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| Model: | Auric Illuminator |
| Category: | Accessory |
| Suggested Retail Price: | $39.95 |
| Description: | cd & dvd resolution enhancement kit |
| Manufacturer URL: | Audience |
| Model Picture: | View |
|
Review by Shawn Harvey on March 23, 2000 at 09:26:20 IP Address: 206.31.111.24 |
Add Your Review for the Auric Illuminator |
First let me tell you what I *don't* hear a difference with so you'll know where I'm coming from:1. Black or green pens on CD discs.
2. Black Diamond Racing Cones (in store they worked, not at home).
3. Vibrapods, except under speakers.
4. Those stupid magnet wire interconnects from Soundstage.
5. Extra weight on components (mass loading).
6. Switching from Class A to Class A/B on my Plinius (honestly, I can't hear a difference).What I did hear a difference with:
1. New equipment.
2. Better cables (digital, interconnect and speaker).
3. Running power through cheap Monster surge suppressor (made sound worse).
4. Different rooms -- all have a distinct effect on the sound from your stereo.Given that, let me say that there is an improvement, a smoothing would be a better word, after applying the AI treatment. Not smooth like you're losing information, smooth like some of the crap is gone. Like looking through a cleaner window.
I'm not convinced that the black pen does much, but it does let you know which discs you've treated (great marketing touch). Either my system is not up to par to hear the effects of a pen on the cd's or my head isn't up to par. Either way I can't tell a difference.
Using the AI cleaning fluid I can tell a very noticeable difference in the sound, even on recorded CDs. Everything is smoother and clearer and I heard sounds in familiar recordings that I'd not noticed before. Actually makes some so-so recordings sound listenable.
I won't go into all the things it does. No it isn't a miracle cure, yes it does make the sound better to me and doesn't seem to have any noticeable coloration (in other words it's frequency-independent).
Give it a try. It's a hell of a deal for $50 (or whatever the retail is). Much better than a lot of other tweaks I've tried...
One thing I have not done is taken a scratched disk and used the AI on it. I'd like to see if it helps.
| Product Weakness: | Time consuming, looks silly to friends until you clean their glasses with it. Then they think you're less silly. By the way, if you wear polycarbonate lenses try this on them -- very nice. |
| Product Strengths: | Cheap, works (unlike most other tweaks). |
| Associated Equipment for this Review: | |
| Amplifier: | Plinius SA-100 |
| Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | Lexicon DC-1 |
| Sources (CDP/Turntable): | Sony DVD-S7000 |
| Speakers: | Joseph Audio RM22si |
| Cables/Interconnects: | Chris VH DIY interconnect and CAT5 |
| Music Used (Genre/Selections): | Very eclectic |
| Room Comments/Treatments: | None special |
| Time Period/Length of Audition: | Week |
| Other (Power Conditioner etc.): | None |
| Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
after hearing the advantage of my black CD mat & black CD edge marker, my doubts are small about these products. All that remains is a comparison. Have you done one?BTW, I assume it dries & isn't like a suntan oil that lowers the index of reflection that never dries.
Disclosure: I am the president of audience. We have discovered that the benefits of the black pen are much better if all areas of the disc where light passes are blackened; meaning the outer 1/8" and the inner 3/4" (approximately).
do you happen to know why mats sound better when they are black, when they are on the other side of the foil where laser light shouldn't reach?what pigment colors do you use to comprise your black, assuming you have experimented with different negative colors?
PS: what's "audience"? what do you make?
It's better than Optrix by a long shot.
With Optrix I found it only worked on some disks. With the Auric it was a big improvement on every disk.
Read this review in SOUNDSTAGE: http://www.soundstage.com/audio_frame.shtml
I've not used any other products of this sort before.Yes, it buffs out clean with no residue.
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