Bedini Clarifier II, FuruTech RD-1 etc


Does anyone use a disc de-magnitizer that they feel improves sound? FuruTech model is being pushed as improvement over Bedini Ultra- Clarifier II, faster-once a year application-more uniform application etc. Cable Co, Galen Carol and others say it is the best but $300 price is expensive for a "tweak" item. I just purchased heavy duty tape de-magnitizer from radio shack for $38 that I am playing with now, too soon to report my findings.....any comments or observations are welcome.....regards Sam
128x128megasam
Dtsag,Carl I am pretty much a believer now, as this weekend I played 10-15 CDs I am very familiar with in the rock/alt category, I have treated them with Auric Illuminator because they had the familiar treble grain/glare common with mediocre recordings, Auric restored some smoothness to treble.....the radio shack de-magnetizer in every case improved further in this area.....if Bedini is even better I will have to try for sure....the trouble with tweaks is there is always one more to try, heh heh heh......regards Sam
Hello again, people. For the record, here's my system: JmLabs Electra 905, crossed over with a Mirage BPSS-210 sub. Amp is now an Aragon 8008BB. The Pre is the Aurum. Interconnects are now Delta Labs Silver Ref-7. CD transport is an older EAD T-1000, with a Classe DAC-1. Power cords are all from Gutwire. Speaker cable is MITerminator-2s, a double run(2 pairs) for bi-wiring. I'm still looking for a replacement, not sure what to get yet. DTSAG, I probably make more money in a month than you do in a year. Yes, I tried my friends Bedini, and found it useless. Did you read all of my comments? If it makes you happy and works for you, all the more power to you. I have not tried the Furetech. Carl! I'm sure you have a great system. You've always got good advice here; not all of us have the same opinion, which is what makes this so interesting sometimes. Different points of view are always welcome, minus the personal criticism. Oh, and TONY007, my comments concerned the effects of magnetism on electrical, mechanical, and optical parts of a CD player in relation to it's size/strength. A few stray atoms of a magnetic substance left over from manufacturing will have no effect, physically, on anything. The forces concerned are too small. That means you won't hear them. Yes, I believe cables, etc, make a difference, but others won't. I don't understand why people are so hostile towards others with a different view. I could discuss this stuff with someone all day, but I won't argue. I won't insult anyone, either, or make implications about their lifestyle. That's not what this forum is for. Sharing opinions helps to educate others and let them form their own opinions. Go put on some tunes, grab a favorite beverage, and drop the attitude. Happy listening!
Audiogon people are the world's best sudioforum! Please jump on me if you will, for what i say now you all already know; but i'll rearrange the events of postings up to now. If gold/aluminum will not magnetise then the cd "treatment" magnetic field can only be inside the minute amount of polycarb.material between the dot and dimple. Being spun at high speed and cutting through a steady magnetic field, this static "generator" definitely will form a certain static-charge pickup pattern on the optical surface. The "pattern" might just be the exact distribution pattern of the dots and dimples due to charged material thickness reference to the surface. To complicate matter, the charges can either be +ve, -ve or neutral, I truly don't know how this enhanced (by Bedini/Furutech) static map influences the optics during playback. Just to detract a little, all of us must have read or even tried the Statmat which does the exact reverse: designed to absorb atatic charges present to neutral for playback. My friend who markets the Statmat locally couldn't convince me to buy one, defference too subtle..maybe the demostudio was too rowdy at the time we tried that.Its the world dearest piece of sheet plastic, 3 sheets to a Bedini. The point is we should alway try to understand in detail, how things work for us (or against us audiophiles,) the way they do. IMHO diehard members Dtsag, Carl, Tony7, Denman,Megasam,Shayner all have true experiences of their own to share and their stand on the issue. I will go for neutralizing the cd to its original intended state by discharging all statics. This is my $0.20 worth.
Static charges, even large electrical charges won't influence the optical paths, but will wreak havoc with the electrical components, probably by adding noise. Static build up is a negative charge only. Neutral would be no charge at all.
If your interested in a Bedini Ultra Clarifier, call up Music Direct and ask for Bes ( tell him i sent you ). They have several demo's / trade-ins when people "upgraded" to the Ultra Clarifier II. You can pick these up for a bargain and they work / look fine. It will do what your demagnetizer does, but with much more uniformity and far greater convenience. I think that your somewhere in the Chicagoland area and could have it shipped or even pick it up if you wanted to. They don't have much gear there, but do have a ton of discs to sort through. For the record, i too was a sceptic given my background. I am an electronics tech by trade and own a radio communications business. Don't ask me to explain how the Ultra-Clarifier works, but it does. My observations echo Carl's in the fact that everything sounds more detailed, less fatigueing and much smoother. I initially picked up a used hand-held clarifier and didn't obtain any beneficial results. I gave the desktop model a try and it was a night and day difference. As it turns out, i wasn't using the handheld version long enough to obtain the same benefits as what the desktop model does automatically. And to answer Dennis' question, i've never had any problems with using the Bedini. Sean >