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Clean away old CD treatments

Hello,

Recently I've been trying various CD treatments. I began with Optrix, switched to Shine-ola, and even tried Ultrabit. A few of my CDs have received all three treatments without any cleansing in between.

I would like to start over. I want to clean all the old treatments off my CDs. Is it enough to use mild dish soap and distilled water? Or should I use something like Novus? I am hesitant to use lens cleaners with isopropyl alcohol or ethanol because I've heard alcohol is bad for polycarbonate.

Would appreciate any advice.
rfprice
rfprice OP
150 posts
 
geoffkait, thanks for the link. I like how the writer doesn't really pick a winner. Actually I'm unaware of some of the treatments he describes. His Ultrabits are the previous formulas, not the Diamond Plus, but there probably isn't much difference between the them.

I'm becoming more and more curious about the L Art du Son. I know that Absolute Sound magazine also did a comparison and the fellow declared L Art to be the best. Still, I'm not sure I want to toss another $50 on liquids. At some point you have to stop. But I've begun to get a sense that three treatments are worthwhile: a cleaning spray, a demagnetizer, and a trimmer (although I've never actually tried a trimmer). Ever since I began collecting Japan-made discs, I've become a strong believer in the importance of the physical disc itself. I think that you would have to spend thousands on hardware to make a poorly manufactured disc sound as good as a quality disc.
hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,832 posts
 
@gdnrbob    Just curious, you said you heard a "significant difference" between a demagged disc and one not so treated.  Could you elaborate on the nature of the differences??
Thanks!
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa
4,867 posts
 
rfprice ...

You can save a lot of cash by buying a Radio Shack VCR tape eraser and using that to demagnetize your CD's. I've used one for over 20 years and they work as well as any. Just be sure to get the one for VCR's and not the smaller one that's intended for audio cassette tapes. The one for VCR's is much larger and a lot more powerful.

Also, be sure to clean the CD's before demagnetizing. If you demagnetize first and then clean,  by rubbing the CD with your cleaning cloth, you'll be adding static electricity back into the CD and you'll be right back to square one.

When demagnetizing, just wave the demagnetizer slowly over the CD about 3 inches above it in a circular motion, then very slowly draw it straight away from the CD.  I find that using this method removes the digital glare and makes the CD sound a LOT more analog like. You'll be surprised how many CD's you once found unlistenable and too bright that are really pretty darned good. 

Also, I've used most of the CD cleaning solutions out there including the  L Art du Son. A friend came up with a home made formula that kills them all.  Problem is, he won't share the formula with me. On the other hand, I have a home made cleaning solution that I came up with after much experimentation for LP's that really gets down into the grooves like no other and brings out the highest amount of inner detail and a more organic sound from the instruments ... and I don't share that formula either. When used with the VPI 16.5 the finished product is clean, clean ... and CLEAN.  It costs pennies and all of my vinyl freakoid friends use it. They bring over a gallon of distilled water, I go out into kitchen, make up the batch in ten seconds and its done.

We audiophiles are a strange lot. *lol*

Hope this helps ... 

Frank
rfprice OP
150 posts
 
Frank, truer words have never been spoken. We audiophiles are indeed a strange lot.

I've read about the VCR eraser method. Seems like a good idea. You mean the high-powered one that looks like a small anvil? Or you mean the wand type?

I'm mad curious about your friend's secret formula. Oh well, my grandmother never gave up her pie recipes, so I can't fault your friend either.
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