Rain-X as CD Enhancement Treatment


I have used the Auric Illuminator treatment on my CD collection for several years now. I am a believer in the AI, and repeated A/B tests of identical treated/untreated CDs bore out significant improvements after treatment with AI.

I ran out of the fluid and my marker dried out, so I was searching for mew treatments on the market before buying another AI kit or choosing something new. That's when I ran across this article by Greg Weaver at Soundstage, where he talks about having used Rain-X and a green marker(Staedtler Lumocolor 357, price about $3.00) as a treatment on his CDs to great effect.

http://www.soundstage.com/synergize/synergize200005.htm

Being the complete geek that I am, I had to try it for my self. I found the marker at Office Depot, and picked up a little bottle of Rain-X for $2.99. I treated a couple of CDs that I have ended up with duplicate copies of (Grant Green's Green Street, Frank Sinatra Sextet Live In Paris)and tested the Rain-X/marker treated vs. untreated disks.

Well, low and behold, the treated disks sounded notably improved; the music was clearer and louder, especially the midrange, the soundstage was larger with better definition and separation of instruments and the bass was tighter and deeper.

I can't say that the Rain-X treatment was or was not better sounding than the AI, but at the least very it is close, for a fraction of the price.

Has anyone else ever tried the Rain-X treatment?
craig_hoch
At high velocity where aerodynamic friction becomes significant, it may be true that the smooth surface presented by Rain-X on a windshield may increase both maximum velocity and gas mileage.
Douglas_schroeder...FYI...I was urged by Sean, of fond memory, to try something other than zip cord for speaker wire. He loaned me some audiophile-approved wires to try out and I did a listening test. With two speakers side by side, one wired with zip cord and the other with the speaker wire, I did seem to hear a difference, and thought it was probably a very slight improvement. As a result I bought some Goertz wires.

On the other hand, my evaluation of a Cryo-treated AC outlet produced the opposite conclusion.

My mind is indeed "open". How many audiophiles would consider using Bose 901 speakers!!!
Dgarretson...It is a known fact that if you wash and wax your light airplane you will typically gain 1 or 2 mph. But an airplane is very sensitive to aerodynamics. Squashed bugs on the wing leading edge break up the laminar airflow, and that increases drag.

I thought that someone might suggest what you did, and that's why I said "dashboard". But even on the windshield, do you really think it would have any measurable effect? Would you take the trouble to design and execute an experiment?
Eldartford- Don't you think I know all that? Couldn't resist the chain-yank though! If we can't have a little fun in here: What's the point? =8^)
Rodman99999...As a Bose user you have to have a thick skin!! But I was surprised to find in the responses to my comments that quite a few audiophiles have Bose 901s in their past, and more than one thought they sounded good under the right circumstances.