resolution was probably the best sounding of them all, with a handful of others like Jena Labs, Optrix, Nanotech 8500, Auric Illuminator running not so close behind. |
@jim204 rub in small circular motionsI have mostly read CDs should be wiped from the center out and not with the direction they spin. I haven't read doing it with small circular motions. Does it really matter which direction you wipe them as long as you don't overdo it? Anyone else with specific recommendations? Just trying to learn something. |
| Post removed |
Best products I’ve used are by Digital Systems and Solutions. Clean Disk-cleaner, and Ultrabit Platinum (just a small drop) for refined disc reading and enhanced sound. Noticeable improvents through my Spectral/MIT system. Dish soap has been an old standby for years and seems safe. This products give a noticible improvement over soap; I’ve checked. |