If you have a CD Player, you need to do this periodically...

@millercarbon 

Seriously?  Like you haven't seen my posts or followed my links on why the "digital" input signal is in fact quasi-analog. Anyhow.

That assertion carries a HUGE caveat; whether it is truly digital or quasi-analog depends where and when in the signal chain. 

When the signal hist the DAC chip, timing matters nad that's analog.  Until then, no.  And in the magnitude domain (what's coded in the 16, 18, 24 bits), why yes, it is purely digital and very robust.

Now, the optical CD itself is different yet again, and no traditional digital.  You either ignored my reference to EFM or don't know what i is.  EFM (eight-to-fourteen modulation) is the coding format of pits on the CD.  It is in fact quasi analog, but has full error detection and then correction after decoding - so impacts are known. And uncorrected ones are very rare.

So, at that point:

1. The "digital stream" is minimally, if at all, at risk

2. it is optical not electrical, and therefore magnetism is even less relevant

So yea, it is on you to explain this. Arguments like the one you mad here continue to confuse the issue and give naysayers ammunition.  Yes!  We need to deal with the analog timing component.  No! i doesn't matter anywhere except right at the input to the DAC (assuming, for simplicity, a traditional PCM ladder DAC).

So all, we need to be careful about this - details matter.

I have been using a bulk tape eraser on my CDs since the mid 90s.  It makes a difference.  I remember back then I had a buddy come over with some duplicate CDs to mine.  So we were able to listen to his untreated discs compared to my demagnetized discs and then demagnetize his and listen again.  Since then I demagnetize all of my new CDs.  The bulk tape eraser was about $20 at Radio Shack back then.  Turns out it works.

CDs have a thin layer of Aluminum sputtered onto the polycarbonate disc.  Aluminum is paramagnetic.  We also figured some of the CD label inks may have metal in them.  Perhaps even weak spinning magnetic fields jostle the laser head.  Who knows?  Demagnetizing CDs works so i just do it.

My brother worked at Sony making CDs then DVDs until they moved it out of the country.  He says CDs have an analog component to them.  Part of it is that the time domain is mechanical (The spinning disc) but the part I don't understand is why does a clean disc play louder than a dirty, smudged disc.

@millercarbon, thanks for that information, I’m going to swap out my Krell K300i with an older intergrated tube amp and give it a whirl as well. My buddy had mentioned specifically tracks 6, 7, and 8 to run repeatedly. I have run the whole disc on repeat overnight while sleeping at 1/4 or 1/3 volumes while I’m out of the house. I remember him stating that on a couple of tracks it may sound like your speakers are about to blow up but not to worry, and I actually did think that when I ran it the first time, scared the crap out of me. I thought my Monitor Audio Platinum PL300II were about to become burnt toast! 

I am not an Engineer, but can honestly say it works. The sound is much more fuller, richer, and very open, I was floored! I’ve tried many audio tweaks with a few snake oil treatments thrown in. This is one tweak that does works in my opinion.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, and the best in the New Year to everyone, cheers.

Merry Christmas!

The green CD pens do improve the sound. When they first came out, I was skeptical, so I tested. I still have a couple new ones left. But don’t use CDs much any more.