CD playing Rituals

Buscis2!! Ed, where are you? Answer this baby. Wait to you hear what Ed goes through. I can attest, first hand, that disc tweaks, particulary, Eds', make a difference. I'm not willing to go through what Ed does, but I do a couple of the same things. I don't want to steal his thunder. 4yanx, hang in there, baby. Ed will be with you by the end of this evening. He is the disc tweakstermon. peace, warren

WELL, after Warren's reference to Buscis2, I did a search and found the "Wash, Cut, Polish & Demagnetize" thread. Seems to say it all from most angles.....

I would, though, like to throw out a comment with respect to beveling the edges of CD's. I am not by any means an expert on laser technology or its application in terms of reading a CD. On the other hand, as a former furniture maker and an apprentice to my grandfather who was a MASTER craftsman, I do have intimate knowledge of beveling.

To accurately accomplish what I believe to be the purpose of the disc beveling would seem, to put it mildly, a daunting task, and perhaps the reason for sometimes reduced performance or mistracking. Off the top of my head, I can think of at least five areas in which the application of a chamfered edge on a flat, round, thin plastic disc could be problematic. First, the horizontal platform of the "jig" which holds the disc would require a very close tolerance so as not to deviate from a level plane as the chamfering cutter does its work. Second, and related to the first, a means to assure that the disc lies perfectly flat without warping would be essential. Third, one would have to assume that all discs are of the exact same thickness so as to avoid under or over cut of the chamfer cutter. Fourth, the perfect "roundness" of the disc would be critical in the absence of a compensating mechanism in the cutter head. Fifth, the chamfering "bit", need be exceedingly sharp and remain so for making clean, smooth, consistent cuts on something as inherently brittle and "chippy" as plastic - even if the actual removal of material is by means of grinding as opposed to cutting.

Again, I am not certain which, if any, of these criteria effects the transmission of the laser light to the disc. But, unless the machine used to do the cutting is of extremely high quality and/or very flexible, it would seem difficult to obtain consistent and accurate results.

Whatever ritual you perform, always handle the cd's by the edges with clean hands, put them in the case immediately after playing, and back to the rack (away from any sunlight). I have some cd's 15 yrs - and they and all others look like new to this day.

My CD-rituals are extreamly identical to vinyls.
Here are my ten CD-commendments:
1. Wash hands preferably with soap(I love Oil of Olay or Irish Spring not sure if any audiophile grade exists on that issue).
2. Keep CDs in jewel boxes or non-abrasive sleeves.
3. If neccessary, replace loose or broken jewel box to new and firm one that will preven accidental scratching due to the falling on the floor.
4. Take CD with fingers holding edges only and place it onto the CD-tray of the CD-player.
5. Inserts are also fingerprint sencitive so I prefere to remove them very carefully and read them with minimal fingerprints.
6. Please note, I do NOT hold the remote while consuming chicken or other finge-held meal. If there is a need to switch to different track or change CD please refere to paragraph 1.
7. Sort CD-s so you can find anyone you realy want to play fast.
8. Don't use valuable CD-s in car-stereos. Burn them or tape-record for such purposes.
9. Never use any demagnetizers and scratch-masters. You will end-up with blurring the plastic coating and unreadable tracks. If you do already have well, you should probably get another one(very often much cheaper than to load yourself with demags and scratch-master kinda $hit)...
10. Such rituals are easily applicable to vinyl as well except vinyls realy needs to be cleaned once a year(particularly in my case).

4yanx, were your questions answered by the Wash,Cut,Polish & Demag thread? Yea 4yanx, it really does work. Although, no single step of that process provides overwhelming results, When you put them altogether, it really does make one hell of a difference.

I was trying to find a website for you that displays pictures of the Audiodesk disccutter. But, no success. Although, what you theorize is absolutely correct. The Audiodesk resembles a little turntable with a threaded clamp that sandwiches the CD in the cutter. A fixed pivoted arm holds the cutter toolbit.

The shavings from the cut CD actually come off in thin pieces (that looks like dental floss) much like they would turning a soft steel bar on a metal lathe. It is a very nicely made unit. It performs this cutting operation devoid of any chatter and free from vibration.

If you may have any question regarding usage, please feel free to let me know, and I will happily provide any information you may require. Also, I would be more than willing to perform my complete ritual to a few of your CDs , just to use for evaluation and as a basis for comparison.

I think you may be pleasantly surprised at the results.