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Nt
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Novus #2 plastic polish sounds mighty good to me. Tweaker
What color is Novus #2?
:-)
A non-color
When the whole subject of coloring the edge of cds began, a marker was widely used. It left a light green opaque color. I dont find it anymore. The theory was that the laser used a red light and the green absorbed it so that it didnt reflect back into the cd thus confusing the "read". I conclude most any reflective color would be less effective and I know black is usually a "wet" very reflective color. So is my green marker but at least it is the color most effective. I use it inside and out.
Oddly enough, while I agree green is usually a very good color for the outer edge, black is actually superior to green for the inner edge and for all Mercury Living Presence CDs, the ones with the Black and White label, you will find red to be the best color for the outer edge.
Nothing like wading into the fight after the battle has been won. But the grandkids need shoes, the kids need everything and then there's the ex, so my nose has been close to the grindstone for the past few months.
Finally got around to trying the tweak as Geoff prescribed. WORKED FOR ME!! I noted a quieter background which yielded greater gain at the same volume setting, more presence, stronger attacks, longer decays, increased tranparency and improved timbre. All of the things that make sound musical. Delicate passages were NICE.
The improvement in my system was akin to a moderate cable or equipment upgrade. Didn't set the world on fire, but definitely here to stay. Tried it on ten discs. Worked equally well on redbook, HD, XRCD and SACD. Now it is just a matter of coloring all those damned discs!!
kendo
After playing with this tweak a little while, I have moved it up from a nice tweak to a must have.
I was placing the dots too close to the center hole. After moving them back as Geoff illustrated, I could make the dots bigger which improved the magnitude of the tweak. On some well-recorded redbooks, the improvement in just short of WOW!!
Pixelphoto, you liked Uncle Stu's charcoal/anthracite tweak. I think you will like this one too.
kendo
I only do the outer edge. I still cover the edge with a black marker pen.
Other coloors do not matter to me. Black is 'good enough'
I bought a Marigo mat instead of having to treat each and every CD. It has now been retired since I now stream all my digital content.
It's yours for the asking. PM if you're interested.
I have been marking the inner and outer edge and center section of my Cd's and SACD's and have been getting pronounced effects. Have those using multiple colors, experimented with having the colored areas extend to the next color so no silver is visable?
I have now finished comparing the sound of ripped music from the same CDs with dots and stripes of different colors on different colored backgrounds in the center of their track-sides.
My criteria in deciding to color each CD track-side center a third green, a third orange and a third purple is to minimize reflection, maximize dynamics and keep things simple. Red does not energize the laser, yellow is too weak, blue makes a fourth color too close to purple which is magic to the laser. Three equal colored thirds is quicker and cleaner to apply well than four pairs of colored dots inside a green background while sounding more dynamic and equally analog.
Sticking apple-green material on the label-side of the CD to within 0.25" of the outside edge further improves the analog sound as does either painting the CD tray with an apple-green marker or lining it with a similar green material. Demagnetizing the CD before play/ ripping also enhances dynamics.
CD sound without the dynamic and analog boost of color and without the increased image and timing focus of minimized reflection quickly becomes flat, blurry and unengaging. Whether lazy or not, if you love music and care about the quality of sound, this is simply too big an improvement to pass by.
That is huge!
I've never experimented with markers.
The mat does, however, extend to the periphery of the disk with openings designed to minimize vibration while the disk is spinning. The top side is matte green while the disk side is black.
I have not done any coloring for years. My CD ritual is to bevel the outer edge with the Audio Desk. I then expose the data side to a focused stobe light inside a box with a motor that rotates the disk during the process. It then gets treated with Jena Labs polish.
Mike B-
will the Jena Labs polish repair/cover scratched CDs ?
mine is a few years old and starting to separate. I've tried mixing it, seems to work... but.
They stopped production of it, and given the smell it has developed over time, that may be
a good thing, though I do like the end result(s).
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" - Michael McClure
mine has gotten clumpy as well. It has the smell I associate with some car waxes.
I've used both green and black and have never compared them. I have compared both to 'nothing' and prefer marking them.
Ages ago (1993, with my first CD player), I had a favorite pop recording that was absolutely horrific on CD. I took a can of black spray paint and covered the entire label side (some would say that covering the optical side would have been ideal). This really helped! The CD became much more quiet, smoother, less digititis and far more listenable. The painted offered mechanical damping to the disc as well. I still have the CD, but haven't bothered with it -- I play they LP if I want to hear it.
Black pen for center hole. Purple, green, red and orange on 1/4 inch ring just before data. This example is a general purpose pattern of colors. Some CDs will respond to different color combinations.
Edits: 01/18/13
Correction, Thats purple green orange red, counter clockwise and purple red orang green clockwise. Does this have an ionic or pusled cap propulsion system?? Tweaker
Dry Ginger- Which brand of marker are you using? I am using a package of Sharpie marking pens labled for CD-DVD labeling. It comes in a pack with black, blue, red and green. I have only tried a combination of red, black, and green so far. Only black on the outer rim, inner rim, and the clear center section gives improved detail but "thins" the music- unfortunately. I then added green and red to that small area where the information of the CD is located(hologram dots). I used the ultra fine point and filled in the area (with red and green) that did not have the Hologram information. Whew! At least that will "save" the all black marked CD's.
