Favorite CD treatments?

Silly, but works. Clean your discs with dryer sheets. I have revived beat up goodwill $1 discs with this method.

I bought the Shine ola. I tried it on 4 CDs and did not hear a difference. I'll continue to experiment with it. The only effective tweak that I have found is a bulk tape eraser. I demagnetize the CDs with it and they sound better. I have been demag'ing my discs for 18 years now. I was very skeptical at the time but decided it to try it one day just for kicks. The improvement was amazing.

As it turns out the level of the CD transport area may or may not be the same level as the top of the chassis. Even a couple of degrees can be audible, The best way to obtain absolute level of the CD transport is to remove the cover of the chassis and place a bubble level directly on the CD transport. Absolute level of the transport results in better focus and balance.