Do you demag or destat your CDs/DVDS?

"07-10-14: Mceljo
Specifically, I remember one particular person that left the industry and provided their thought afterwords. I thought I saw it on audiogon, at least the link. If I get time I will try to dig it up.

Generally, I have never read a truly negative review in an audio magazine which leads one to assume that they will praise anything that is put in front of them. Admittedly, I so t read a lot of reviews so maybe my sampling isn't representative."

The reason I ask is that I feel a lot of people put this topic in more of the conspiracy category than anything else. (I'm not singling you out here. It's my general observation.). Most reviews are positive, but I feel its very easy to explain why this is so. First and foremost, products have evolved over the years. For example, critics used to say SS gear didn't have many qualities that tubes had, and tube gear fell short of SS in areas. As a result, designers have been trying to deal with the weaknesses in whatever products they make. The same improvements have been made with digital and conventional speakers. And for the most part, they've been successful. Its only natural that the reviews have become more positive over time. There's a lot less to complain about.

Another major factor is that reviewers usually look to review gear that they think they will like. Its very common to hear something at a show and ask for a review sample. This practice isn't a secret, either. I've seen many times, in print, where reviewers will tell the reader they asked to review a product. And even if the review is positive overall, negative qualities are still listed. I can't remember reading any review that said the product was perfect.

"7-10-14: Mceljo
Zd542 - The article is titled Ethics and the Audiophile Press and was written by Roger Skoff. You can Google it."

Thanks for the reference. I'll have a look at it when I have some time later. If I'm not mistaken, Roger Skoff is from xlo cables. Are you sure he's not trying to get back at the audio press for a bad review? lol. Just kidding.

Jea,

Either you missed my point, or didn't care to address it. I'm not talking about the demag product or any other tweak. I'm talking about the term "flat earther." Flat earthers believed the earth was flat because they trusted their own senses and religious beliefs and mistrusted scientific evidence. This parallels the audiophiles who trust their own senses (perceptions) and believe the marketers (of which I include most reviewers) and shun scientific testing.

As for tweaks, I'm one of those who believes every change I make in my system or in my listening room has an effect. If the change is made to the system then the signal is affected. If the change is made to my listening room then the sound waves that reach my ears. If I swap out an IC in the signal path, it has an effect on the signal. If I set a new pillow on the seat next to me it, has an effect on the sound waves reaching my ears. If I change a tube in my amp, it definitely has an effect.

This leads to two questions. Can I hear these differences? And can these differences be measured?

Not all changes I have made were audible to me. I have heard some changes, including cable changes. I have used after market power cables but have not heard any difference, could be bias as I wouldn't expect to.

Whether the changes are measurable will remain a mystery as no one is going to that trouble for me. At this point in my life I no longer find listening to tweaks interesting. Swapping in a new power cable and straining to hear a difference is not important. Years ago I was all into it but no longer. Enjoy.

"This parallels the audiophiles who trust their own senses (perceptions) and believe the marketers (of which I include most reviewers) and shun scientific testing."

That's a pretty big assumption. I trust my own perceptions, but I don't buy marketing/reviews. I stopped reading reviews because I disagree with them more than agree. Shun scientific testing? Not at all. If science can help, I'm all for it. Audio products are made by scientists. (Please don't call me out on that statement with some ridiculous tweak made by a "scientist". Yes, I get that.)

ZD542, I'm not calling anyone out. Although I have met a few Agon members personally, I don't know any who fit that description. But reading through the threads here it does seem as if there are members who do.

My thanks to Jea48 for supplying ample information on the Furutech RD. I notice there are no US or Canadian distributors of the Acoustic Revive RD 3, only overseas sales on Ebay that are not endorsed by Acoustic Revive. I could buy one from the dealer in England, but price is now over $600 USD. I spoke at length with my high-end retailer, here in MN, who swears by the Bedini Quad Clarifier. He states he never uploads a disc to his solid state drive or plays a CD that is not first placed in his Bedini. I trust this guy, who works with the top lines in his store every day and has listened to dozens of different systems he has set up for customers to listen to. If this guy sez it works, that's enough evidence for me--I ordered one.