Cheap tweaks...What would YOU reccomend?

From what I know about the subject and have been told by those who actually produce CD's and SACD's is that Block Error Rate is a key factor in resolution. CD Burners such as the Alesis Masterlink will produce CDR's with very little BLER, much, much lower than the mass produced CD's you'll buy in the stores. This is not subjective.

FYI, "subjective" listening tests have been done on my friends system comprised of TRL GT-400 amplifiers ($80K retail), TRL GTP-4 Linestage ($15K retail), Esoteric UX-1 (?) ($13K retail), Magico Speakers ($84K retail) and probably around $16K worth of cables from Nordost, Purest and FIM. Distortion? I don't think so.

The Yamaha has been out for a few years. I think that they are really onto something, I only wish that they had the software and A to D section that matched. IME, the Masterlink is hard to beat if you are looking for a high resolution/low BLER CDR. The Masterlink does not "soften" or tame brightness as your Marantz CDR 500 does.

This said, I stick with my same statement, "If you haven't heard the difference, you may want to".

Happy Holidays!

Jes,
The Alesis model you mention sells for $800 but has many features meant for professional sound engineer and seems geared for doing sound studio work.

I wonder if the Reality Check CDR duplication deck mentioned in current Positive Feedback article designed specifically for audiophiles to copy/improve CDs can do even better job for less money? Have you or friends tried this unit?

Megasam, No I have not tried the Reality Check duplicator yet. I did have my Masterlink modified by Tube Research Labs for $550 which made a HUGE sonic difference, especially on the quality of copies now made. Info is at www.tuberesearchlabs.com Stephaen Harrell of 6moons.com has a review of the TRL mods at that site.

These two are, really good tweaks.......................... www.dakiom.com and (Mi-Rollers)from...... www.mihorn.com . I froze both these tweaks made them even better with my Freezer Tweak.......First you put your CD's, DVD's, cables, or components in a air tight bag...I used two good trash bags and then used a vacuum cleaner to suck the air out of the bag........then take a towel to wrap around the bag and (leave the towel wraped around the bag thru all these steps).......next, put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours......after that put it in the freezer for 72 hours.....(make sure the freezer is set at its coldest settings).....after that put it in the refrigerator again for 24 hours......after that put it in the coldest part of the house for 24 hours.......after that you are ready to ENJOY!.......Richard Patrick