Best CD/DVD cleaners & tweaks?

I have tried a couple of CD treatments, using duplicate CDs to test effectiveness, and Auric Illuminator is my choice. First let me say I am very reluctant to apply any treatment to my CDs, if you have been around for long enough you know the history of "great" tweaks, some irreversable, that turned out to be BS, and may actually degrade sound. I don't use AI on all CDs, although it is cheap, but about 1/2 of my rock/alt CDs have treatment......main benefit is to reduce digital grain/hardness, smoother sweeter sound with no detail loss......it will not work miracles, but it is worthwhile, and can be removed with some effort if needed......I also use Bedini II on all CDs before playing, regards Sam

Hi Megasam. Does that Bedini II clarifier really work? If so how are the improvements and what does this Bedini really do? Thanks

Tm12, I could not find your e-mail address. I can be reached at (butlermusic@rcn.com) What type of treatment is the Auric Illuminator? (wet, pen, etc?) Thanks Sam, ditto to Mfslgolded. What are the usual prices?

I have used "Endust for Electronics" very economical anti-stat. spray can (which also cleans TV screens & turntable covers w/o scratching, & shines faceplates nicely, even if you don't hear any improvement on your discs). Spray a small portion on a piece of lint-free paper towel (the blue stuff) & apply to the LABEL side of CD's. Cleans up glare & harshness on many discs; no effect at all on others. You can also apply it to AC cables, interconnects, & speaker cables - just like Nordost ECO-3 but way way cheaper. I got these ideas from reading the ECO-3 literature; dear wife suggested the Endust instead. It is not permanent so must be occasionally re-applied (Nordost suggests 30 day intervals for applying their $40/6 oz. spray) vs. Endust costs about $6 for twice the volume. "Your mileage may vary". I never tried the ECO-3 myself, so I can't compare. Regarding Bedini: no experience with that either. But I have tried a bulk-tape demag. unit that I have on-hand; it had no effect, at our house. Also tried the Discwasher ZeroStat gun on CD's; again no effect was discernable. Just FYI: Our player is the EAD Ultradisc 2000, but whatever you're using you might as well experiment - you never know.

Auric Illuminator is 2 step tweak........first black opaque pen used to blacken inner/outer edges of CD, 2nd blue gel is applied to both sides and buffed off......the claimed total effect is improved read of CD data for various reasons, and thus improved sound, Galen Carol sells kit for $34..........Bedini II is subject of much debate, "clarifies" CD by spinning over electromagnetic field, creates polarization of CD surface which produces cleaner sound, $149 from Galen Carol.......I know, plastic and aluminum aren't magnetic, but I detect improvement and AI/Bedini II combo is even more effective together...... again not a miracle, but worthwhile and shows largest improvement on avg/poor recordings, more subtle on already good recordings, regards Sam