this should be good.....
CD Tweaks: An Update
Not too long ago, after finding that several of my older discs were still outlined in green from the early 1980s. Had any scientific justification developed for this practice?
Sorry. Thanks for playing,” was the answere, delivered quickly by multiple sources. I retreated to the corner. But buddyboy1, with whom I have never worked before, said that a coating of Armor-All made an audible difference for the better. “The difference isn’t subtle,” wrote this fearless tweaker. As I remember, he didn’t give a long scientific explanation but long experience told him that the coating on the disc made a significant improvement.
I read that post sympathetically. First, back in the day when we were all gluing ostrich feathers onto the discs, I remember trying Arnor-All and getting good results. More importantly, when one of my discs develops some kind of hiccup, I wash it in the kitchen sink with Dawn, Cascade, whatever is around. Not only does this fix the problem 97 percent of the time the music sounds better. The soap must leave some kind of coating on the disc
I’ve considered washing the whole collection but not only would that be a major pain in the ass but I would that risk ridicule. Especially from any any audiophile who might see me in action.
But with buddyboy’s unknown moral support, I’ve returned to Armor-All. I paid extra for the original formula—as I used circa 1983—and am applying it as the discs are played, which avoids a huge block of time being spent on the project. It also let’s me test each disc as it is applied/played. As buddyboy said, the difference is not subtle. Play a disc before it’s coated and compere it to the coated disc. You’ll notice a difference.
Just about every disc sounds better. And I say “just about” only out of editorial habit which teaches never to use a superlative. I think the biggest difference is found on poorly recorded discs which are almost elevated to Rudy Van Gelder quality.
I’m not listener enough to pinpoint the difference. Does it sound better on the 250 hertz low midrange notes? I’m sorry. I can’t speak to that issue. But the Armor-All coated discs just generally sound better. The difference is not subtle. It’s not like changing but it’s there. And it seems like this $8 bottle will last me a lifetime.
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OK, Lemme see here. Yeah, I got a sacrificial disc. Sure, Ive seen crazier things work. I wonder is ceramic coating would be better? Or even the new fangled Graphene coating, as used on cars? BTW don't worry about what others think. They're going to think something anyway. They may as see the real you. If they don't like the real you, they weren't friends anyway, |
paul6001, When you first mentioned using Armor All on your CD's, I thought that you were joking. Reviewer Ken Kessler almost lost his job many years ago for recommending this tweak, as it turns out that in the long run it proved to damage the discs in some way. There are tweaks that work and aren't dangerous like Auric Illuminator, but they aren't as cheap. |
I think I remember reading in the literature that came with one of the SACDs that I bought NOT to use cleaners to clean it (and for the life of me I cannot remember if they specified any certain type of cleaner). If one of my red books starts hiccuping I usually take it to the bathroom (because that's closest to my listening room) and use luke warm water and a little bit of hand soap and then I pat it dry. I've not had the need to clean any of my SACDs yet, but I guess when I do, I'll skip the hand soap. On another audio forum I once read someone recommending a small spritz of static guard. (But don't interpret that reference as any kind of endorsement from me.) As far as that herbal substance tweak I read earlier in this thread, I only aopy it once in a blue moon, but I know for a fact that works. (For me, anyway.)
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Perhaps it does. But plonking that factoid onto unsuspecting people may lead one of them to think that it is this that makes the music sound "better", when, of course, this could not have been your intention. |
I always clean used cds (gently with a small amount of dish detergent), but don't find that to make them sound different; it sometimes helps skips. However, when I have an older cd that sounds thin or bright, I treat it with Shine Ola, and it always makes them sound better (It probably would have a positive effect on all or almost all cds). It safe, and made for this purpose. |
@roxy54 I agree with you, and I am staying clear of this tweak. (Although, haha, back in the day, I had no problem using the green pen on every single CD I owned at the time.) And I also don't think that washing a CD with a mild soap should leave any appreciable residue if it is properly rinsed.
That was the basis of the advice that I read about a tiny spray of static guard on the label side of a CD prior to playing it. Personally, I don't think I want to do that either; not because I am afraid of the effects on the CD, but I don't want the possibility of static guard residue in my SA10 (which I cannot afford to replace with a model of equal value).
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Whoa! Talk about a curveball. I did not see that coming. Although, in retrospect, it’s hardly surprising. I don’t know what’s in Armor-All but it seems almost as toxic as the stuff that melted the skin off that guy in Rollerball. (The original, if I really have to say.)
Then again, audiophiles always worry about “it could” problems that they haven’t personally experienced but you should worry about. Didn’t someone warn about the dangers dishwashing liquid? I’ve been doing it for 40 years without the slightest hint of a problem. All sorts of things “could” happen in Year 41 but I feel pretty confident above it. Plus, I believe that the Armor-All is a one-time application. Or every few years. At least dish soap was. I’ll PM buddyboy but I don’t plan on bathing my discs in Armor-All every time I play them. I’ve sprayed over 100 of them so far without a problem. To those who recommend listening in an altered state, I have only two words for you: Blotter acid. Such a tiny piece of paper and the music becomes so big. And I mean big in every possible sense. At the risk of sounding like a cliché, let me add that the acid will go particularly well with the Grateful Dead. Ah, memories. I used to go on tour with the Dead, at least in the Northeast, in 1981 and 1982. Years when they were at a peak. Possibly the only tragedy to emerge from the death of the cassette tape. |
Funny you should mention that; me and a buddy caught The Grateful Dead at (I think) The Kiel Auditorium in (I think) the summer of ’82 in (I know) St. Louis. I remember there was this strung out/tired looking young lady in the parking lot selling these little pieces of paper with a pharaoh printed on them. Yes, we bought a couple.
(On edit: thinking about it, I know it was '82 because I remember the trailer I was living in at the time.) |
“I know it was ’82 because I remember the trailer I was living in at the time.”
Or so you might have thought that night until when you finally crashed about 6 am the next day. Then reality would have kicked in hard, with the cops banging on the door, telling you that you couldn’t park here. But there would have been another show in Springfield, Illinois the following night and perhaps a little Pink Sunshine to set the mood just right. |