CD player tweaks

The Illuminator is a great tweak in my opinion-I use it and wouldn't do without it. Used to use the Audioprism CD Blacklight mat, and found that it worked better with a lower performance player, as the player improved, the mat had less of an effect and I stopped using it. An excellent tweak for a budget player in my opinion are the vibrapods in conjunction with a bit of mass loading on the player to damp out any vibration. Throw (not literally!) two or 3 bricks on top of your player (if it can support the weight) and then buy the correct vibrapods to support the weight of the player and the bricks and you'll get a pretty significant improvement for about $20.

I do not know if this will work with the CD4-SE, but with the original CD4 there is a noticeable improvement if a BNC cap plug is put on the BNC digital output on the back. An BNC to RCA adapter will function as a cap plug. These are cheap at Radio shack so it is worth a try.

I agree with Hdm about mass loading but disagree about the mass. A couple of Emag audio reviewers live here in town and they mass load their transports/players with Lead Shot. Go to gun shop or some hardware stores and get Lead Shot in canvas bags and put those bags in thick plastic bags (like Zip Lock or black (more cosmetically pleasing) which has a Much higher specific gravity and less ringing than baked clay (bricks). The lead can flow in bags to fit the contours of player and will not run risk of scuffing surface if you double or triple bag. Another, less desirable but still better than bricks, is iron weight lifting plates placed on a thick foam mouse pad or better yet go to Menards and get some of the recycled automobile tire pads and place them on your player to distribute the load (this applies to lead shot as well). Of course, having a wobbly base and stand underneath the player can help remove any benefit top loading can do. Good luck!

I also have a Cambridge cd4se (w/Cambridge C500 preamp, Belles 150A Hot Rod, & Magnepan 1.6qrs.) Recently, I purchased the Aurex mat and cannot say that I'm all that impressed with it. On SOME discs, I could hear a slight improvement, on most, no difference. The mat is very thin and flexible and assumes a definite warp as it gets warm inside the player. I've had it get stuck inside the player when the drawer opened and then had to fish it out with tweezers. Because of that, I'm reluctant to continue using it.

Auric Illuminator best CD treatment I've tried. Skip the CD mats, I've tried several including Audioprism and they have no positive effect on sound, Sam

Try the PS AUDIO Power Plant, it eliminates that harsh '"digital edge" just for openers!

Agree with Megasm. The Auric Illuminator is a great because: a) it's quite inexpensive b) it's pretty cool to apply (not sure why I enjoy this) c) it absolutely works. The reviews are true.