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Herbie’s Super Black Hole CD Mat - Wow!

I just received the Herbie’s Audio Lab Super Black Hole CD mat in mail. It’s a little black disc that fits atop a CD which has silicon on one side (the side that touches the CD) and carbon fiber on the top. I’ve only listened to a few songs (electronic genre) and my first impression was simply “Wow!” I’m hearing so much further into the recording. I’m hearing the ambience much better. Notes have more texture. Imaging seems to have improved. On one track, there is a sound that is panned to the right and repeats three times. I thought it was identical on each note, but with the CD mat it’s easy to hear that on the second note, it actually moves 6 inches towards the center of the soundstage and then back out to the right. It’s always fun to rediscover your music when you find a tweak you enjoy. 
From their website, this is how they say it works:

“By reducing micro-vibration in the CD spin during playback, laser-reading error is potentially reduced. (Error correction in audio CD discs is not perfect; it is algorithm-based "guessing," not binary like in data CDs). By damping the disc/clamp interface, micro-vibrations generated by spinning discs are hindered, keeping them from permeating throughout the player where capacitors, op-amps, micro-processors, and other sensitive parts can be adversely affected.”

I can’t confirm whether or not that’s the whole story to how it works, but I’m convinced it does something amazing. I will report back after I listen to some more music of other genres.
128x128mkgus
pengun
79 posts
 
LOL. Rip that crap. It just sounds better, I can recommend an NVME SSD, right from the PCIe bus as a player.
A $35 DVD burner is so much more capable than any CD drive for ripping your stuff. ;)
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
NDM is not a CD mat. NDM is a set of 10 ultra thin adhesive plastic squares that are placed on the top surface of the CD tray and the surface of the Mini CD tray, if there is one. I estimate total thickness of NDM to be no more than 1/32”. There is plenty of space between the CD and NDM whilst the CD is playing. This arrangement places the NDM right where all the action is for optimum effectiveness. NDM absorbs all (rpt all) light whether visible red, blue, violet, whatever or invisible infrared or ultraviolet. 🤗
ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 
Disc stabilizers have been around since the 80’s. Monster Cable DISCUS+, DeMat. Both discontinued, but still effective.

To hear Mr Kait tell it, every playback iteration should be radically different. They weren’t in the 80’s and are less so today. It’s simple to prove that they aren’t. It’s a non-issue for properly set up systems.

The light level in the player relative to the photo detector level is next to nothing. I’m fairly certain Mr Kait’s NDM absorbs nothing extremely well.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Mr. Eels, I realize you think you know something about this subject but you don’t. First of all, as I just got through saying, NDM is not a CD mat or any such thing.

The scattered light levels inside the CD transport can be quite high, up to 100% of the direct reflected signal. Think of it like you would a lightbulb in a small room. The bulb illuminates the whole room. You do realize light travels at the speed of light, right?  Even if the scattered light is only 75% of the direct signal amplitude it will still be detected by the photo detector as real signal. Therein lies the problem. Scattered light is not something I made up. I did not invent reality.
ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 
The SID has equally bogus claims. If light is reflected from the label, it can't be neutralized by the SID. Additionally, shining a red laser at green surface does not result in no reflections.

I know a little about light. I was Senior Software Engineer at Photo Research, Inc. 
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