Rain-X as CD Enhancement Treatment

Guys, I haven't been following this thread, but I must say it is the most civil discussion on this I have ever read.

I should say that I have spent a career testing methods and statistics as well as doing the best science I could given the difficulties of studying humans. I am a political science professor. Mine is very much a young and developing science and recently many political scientists have embraced the deductive ideas so prevalent in economics. For me to assume human rationality is a bridge too far. Rather I pursue an inductive science based on observations and trying to explain why there are differences. Such a science develops with many studies.

This predisposes me in audio to want to hear components, speakers, wires, etc. And to try to understand why one sounds better. My interest in music is to want the best sound I can get, but I also want to understand why one sounds better. Nevertheless, if something sounds better I will try to afford it.

I had undergraduate education in engineering as well as in the sciences. In my opinion engineering is about applying the findings of science to practical use. Its principles do not define what science is. In application to the question of cleaning cds, the engineer might well stick with the fundamental precepts. Some tweaks violate some of these precepts, but not necessarily natures laws or science. Also, of course, some tweaks may be scams, but violating precepts does necessarily means they are scams. Observations might well lead to better precepts.

I would give an example of quartz disks. I have tried many different quartz products or tweaks. In some places they have a very great benefit. In others no effect, and yet in others may ruin the sound. I hate to have to use these empirically, namely to always have to use trial and error. For someone to tell me that they could have no impact is grossly unscientific to me as it fails to account for the variability of the findings. Do I wish someone could "predict" where there would be benefits would be great.

Long ago, I tried Rain-X. I still have the bottle in my listening room. I did find some benefit, but very little. I found that use on my windshields did allow some avoidance of using my windshield wipers as water sheeted of more. Why this would have an effect on cds, I cannot understand. I can see how eyeglass cleaners would have more effect. Optrix in my opinion has a much greater effect than Rain-X. I do not use either now.

Shadorne, while I fully agree that equipment breakin takes a long time, I don't understand why you would say a piece of equipment never sounds the same twice. I also don't understand why you would say "target" quality gear always sounds the same. There are explanations for why gear breaks in and apart from drivers, most often this is several months or less. If you turn equipment off, it may take some time to get back to where it was, but once there it will change little.

Going into this experiment I will admit to being biased in favor of Rain-X. Some years ago Andy Rooney of 60 Minutes attempted to debunk this fine product as an example of consumer hucksterism. He scoffed at it, noting with some pride the superiority of the good ole fashioned American-made windshield wiper. He then made a half-hearted palsied attempt to rub Rain-X into an automobile windshield before watching it fail to work. Now I have used this product successfully for many years, and know that for it to work as designed, one must carefully follow directions and apply generously, and reapply again after drying. Generally speaking, one may take any manufacturer's claim to apply its product twice as an exploitative attempt to increase user consumption, but in the case of Rain-X, this is not a valid criticism. Rain-X works and sheds rain better than the best windshield wipers at speeds above 30 mph. Shadorne, please give Rain-X a chance, remembering always to follow the directions.

I don't understand why you would say a piece of equipment never sounds the same twice.I also don't understand why you would say "target" quality gear always sounds the same

Tbg,

It was just a simple game of logic. If a designated "audiophile component" is expected to make any small changes clearly audible then it stands to reason that it is very unlikely to ever sound the same twice. (Small changes would be a power cord - heat - break-in - the shine on the CD surface - you know all the examples I have been given).

Given that the power quality from the utility company is varying all the time depending on what is or is not in use along your street then given any audio device inherently as sensitive as described above it just stands to reason it will rarely, if ever, sound the same. "Target" gear being less sensitive will surely behave in the opposite way - it may not sound good but it won't be as sensitive to minute details and is much more likley to always sound the same.

The problems that polishes and green markers address has nothing to do with "jitter". LASERs can and will mistrack/misread, if skewed by scratches(microscopic or otherwise)on the disc's surface, or if picking up stray/reflected LASER light. Treated the inner and outer edges of the disc with GREEN marker has the effect of cancelling the reflections, as GREEN has the proper wavelength to absorb the LASER's red wavelength. I've tried green markers on some discs and did notice a slight tightening in the bass when played, but not enough to warrant continuation of the process with my other discs. Using UltraBit Platinum on my discs is another story altogether. Everything becomes more "focused" with regard to separation between voices(intrumental or vocal) on whatever is played. The video store I frequent has a great deal of trouble with sloppy people handling their rentals. The discs typically have a lot of scratches/abrasions, and the store uses an abrasive liquid and polishing machine on them(more damage). Over half the time, neither of my DVD players will read the DVDs without going mosaic, stopping or skipping to the next chapter at some point during play. When I treat such discs with the UBP, they play without a hitch, and the picture is noticably sharper as well. Neither of my DVD players are cheap, or have anything wrong with them. My CD player is a Balanced Audio Technology VK-D5 and needs nothing with regard to performance enhancement. Using a good polish to fill and eliminate anything on your software(CD or DVD) that might affect your LASER's focus will definately enhance it's performance, and the resultant playback sound/picture. Then again- Your ability to appreciate the improvements would depend on your systems resolution, and/or your aural/visual acuity. No doubt the possibility one's convictions being found wrong stops a lot of people from ever trying some things. Yet they never hesitate to voice their unfounded opinions. Freedom of Speech IS precious though.

BTW: The Rain-X concept is(filling and polishing micro-scratches) to make glass too slick for water to adhere, and has worked wonderfully for me. I had my wipers go out on a Camaro, in a thunderstorm, some years back. Found an auto parts store, bought and applied the stuff. Never did bother to get the wipers fixed as long as I owned the car. If you live in a snow-belt state: Ice removal from the treated glass is simply a matter of hitting it once with your scraper, and the ice pops off in one sheet(no scraping). I've not tried it on any of my CDs, but don't doubt it would aid a LASER's ability to focus through a disc's surface .