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Review: Grungebuster CD Mat Herbie's Audio Lab Tweak

Category: Accessories

Model: Grungebuster CD Mat
Category: Accessory
Suggested Retail Price: $19.95
Description: CD Mat
Manufacturer URL: Herbie's Audio Lab
Model Picture: View

Review by blake (A) on July 26, 2003 at 17:26:44
IP Address: 129.100.4.76 Add Your Review
for the Grungebuster CD Mat

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First, let me state that I do not have a $3,000 digital front end and I do not know how this product will function with a really high end player. That being said, the tweaked DVD player that I use currently sounds better in my opinion than an Arcam Alpha 8SE which I sold a few years ago.

I have used an Audioprism CD Blacklight for a few years now with decent results. The improvements with the Blacklight were subtle, and I would use it regularly, except when CD or DVD playback simply would not function with it (as is the case with the Herbie's mat every once in a while).

I recently read a thread on Audiogon which stated that the Marigo mat was the best of the bunch. I have no experience with the Marigo simply because I didn't want to spring the $80 for it.

The Herbies mat is $20, not exactly a huge sum. I would highly recommend it, particularly for those with cheaper digital gear; whether it brings about as much of an improvement with higher end gear, I cannot say.

The "Grungebuster" is simply far superior to the Audioprism Blacklight. Audible improvements could easily be heard on music where vocals previously seemed to "trail off" and not be easily understood (Bob Dylan's Love and Theft and Emmy Lou Harris' Wrecking Ball for example). The Grungebuster imparts a clarity which was simply not there before with the Blacklight mat (which itself improves very slightly upon a nude CD). The good thing about this clarity is that it comes about without a "thinning out" of the performance. On the contrary, background becomes noticeably darker, instruments are more fleshed out, bass performance is slightly enhanced and the top end is noticeably cleaned up as well. One thing that I cannot stand is an increase in clarity that is accompanied with any lean aspect being applied to the music. This is not the case with the Grungebuster; in fact just the opposite occurs. Both Pat Methney's guitar and Charlie Haden's bass (Under the Missouri Sky) really filled out and have never sounded better in my system with the Grungebuster. On certain tracks (certainly not every one on every CD), I can actually hear info that I have not heard before. Ironically, this usually occurs in relatively quiet "solo" passages where there is a background accompanyment (hope that's spelled right, I doubt it) from one or two other instruments (Jimmy Smith's "Damn" comes to mind here).

In short, the Grungebuster lives up to its name, for all of $20. There is a newly found smoothness, a noticeable improvement from top to bottom (bass midrange and high frequencies) a removal of grain and edge, and a revelation of more musical info and increase in clarity.

Alas, there is also bad news (is anything perfect in audio?). On some CD's and DVD's the Grungebuster simply will not work. This also happened to me with the Blacklight, but the Grungebuster appears to be a little bit pickier still. Probably has something to do with the actual thickness of the CD, but on some, you will simply get persistent spinning and an inability for the player to start to read the CD or DVD. I've experienced this with a number of CD's that the Blacklight would not function with in the same manner as well as a rental DVD last night that came with an ID ring fixed around the centre hole. In the cases where it doesn't work, you simply stop your player, remove the buster and start over (with a slightly depressed feeling you're not going to receive its benefits).

I've only used it for 3 or 4 days now, and the other problem, if you can call it that, is putting it on the CD or DVD. I'm getting used to it, so it is certainly less of a problem, but the grungebuster is a bit of work to "install". It is very thin and slightly tacky on one side (which you are to fix to the label side of the CD before inserting). It is a bit of work to get it centered properly and the easiest way, by far, is to apply it with the CD/DVD still in its jewel case or container.

Whether this trouble is worth it to you, I don't know, but it is to me and I'll be continuing to use the grungebuster on everything I can. Definitely recommended, especially for $20.

Associated gear
See System under "blake's equipment" at Audioasylum

Similar products
Audioprism CD Blacklight
hdm
thsalmon
348 posts
 
I'v tried the Herbie's CD mat as well. In general, I like its' effect on CDs but not SACDs. I haven't tried it with a Bob Dylan CD yet, but if it can make him more intelligible, it would be truly miraculous!
84audio
175 posts
 
I agree with hdm and sam. Can't imagine a better improvement for $20. The music is cleaner and clearer and really does have less grunge which results in a fuller and more relaxed presentation. I ordered on a Monday and Herbie had it in my CD player on Wednesday. If you don't like it you can send it back so you can't lose!
hdm OP
1,062 posts
 
An update with respect to discs not playing with the Herbie's mat:

Following the posting of this review, Steve Herbelin (from Herbies) contacted me via e-mail to thank me for the positive comments. He also suggested that I sand down the inner ring on the mat to rough it up a bit to aid in the clamping of the CD within the player when playing and possibly eliminate the problem I was having with the 3 discs which would not play. He also said that he would be happy to send me a "sanded" version of the mat to try out. As I was not keen on sanding and possibly destroying the mat I had (as I like its performance very much!), I decided to take him up on his offer.

Sure enough, the "latest" version of the Grungebuster arrived at my door a few days ago. I immediately tried it with the 3 discs (Otis Rush/Any Place I'm Going, Mark Whitfield/The Marksman and Charles Earland/I Ain't Jivin' I'm Jammin') that would not play with the previous version.

Well, Steve was right. With the new version, 2 of the 3 discs played perfectly. With the Whitfield disc, the CD played, but there is a fair bit of transport noise, so I'm unsure as to whether I'll "Herbie" this disc when I play it. I'm also thinking that the sanding of the inner circle slightly improves the mat's performance overall, something that Steve also hinted at, in that the roughed up surface provides a tighter lock with the clamping mechanism of the player (at least my player) and results in a slightly better read of data.

In any event, my hat goes off to Steve Herbelin, first of all for an excellent product at a reasonable price, and secondly, for absolutely first rate customer service. He definitely went "the extra mile", all on a $20 sale, which shows me that he's dedicated to great service, and also very quick to respond to a customer's concern and try to improve his product.
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Megasam describes the product as being a thin rubber mat. I would assume then, that as the owner of a transport using Pioneer's Stable Platter mechanism, I wouldn't benefit from using this tweak. (The transport's a Theta Pearl, and for those of you who don't know, the SP - which is no longer produced, unfortunately - functions like a 'turntable' for the disk, with a thin rubber mat covering an aluminum platter, complete with 'spindle', on which you set the CD upside-down to be laser-read from above, so you've got gravity working for you along with an internal clamp.)
hdm OP
1,062 posts
 
Zaikesman: You might want to check out the ad for the grungebuster here at Audiogon. There is a model specifically for the stable platter players that costs a bit more ($24.95) that can be applied directly to the "platter" or turntable and simply left on there. If it works as well as the regular model, you won't be disappointed.
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