Is this for real?

Get the Ayre/Cardas one for $19.99
It does make a difference.

KF

I've been using one I purchased about 6 years ago for about $15 with excellent results. Has a demagnetizing tone which I use about once a week, a burn in track (which I have used numerous times and works quite well), and a cleaning track (brushes actually on the disc), as well as a number of set-up tracks. Wouldn't be without it, but wouldn't pay $100 for one of these either.

This is just about the silliest thing I have ever heard. "Demagnetizing tone" - gimme a break! Just how in the heck do you demagnetize copper and silver (your wires, interconnects, etc.), they are not "magnetizable". And, even if they were, how is an audio tone gonna demagnetize them???

Next thing you know, someone will claim that their optical cables are magnetized and need "fixing". Wake up, folks, and stop being so doggone gullible...

I think that this will really work to extract somewhere between $20 and $110 from your wallet, depending on how much you might need to have extracted. The thinner wallet will allow for more comfortable seating and hence, better listening.

Wow...I am seeing both sides of the spectrum. I must admit I am still a little skeptical about these products.

Yes, it is typical of the "both sides". We have two people who have used the product and think it works, and two that haven't and think it doesn't. Now if someone wants to chime in who has used a product like this and think it doesn't work, I'm happy to accept that opinion too.

It is good to be skeptical. Cardas deas have a good ear though. If there was no difference/positive sonic impact, he would not be selling of have his name attached to this disc. I was skeptical at first, but I figured that for $20, it is worth a shot. Additionally, Ayre would not be promoting this disc if they did not think it had a positive sonic impact on performance as well.

KF

it works. Have the XLO disk.

My friend Joe in Tennesee said his top of the line Denon/ Paradigm Reference 100 home theater was lackluster in sound and " missing something" As I was on my way down, I said I would bring something that might help him out. I took my Sheffield Labs MDMS system conditioning and degaussing cd. After initial listening, we popped in the cd and left the room as the " magnetic domain matrix signals "did their job on the system and not our ears. Afterwards, he was amazed at the results, which were basically a cleaned up,i.e. more detail out of blacker less muddy background livelier as a result sound. He wanted one immediately and I referred him to Music Direct as they have a degaussing cd for $20 or so,and I haven't seen a Sheffield for sale for a number of years. I run it on my system every week or so and have always found it to be beneficial, to the point where I find myself thinking " Ok, something is wrong here. Oh yeah, get the cd." $100? If mine breaks and there isn't something available that's effective for $25 or so, I would do it. Don't know why or how it works. The vinyl version works as well, in my opinion. Have fun.- Gary

I also have the XLO disc and it has been stored without any use for the last few years. After seeing this thread I sought it out and put the system through the test tones, etc. After using the so-called demagnetizing sweeps I put on a CD and low and behold the highs were clear and precise. I recently thought I might need an EQ to fine tune them and bring them out more but now I don't think I do. Sounds really improved. It will stay out front and in regular use. I was sceptical also and just forgot I had it. Thanks for the post.

Is an engineer out there somewhere who could explain just how a test tone can "demagnatize" copper? If the explaination is feasable I would be a believer.

The disc I have suggests that there is a build-up of residual magnetism within cables, circuit boards and copper wiring. That magnetism may also be present in spades, other connectors or solder for that matter; who knows? Sam Tellig, in a review of the Densen disc, suggested that excellent results were obtained with single ended tube gear, possibly as a result of demagnetizing the transformers. I don't know how it works and I don't really care. There will be a thousand engineers tell me that a power cord can't make a difference and I know that to be false. The fact is that the sweep tone tends to "clean things up" for lack of a better description. It is particularly noticeable, as Ljij suggests above, when it has not been used for some time. The effects are more subtle when using the sweep tone regularly (the disc I have suggests after every 30 hours of play-I use it about once a week), but they are indeed there. I don't need an engineer for that, and at $20 or so, this is not an outrageously expensive tweak. If it doesn't work for you, you're out $20. Bob Bundus alluded to this in a tweak thread a couple of weeks ago: if you don't have experience with something, why ridicule it? Obviously, from the way this thread has moved on, it is working for some people.

Is "demagnetize" the word this/these company(ies) really uses? And they're good for speakers? I could be wrong, but isn't it the electric signal from the amplifier what turns your speaker's voice coil into a constantly-varying-in-charge electromagnet that then, based on the way magnets attract and repel on like and opposing charges, moves back and forth within the fixed constant charged field of the loudspeakers permanent magent (Neodymium, Ferritin, etc.) that in turn moves the whole speaker cone--since the voice coil is attached to the speaker cone. Wrap a bunch of wire around a nail, hook each lead up to a battery, and it'll pick up metal shavings and whatever else that is metal. That's how I'm kind of reasoning it--same things? (The voice coil is wrapped around the voice coil former isn't it?) I don't see how it could work for speakers. If it does what it claims it seems it could demagnetize your speaker's magnets (and ruin your speakers!). Two ways to get rid of a magnets charge is to bang'em or heat'em up. So you could slap the top of all your components once a day and stomp on your speaker cables to fix the problem (I don't recommend it). I'm skeptical: I have a hard time believing they do what they claim.

"Demagnetize" is the word used on the disc I own and the word used in the review that Sam Tellig used in a December/97 Stereophile article relating to what the Densen disc did. I'm not really the technical type, so if "demagnetize" is incorrect terminology, to me that's just semantics; the important thing is that it works.

If even a couple of the numerous different tweeks which seem to work via unclear science are effective (and there are too many different ones with numerous people attesting to them to dismiss them all) then we know a lot less about certain areas of science then we think we do. NB: the fact that some of these are effective, does not mean the people selling them necessarily know how they actually work.

Perhaps the implications of these for our understanding of science is why people go ballistic at such discussions.

I use the Ayre Irrational But Efficacious! CD to do it's work on my system.

It doesn't claim any demagnetizing features but uses brown, white and pink noise tracks in stereo, mono, in and out of phase, as well as full glide tones that cover the entire frequency on quick and slow tracks.

Using it occasionally has the same results as what's been claimed here: open, clear and clean sound with better dynamics and performance in all areas. It's like throwing a bucket of cold water on a sleeping animal to wake it up and get it moving (not that I'd do something like that).

All the best,
Nonoise