|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
152.163.101.6
I know that this subject has been to death and beyond, but I though I’d share my recent experience with freezing CDs in my refrigerator. I’ve known about the alleged benefits of freezing CDs—cryo or otherwise—for a while, but for one reason or another never got around to trying it myself. (The expense of cryoing my most beloved CDs—of which there are many—proved prohibitive.) That changed the other day.The ever-curious audiophile that I am, I decided to freeze a couple of my more frequently played discs—specifically, Mick Jagger’s "Wandering Spirit" and the gold disc of Bad Company’s self-titled debut.
Rather than play the unfrozen disc, wait for 10-12 hours for it to freeze, and listen again, I decided to make use of the duplicate copies I have of the two discs. After all, audio recall is notoriously unreliable, so I figured that the best way to approach things was to do an immediate back-to-back A/B.
After 12+ hours of freezing in my fridge, I pulled the “treated” discs out and let them thaw for an hour or so. Then the listening began.
It was obvious from the first few minutes of listening to each disc that things had changed for the better. The thing that struck me most was the increase in resolution. At the beginning of “Can’t Get Enough,” there’s a VERY subtle synth line that opens the song. In fact, if you’re not listening closely, it’s really easy to miss. The frozen disc reproduced it significantly more clearly than the unfrozen one. In addition, Paul Rodger’s vocals seemed to have better edge definition and presence on the frozen CD. Little details in the mix came forward with more clarity than ever before, without sacrificing the overall gestalt of the music. The same thing held true on the Jagger disc. On cut after cut, the differences were easily repeatable.
I’ve read a lot of AA posts about the supposed benefits of freezing CDs, and the various theories behind how the process might work. I won’t hazard a guess of my own, because, quite frankly, I’m not familiar enough with the process to speak with any authority. But all I know is that, in my system, freezing DID work. (It's a whole 'nother issue whether the effect is permanent or not.) I can hear the improvements with little difficulty. The only problem for me is that freezing adds even more time to an already tediously long CD-prep process. But, to these ears, it’s worth the hassle.
For those of you who don’t believe in the process, or haven’t had any luck with it, please leave the flames at home. I’m simply reporting MY experience, not making any grand pronouncements about its efficacy. But if you haven’t tried it, I would strongly recommending at least giving it a go. It really doesn’t cost you anything, other than 10-12 hours without the disc, and the benefits might surprise you.
Follow Ups:
leaving the CD in the freezer for 24 hours. Then thaw the CD as slowly as possible. I put the CD, or any other item, in the refrigerator for another day. After that, it goes into a picnic cooler with a frozen ice pack. It is left there until everything reaches ambient temperature, usually another day or so.Some people simply take the CD out of the freezer, put it in a towel or a blanket, and let it go back to room temperature. How long that takes I don't know, since I've never done it that way. My guess would be 2-4 hours.
Either process takes longer but might yield even better results.
Good for you to be so open-minded. What the heck. It's not like it costs a lot to try.
As you note, your ears told you the difference. Who cares what the physics may or may not be? All I want is better sound.
I used two pairs of CDs or, rather, a CDR and a 1x CDR made on my Tascam CD-RW700. In each case, I cannot tell any pre-freezing difference between the CDs and CDRs.In one pair, I froze the CD. In the other, the CDR. I put them in the coldest pair of the freezer. Left them there for two days. I thawed them out last night and played them this morning in my two CD players: a Sony XA777ES and the Tascam (used as a transport) via my Ack dAck 2.0 DAC). I level-matched them as best I could, and switched discs and players so that each disc got played in each player.
I heard absolutely no difference from the freezing. Too bad. Lord knows the price was right.
Has anyone tried this in regular fridge/freezer combo unit? I have no clue how cold my freezer gets...just wondering if this tweak is relegated to those who have huge deep freezer's, or if everyone with a freezer can try it out.
The top or bottom freezer compartment on typical refrigerators works fine. I have used mine many times for freezing CDs and many other things, including a receiver.
Have you ever met a tweak you didn't like?
Thought I've been on a good-luck streak lately.
x
to quote one of the recent replies of clarkjohnsen.As to explanation, why it works, the idea is that the lower temperature decrease the electrons' spin, thus reducing the electromagnetic field. Even if taken out of the freezer, the electronagnetic field is substantially lower due to the quantum residual effect. See?
Controlled listening tests never allow hours between one listen and the next as if we could remember EXACTLY what the sound quality was like hours ago!The last thing audiophiles need is a cold CD and condensation inside
their CD players!
.
.
.
Richard BassNut Greene
My Stereo is MUCH BETTER than Your Stereo
Otherwise, your observation would be quite correct. The CD should be allowed to thaw, as I've noted above and as Quint mentioned.I don't know about you, but I know some recordings so well that I could go days, weeks, or months without hearing them and could still detect a significant improvement in sonics, should that occur.
nt
Best Regards,
Chris redmond.