Next I used the above formula of green outer edge, black inner edge, and then red and green pie shaped spokes on the clear data side center section. I also paid attention to the area where the Hologram information is. A great improvement with both improvement in detail and rich harmonic music. I will try adding some or the blue next. Does marking the label side with black,green, or whatever add to sonic improvement?
Thanks to all that are contributing their emperic results- good and bad.
David Pritchard
David,
First to answer your immediate question, 'Sharpies', because the laser does not seem to discriminate much between markers of different manufacturers whereas some are a major pain to use, some are costly and others are difficult to obtain. 'Sharpies' are widely available, comparatively less expensive, deliver the same results and are easy/ practical to use.
Only three colors are needed to trigger maximum dynamics and red is not one of them! After exhaustive testing I settled on green, orange and purple as the most effective combination and, to make their application simple, use each to fill in a third of the entire center of the track-side CD with green around the outside rim.
On the label side I found that covering the whole area with black led to a harsh sound, purple to an excessively vibrant sound and while green led to a perfect analog sound. So I cut up an apple-green shirt and attached a circle of material 0.25" smaller than the CD diameter with four small pieces of double-sided Scotch tape. That worked well.
Although already demagnetizing the CD with a Walker Talisman, I then addressed static electricity by cutting out four pieces of Bounce and placing them between the label-side CD and the apple-green material. The Ripper/ CD Player accepts this thickness providing a larger central hole is cut in the four Bounce layers so that the Player/Ripper has a 1.5" diameter access-point in the center to grip the CD through not more than a layer of material. (Yes, it will sometimes take a carbon fiber mat but it slips on 4 layers of Bounce.) Hiding layers of destatic material behind the color material over the rest of the label side significantly adds to the clarity of the music particularly in later CD tracks.
Thank you, Geoff, for generously providing the inspiration for us to investigate the entirely unexpected and large impact of CD color on music playback dynamics.
Dry Ginger
Thank you for the picture. Will start trying your 3 color approach and coloring from the center hole all the way out to the start of the music tracks. I have many CD's that have the center area ( the spindle area) blackened. Indeed this gave a more precise instrument location but the instruments sound thin and harsh. These CD's can be saved buy coloring ( using green-orange-purple (or blue) the small ring area between the spindle and where the music track starts.
This is a major sound enhancer.
David Pritchard
excuse me for weakness in painting classBut now with file playback , isn't it the end of transports problems?
tweaker
Edits: 01/19/13
The end of transport problems. The beginning of file playback problems.
I tried using a green marker around the edge of the discs in my hard drive but detected no difference in sound quality. Should I try a different color ? :^)
You are so close to enter the "Matrix" !
I was just thinking to folders color ? (:7)X
tweaker
You wrote,
"I was just thinking to folders color? (:7)X"
That's an interesting language. What is it, Klingon?
The subject is not my weak english language.
I don't think so ! ?
I think ...
:)
tweaker
I treated one disk in the manner you described above and depicted in the photo. The Well by Jennifer Warnes, which is an excellent recording to begin with and which I've owned and played many times over the last dozen years. This time, I definitely heard an improvement in the sound: her voice was even more present in the listening room than usual and low level details were more apparent.
Many think that some types of tweaks are merely the power of suggestion and that's probably true in some cases. But this worked, at least for me. I'm going to try it on some other disks.
Thanks for the picture, too. I'd definitely been going overboard on my previous tries with how much I was coloring-in on the disks.
Joe
...in addition to green and black on CDs, SACDs, DVDs and BDs. In each case, and I haven't tried an exhaustive cross-matching of color versus disc type, the changes have been very subtle, at least to my ears. I haven't tried every combination and quite honestly, don't think I can tell the difference, although coloring them in general does seem to have a "relaxing" effect on the music.
Your thoughts?
Joe
Green or turquoise around the outer edge and black around the inner edge is a good place to start but is not a universal solution since the color(s) of the CD label influences the sound. Black should always be used around the inner edge. Mercury Living Presence CDs (black and white label), for example, respond poorly (worse sound) to green around the outer edge but respond well to red around the outer edge. Go figure. For most CDs the color purple (violet) - as opposed to magenta - around the outer edge works very well.But things are more complicated and quite a bit more can be done with coloring CDs. The way light waves, including stray scattered light waves, interact within the player determines how much scattered light enters the photodetector as noise. So additional cancellation and reinforcement using colored pens can be quite audible. But where should these additional colors be applied? Answer coming soon.
Yellow (around the outer edge) is an interesting color for Blu Ray discs since yellow is the complementary color for the laser used to read Blu Ray discs.
The big reveal - The use of colors in close proximity to the laser and photodetector can greatly influence the sound. I will post a photo later today illustrating a general approach to applying colors to the data side of the CD near the spindle hole, in the 1/4 inch diameter ring visible just before the start of the data.
Edits: 01/18/13 01/18/13
Sounds like Geoff's going to take us on a rainbow ride. Yipee!!!
You've spent a good deal of time investigating the use of colors. I'll be very interested to see your later post. Also will try out the color schemes you mention. Thanks.
Joe
nt
Nt
I was hoping it would be puce.
axolotl
Yes, I have been greening my Cd's and DVD's for years. I use green but one time I ran dry so I tried black. It worked but not as well. I had a friend over and he had his Cd's with him and I played his Rascals CD and then greened it for him. He was blown away by the difference. Now, he greens all his disks. BTW, I once wrote and article called, "Greening the CD67". Good Luck, bobwire
Nt
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