How I tamed digital glare.


For months I have been trying to eliminate digital glare in the my system, which showed up most noticably in the upper middle frequency vocal range, especially female vocals. I tamed some by replacing the stock fuse in my dac with HifiTuning Supreme Cu on the sage advice of Chris Van Haus of VH Audio, resulting in a significant improvement in tonal density, detail and clarity. So far, so good. Today I lightly dusted the laser lens in my CEC transport with a microfiber cloth and was astonished to discover a substantial improvement! And the laser lens and drive compartment appeared clean to begin with (in a smoke free environment). I tried cleaning contacts, swapping power cords and interconnects, rolling the tube in my MHDT dac, and so forth, but this simple protocol was more effective than any of those experiments. I suppose results may vary as every system is unique, but for me this simple tweak was revelatory: greater clarity and a signifcant reducton of hash. Wish I had thought of tt in the beginning; it would have saved me considerable time and frustration.
pmboyd
@elizabeth

Pretty much.  The final step that removed it from the discussion in my system were the CAD Ground Control units.  Apparently, high frequency noise is the enemy when it comes to digital.  Not cheap, but couldn't imagine my system without them.

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It is actually "pathetic" that people would come hear to an anonymous audio forum to brag about there children if you can't see how sad that is I feel sorry for you.
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There's more to life than this silly hobby and if other facets of life spill into it, that can be a good thing.
Great contribution Clearthink!
Thank you so much.

Yes I do agree that we did hijack it a little and my apologies to the OP for that.
Maybe you guys should start a mommy and daddy thread instead of hijacking this thread or maybe you need a mommy and daddy forum just for yourselfs!
Kosst
Life is easy enough with my now 19 year old daughter for sure.
This is pretty untypical of her but there are good reasons I know.
Its all good and easily resolved for sure.
It could be a LOT worse!
One way that helped me was to throw a heavy blanket  over a TV is same room..
The best thing that can happen to a man in this life is to have a good , loving daughter.
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Coloring the edge of CDs is so old school. As fate would have it colors affect only the visible part of the spectrum. However, the CD laser wavelength of 780 Nanometers is solidly in the near infrared part of the spectrum - the invisible portion of the spectrum where colors are not (rpt not) effective in absorbing stray scattered laser light. Ironic, huh?
Tell me Kosst
Try this for headaches!
My daughter attending University in Alaska.
Comes home for summer break
Decides halfway through she wants to go to different Uni.
All gear and stuff in Alaska
Need to get it all back and sent to new Uni in Florida
Kids...…...
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...is one of the biggest piles if snake oil I've ever seen.
He's Back!
Where you been at Kosst?

Been quiet around here......
Playing untreated CDs on untreated CD players is like peeing up a rope. If you think you’re hearing all of what’s actually on the disc, believe me, you aren’t. Maybe 50%. That’s if you’re lucky.

An ordinary man has no means of deliverance.

Most people cant think out of the box. They don’t even know there is a box. 
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Could it be coming from your cabling?  Are you using digital coaxial, AES/EBU, etc.?
Thanks for the tips. The interior of my CD transport is black. All my components are acoustically isolated. My point is that simply cleaning the laser lens worked a miracle in my case. Virtually no digital hash remains across a broad spectrum of CDs (not counting the poorly mastered).Why didn't I think of this from the get go! 
Try the High Fidelity MC-0.5 power conditioner. I had a bit of glare in the upper mids on strong female vocals, highs, when the volume is increased, piano key strikes, and horns. Fuses are a great way to start but you’ll reap bigger benefits with the MC-0.5.
 I kid you not.

The best price, if still available, is gained from calling direct and asking about any B-stock availability, which are 40% off retail.


All the best,
Nonoise
Your complete guide to eliminating digital glare:
Paint the insides flat black or even better line with a very flat black fabric. Color CD edges with a black or green marker or paint pen. Clean them with any combination of acrylic cleaners and cloths. Demagnetize em. Put cones, balls, balloons, or a phone book under it, and/or put sand, lead, wood, or whatever on top of it. Use anti-static spray. Play the demagnetizing tracks on the XLO Test CD. Finally, cue up a record. Done.