I've done the following:
Listened sequentially to the same CD as follows:
1) With no treatment, for the "baseline"
2) Then, after Shinola-->no discernible difference
3) Then same disc, after Auric Illuminator 2 AND the black marker on the edges and center as directed-->Subtle but definite improvement
HOWEVER, somebody claims to have a friend who tested Auric Illuminator on a "BLER" detector machine, or something like that, and that it INCREASED BLER, whereas the Shinola didn't (and I think he said Shinola decreased BLER).
So that's contradictory to the above "test" I ran. MAYBE, the black marker treatment in the Auric Illuminator kit helps, but the clear gooey stuff to coat the CD hurts, but who knows? I never tested with JUST the black marker treatment, so as far as I'm concerned......
it's still all a BLER to me.