Any one remember?

Posted by: garyi on 22 August 2001

A couple of three years ago at a high fi show were these disks of thin plastic with some black lines on it. It was said to improve sound if placed on the cd in the drawer.

They were about 20 quid, and in my opinion made no difference whatsoever infact they smaked of a con.

anyone still using the magic bit of plastic?

Posted on: 22 August 2001 by Mike Hanson

What I found was that it helped on my cheaper player, if the CD was laden with static. On any of my Naim players, it did nothing. Once I "treated" a given CD, it didn't benefit from the Statmat any further.

For someone with a cheap CD player, who likes to store their CDs in binders with plastic sheets, I think it's a useful tool. It cleans up the sound noticeably.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Posted on: 22 August 2001 by NigelP

Mike,

Is this really necessary? If so - what do I need to buy. I've only just entered into the world of CD and I never bother cleaning records so I may be missing a trick here.

Nigel

Posted on: 22 August 2001 by Mike Hanson

If you're using a Naim player, then don't worry about the Statmat. It's useful with my Cambridge CD6, though.

Other than that, I usually don't clean CDs (unless someone gets their sticky fingerprints on them).

BTW, when you are sitting an unprotected CD on a table, don't set it label side down! This is where the information is encoded. Instead, set it shiny side down (i.e. label side away from the nasty surface). Even if you get a minor scratch, the laser will be able to focus past the scratch (just like you do when looking through a window screen). Even if it misreads due to a scratch, you can probably buf it a bit to cure the problem. However, if you scratch the label side, you've permanently damaged the data.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Posted on: 22 August 2001 by garyi

That was it. No it did nothing for the cd3.

Thanks for the info on the data incoding, I didn't know it was on the label side. So saying though in another thread I was refering to a Pink Floyd disk I have which has been trashed on the label side, however its one of those printed numbers like the zappa CDs the coating is different, anyhow that plays fine.

Posted on: 22 August 2001 by Mike Hanson

quote:
trashed on the label side

Since the label side will be coated differently form CD to CD, you'll find that some are quite fairly robust. However, some are exceedingly fragile.

Even more of a problem are CD-Rs, which are very easy to scratch on the label side.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Posted on: 23 August 2001 by uem

Gariy,

I'm using similar plastic disc as per your description.
There are no markings on it al all - got it as a free gift from a former NAIM dealer.
I store it rapped with a rubber string in a slightly bent position to keep the elasticity.
I use it, if the magnetic puck doesn't fix the CD properly on my NAIM CD 2 (and I'm to slack to prepare the little rubber rings)
Sonic improvements? Well, there may be, if one believes so....

Urs

Posted on: 24 August 2001 by Jez Quigley

The data pits on a cd are written on the opposite side to the label, not the other way round as you suggest. Also it is not scratches to the surface that cause problems for the laser(that's only a protective film, the data pits are on a lower level), unless it's a deep gouge, but dirt, grease etc that gets into the scratch and deflects the beam. A good cleaning will make all but the most severely scratched play again.

Posted on: 24 August 2001 by Mike Hanson

Yes, the label side does have a bit of a protective layer. Therefore, very slight scratches on the label side will not hurt it. As you say, though, deeper scratches can damage the data layer, and that's permanent.

However, scratches to the clear side are easily washed and/or buffed away. That's why, when I set unprotected CDs on a shelf, I always set them label-side-up.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-