Party on, Garth!
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.
Showing 5 responses by immatthewj
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 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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@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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