Well, my ears told me all I needed to know. And I did NOT leave hours between comparing. As my initial post pointed out, I deliberately avoided doing this, and instead A-B'd the discs back to back immediately after the frozen one had thawed.
z
Then again, what one considers to be an "objectivist" might be somewhat of a subjetive matter. This could be why there are so very few "clear cut" answers in life and / or anything audio : ) Sean
>
s
N/T
"Music is the can-opener of the soul"
Henry Miller.
This of course does not help frozen food fans...
s
nt
Best Regards,
Chris redmond.
;-)
nt
Best Regards,
Chris redmond.
z
I think so, right?
nt
s
nt
Quint, any guess as to what temp your freezer was/is running at? I too have been meaning to give this a try, but just never gotten round to it. BTW, congratualtions on the Arias ... you lucky dog. I had opportunity a couple of years ago to audition the 350 monos. Amazing amps. I've got one of Mike's reworked Counterpoint amps that will have to be pried from my cold dead fingers. Great designer, great products.
Hi, Sondek (great name, BTW!):I'm only guessing, but I would figure that my freezer runs around -4 to -8 degrees. I've heard from several people that this isn't sufficient to rearrange the molecular stucture of the disc, but my ears ain't lyin'!
The Arias are truly fantastic amps. I absolutely adore them. They're easily the best I've ever owned, and I've had some good ones over the years. I'm surprised you don't hear more about them, but the 350s are custom units, so there probably aren't a ton of them out there.
Congrats on the Counterpoint. Mike should really be commended for still upgrading and servicing them. Most designers would've probably walked away. Good listening!
Quint,I think Mike was plenty smart enough to know that there was a BUNCH of Counterpoint products out there, and who better to provide support and service than the guy who designed most of them. Besides, by the time his ex-wife and the bank got done with him, he needed a revenue stream that was steady and almost competition-proof. It has provided an okay living for him (I guess), and has given him the foundation for Aria. I am glad he overcame any feelings about the former company that might have inclined him to walk away. Wish I had a job that I loved doing and where I was my own boss. I guess I should be careful what I wish for ... now that I think about, don't know if I could work for a prick like me.
Best Regards,
You are absolutely correct Quint, your ears ain't lying !! 'Unclestu52' is also correct when he says that "It works on a lot of other things, too, including DVDs".The people constantly making the challenge that freezing things cannot possibly be giving the significant improvements that those who have tried it are describing - particularly when they use the argument that the domestic deep freezer does not go down to the temperatures of cryogenic freezing are using both a 'truism' and a 'red herring'. A 'truism' because yes, obviously, a domestic deep freezer does not go down to cryogenic temperatures (you do not need a science degree to be aware of that !) and a 'red herring' because if EITHER freezing CDs, cables, components etc using a domestic deep freezer OR freezing at cryogenic temperatures can give the improvements in the sound which many people describe, then SURELY, the audio industry should be "knocked back on their heels" and should have been 'knocked back on their heels' over twenty years ago, when we first introduced the freezing technique using a domestic deep freezer to our customers !!
Just why is it so difficult for people to try the freezing technique for themselves ? It is a free technique. You do not need to experiment with your favourite disc/s. Everyone has at least a few CDs which they bought because they either liked that particular artist or liked the particular music but never now play the CD because they were disappointed with how it sounded. Or, alternatively, particularly in the UK, one often gets a free CD accompanying a Hi Fi magazine.
There are such benefits (soundwise) from experimenting with the freezing technique that this technique should have swept through the audio industry like a whirlwind.
I can only quote Ed Meitner's words (Ed Meitner was instrumental in introducing cryogenic freezing techniques to the world of audio over 20 years ago).
"There was never a failure. We treated tons of solid-state stuff, whole circuit boards, and the only bad thing that happened was that the electrolytic capacitors would lose their shrink-wrap. That was it. We even treated speaker voice coils. What I've found over the last 15 years of being in high-end audio is that most of the minds are pretty closed. And this is strange: it's the opposite of what you would expect."
Regards,
May Belt.
Interesting post, Quint and good on you for being curious enough to do that simple experiment.But I must admit while I'm open to the concept that cryoing CDs (or LPs, for that matter) makes them sound better ... cryoing happens at (I think!) around -275 deg C, whereas your fridge freezer would only go down to about -4 deg C. It's hard to see how this would cause the same physical changes that cryoing does, that makes cryoed CDs sound better?
Regards,
deeper freeing seems to add a bit more. Makes you want to re-examine what's happening. I bought a freezer that goes to -100F (lab specimen freezer). It works on a lot of other things, too.If you try it, be sure to tell the wife. I told a friend about it; rather late at night, and he elected to try it that evening. To his surprise, his wife had the CD's out on the dining table the next morning, and told him that he must have really been tired to have accidentally placed all those CD's into the freezer!
Works on DVD's also.
Stu
You don't dump all the cold air on the floor every time you open
the door. Here is a nice looking one.Operating temperatures of -40°C to -86°C.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: