Rain-X as CD Enhancement Treatment

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 .

Shadorne, You believe in a process that's slow and neigh unto imperceptible which changes components over 1,000 hours, but you do not believe that disc treatment can immediately influence the sound of media (or how a player audibly processes it).

You are skating on thinner intellectual ice than I am.

I can demonstrate my process/change in about two minutes and ten seconds (about two minutes to process the disc, and about ten seconds of listening to experience/verify the change). How would you demonstrate yours?

I'm not accepting your anecdotal evidence. However you can move from my anecdotal evidence to certainty in about two minutes. :)