How come there is no thread on the RealityCheck?

Kana813, I have not looked into the power supply but will.

Dear music loving audiophiles,

The cleaning and treatment instructions for ClearDisc™ and ClearBit™ have changed for the better, i.e. it's no longer neessary to wait 5 minutes after cleaning a disc with ClearDisc™ before treating it with ClearBit™ although it's still recommed that there be 5 minutes or more between two Clearbit™ treatments.

George S. Louis

Dear music loving audiophiles,

At one time I offered to make and mail back the original disc and its RealityCheckCD™ counterpart for $5. I no longer have time to make sample RealityCheckCDs™ below their actual cost. To a company that's going to use RealityCheckCDs™ to demonstrate their high-end equipment the cost of the RealityCheckCDs™ is just another cost, such as a high-end power cord, of making their demonstrations the best they can be. If they get one new dealer or customer they've probably paid for several RealityCheckCDs™ and after that it's all profit. I don't hold a gun to heads of any high-end companies to force them to buy RealityCheckCDs™. They know that the best equipment and best CD players can only take flawed source material so far. Also if they're not satisfied they may keep their original disc and its RealityCheckCD™ counterpart and receive a refund of $70 with no questions asked. And so far, I've never had a refund request.

George S. Louis

A fellow Audiogon member was kind enough to offer to make RealityCheckCDs from a few of my redbook CDs. Last night, I listened to a RealityCheckCD copy of a friend's commercially produced progressive rock CD which is a nicely layered and sonically dense recording, although I've always considered it edgy and bright. The RealityCheckCD mitigated the digital edge and lent some naturalness to the music, however it also somehow affected the ambience and extension.

From a burned compilation CD I own of audiophile quality recordings, I compared Thomas Dolby's "I Scare Myself" to the RealityCheckCD version. The RealityCheckCD version defines the instruments and voice a bit more than the original burned CD, and the leading edge of the piano attack is softened a bit. I can see where this would be pleasing to some listeners. Overall, however, I find the RealityCheckCD, at least on this track, collapses the soundstage height and width and diminishes the layering somewhat. There is less ambience in the music, and micro details are reduced. For example, in the first 30 seconds of the track there is some brush work on a ride cymbal that is clearly defined on the standard burned CD. The RealityCheckCD version either pushes this cymbal work back in the mix or muddies it, I'm not sure which, but I suspect some tweaking in the frequency range where the attack of this sound originates, and I think this goes hand-in-hand with the loss of ambience in the recording. There is certainly a difference in the two recordings, but I'm not sure the effects of the RealityCheckCD process would be beneficial in all cases. I prefer the original version of this track, and it's a song I've been using for quite some time to evaluate equipment.

I noticed this also while listening to "Walking on the Moon" by the Yuri Honing Trio from the same compilation CD. The saxophone sounds more natural in the RealityCheckCD version, and much closer to what I remember my vinyl sounding many years ago. However, the music sounds like it's being performed in a closed, cloth-walled room without any circulating air.

So, the RealityCheckCD can make the music less digital and more natural, but to my ears, it also tweaks with a recording's extension and ambience to a degree that I find unsettling.

Tvad,all that I can say with regard to the your finding of the lack of ambience and high frequency extension is that I find the RC give an edge to brass and a shean to high hat that I find very realistic. I also find a great sense of decay to the notes and more of a sense of real depth and location. Overall, I find the sound much more like the recording venue.

I have no clue why our results might differ, but I find I can no longer listen to other digital.