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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.
mkgus
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa
4,867 posts
 
My friend Robert came over last night and we gave the Herbie's "Super Black Hole CD Mat" a workout. We a/b/a tested a number of CDs. In each case, the Herbie's mat degraded the sound. It had a dulling effect, in that the highs were obscured, and a veil was placed over the entire presentation.  It took the life out of the music. 

I was somewhat disappointed, in that, I'm using Herbie's tube dampeners throughout the system, and Herbie's feet under the CD player, both to good effect. I'm a big fan of Herbie's tube dampeners. 

Frank

lak's avatar
lak
4,713 posts
 
Thanks for the report oregonpapa, I was waiting to hear your thoughts regarding the Super Black Hole CD Mat.
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa
4,867 posts
 
lak ...

You're welcome, Lak. 

The last time I tried the Herbie's mat, I had yet to install PPT's "The Gate," their "Stop Its," and the SR "Orange" fuses. I didn't detect the shortcomings of Herbie's mat listed above. In fact, I reported at the time that there was no effect at all, either good or bad. With the latest upgrades, the system is much higher in resolution, and the drawbacks of the mat could clearly be heard. 

These comments apply to my system only. The Herbie's mat may offer an improvement in a system that is overly "hot" in the highs where glare needs to be tamed. Or, perhaps with recordings that have that digital glare we all detest. In these circumstances, the Herbie's mat may make a perceived improvement.  For me, it goes into the box of "tweaks that don't work." 

Again ... Herbie's tube dampeners are a "must-have." They were a very significant improvement over the stock dampening rings supplied with the electronics as they came from ARC. 

Frank
waipuna's avatar
waipuna
7 posts
 
How are these mentioned mats different than the craze of the eighties when it was discovered that a shade of blue green was the optimum color for laser defraction or flection. Some Japanese cos. still incorporate the color into the insides of there equipment. You dont however see the green edge pens, although  I thought those worked well for tightening up the cd presentation. Some claimed trouble with flaking. But the green color was the magic color. Isnt the bluray laser blue. Ive read that the blue laser light cuts a cleaner pit and therefore the improved resolution of blu-ray and supposedly the same with the Japanese SHM-cd format.

geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
As it turns out CYAN (turquoise) is the complementary color of red. So, cyan absorbs red light. The Green Pen and some other devices including your humble narrator’s Codename Turquoise tray masking kit, absorbed stray CD laser light that was visible RED in color. And this was generally audible. However, things are not necessarily what they seem here.

The CD laser light nominal wavelength is actually 780 nm, which is in the invisible near-infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The reason the CD laser appears RED to the naked eye is by design - as a safety feature 🚨. The laser beam is not monochromatic so the wavelength of the lower portion of the laser bandwidth is between around 650 nm to 700 nm, I,e., RED. But most of the laser bandwidth is above 700 nm. Let’s say from 700 - 850 nm, for purposes of argument. So it is invisible. That means only 25% or so of the scattered light is affected (absorbed) by the color CYAN, and the Green Pen and Codename Turquoise. Therefore most (75%) of the scattered light is still potentially able to get into the photodetector. And no color, not even BLACK can absorb invisible infrared light. So, one might imagine how much better the sound might be if ALL of the scattered light could be absorbed.

The laser wavelength of Blu Ray is violet 405 nm.

extra: joke - Richard Feynman was pulled over by police for speeding. The cop asked him, do you know how fast you were going? Feynman replied, I’m uncertain.
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