A CD Shaver? Oh Dear!

[Dom]

So Techmoan has reviewed the Audio Desk Systeme CD Improver for you that came out many years ago.

It works by shaving the CD's outer edge with a lathe at 36 degrees, which costs over £300, with the promise of improving audio quality. Ofcourse, it does nothing at all.

View: https://youtu.be/f-QxLAxwxkM

 

[12th Monkey]

Whilst I have healthy scepticism myself, you cannot make libellous comments on the WHF forums - I've edited them out.

 

[Dom]

Whilst I have healthy scepticism myself, you cannot make libellous comments on the WHF forums - I've edited them out.

Oh, really sorry.

 

[Gray]

I've seen quite a few of his videos - he's a modest and likeable bloke.
We all know that the discs will not sound different.
However, I think that he's actually misunderstood the reason why some people think that they should.
He shows that the before and after Audacity traces are the same - and gives that, specifically, as the reason why the sound doesn't change.

I'm pretty sure the believers would say that those waveforms should look the same (because error correction has made sure that they do).
They say that it's because the error correction works harder, that the sound is worse.

As for his theory that shaving the edge might cure off- centre discs, how could it?
If the centre hole is not centered, no amount of edge shaving will change that.

One thing he's got right. It's a pointless device.

 

[Dom]

You're absolutely right Gray.

 

[Gray]

It seems well made though Dom 😁

 

[Friesiansam]

I remember when drawing a green line around the edge of a CD, with a felt-tip pen, was supposed to improve the sound.

 

[Al ears]

I remember when drawing a green line around the edge of a CD, with a felt-tip pen, was supposed to improve the sound.

You mean it didn't?....... Doh!

 

[Al ears]

I've seen quite a few of his videos - he's a modest and likeable bloke.
We all know that the discs will not sound different.
However, I think that he's actually misunderstood the reason why some people think that they should.
He shows that the before and after Audacity traces are the same - and gives that, specifically, as the reason why the sound doesn't change.

I'm pretty sure the believers would say that those waveforms should look the same (because error correction has made sure that they do).
They say that it's because the error correction works harder, that the sound is worse.

As for his theory that shaving the edge might cure off- centre discs, how could it?
If the centre hole is not centered, no amount of edge shaving will change that.

One thing he's got right. It's a pointless device.

Indeed...always wondered where they got 36 degrees from..... Should have been 45

 

[manicm]

Maybe, maybe not, but remember Sony notoriously introduced DRM into CDs? One example was Roger Waters' compilation Flickering Flame - CD ROM drives could not read it to prevent copying. But there was one touted solution that actually worked - taking a marker around the circumference. I tried it and it worked.

So lasers could be manipulated it seemed. And one of the leading British hifi magazines (not whf) tested a CD ring or somesuch that they claimed made a positive difference.

Stranger things have happened.

 

[Gray]

Indeed...always wondered where they got 36 degrees from..... Should have been 45

They must have their reason for 36 degrees.
Isn't the theory that the straight edge reflects light back inwards? - whereas any angle will send reflections out and away....when green or black ink alone doesn't stop the reflections 😏.

 

[nopiano]

I remember when drawing a green line around the edge of a CD, with a felt-tip pen, was supposed to improve the sound.

Me too. I still seem to have an awful lot of box files in my study marked with bold green pen. At least I found a use for it!