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.
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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.
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. 
Apparently they didn’t teach you very much, Mr. Eels. For starters the CD laser isn’t red. Don’t tell anybody. It’ll be our little secret. 🤫 How ‘bout them apples, Mr. Smarty Pants? 🍎 🍎

I have used various CD mats over the years and all have made a difference in sound.....some better and some worse. The Herbies Black Hole mat is the best I have ever heard and for awhile they were not being made.....Now I see they are back....get one....incredible! Dirt cheap.


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