"Greening" a CD...fact or fiction??

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One of my friends got a "tip" from a recording engineer and I'd like to know if any of you have EVER heard of this....

What I was told is if you take a permanent ink green magic marker around the circumference (edge) of a recorded CD you can warm it up and make it sound a bit more like a LP...without the noise and scratches. "Theory" is the added green surface helps to better contain green wavelengths of light reflected back during the reading process....giving the sound more warmth.

Has anyone heard of this practice or is this sheer fabrication??

zip >>
 
I've heard that story before...

...I personally believe it's complete and total bullshit. If people really want to hear a difference, they WILL hear a difference whether one actually exists or not.

Bruce
 
Re: I've heard that story before...

Blue Bear Sound said:
...If people really want to hear a difference, they WILL hear a difference whether one actually exists or not.
Click to expand...

Yep,
it's called mind freaking.

Defined as when you hear something new just because said thing is supposed to be there.
 
What the CD player reads is data. 1's and 0's. How could the wavelength of the laser make the bits sound warmer? Of course it's complete and utter bullhockey.
 
I'm with ya....

I also agree it's bull. AlChuck...in response to your statement "theory" is the process traps more of the green wavelength and makes the signal somewhat stronger at the reader.

I didn't think it is true either but posted to confirm...

I also took a CD I didn't like much and tried it - to my surprise (haha)...no difference.

zip >>
 
It's definately true!

Wanna buy a tube mic stand? Very warm sound!

Slackmaster 2000
 
C'mon, if it were true and could be easily verified then wouldn't CD's just come that way already? Wouldn't the specs improve to compensate for the spectrum issues? I'd rather not book any time with that engineer.
 
Hey all... I have some instrument cable geared towards specific musical styles, if anyone's interested.

In Stock I have - Jazz Funk (for keyboards only), Metal Bliss (Steve Vai guitar stylists only), Deep Down Blues (Delta Blues only) -- all a bargain at $20/ft (10ft minimum purchase!)...

Oh yeah... and have you guys heard about monster cable -- will TOTALLY change the quality of your sound systems....

Anyone wanna buy a bridge?? (choose between The Golden Gate or the Lion's Gate)

Bruce




:D
 
Hey Bruce, do you have any tube cables? I've heard they're really warm, yet punchy.
 
Get the f*ck outta here - tube cables...that would be just downright silly!

;)

What I have are tube power conditioners.... forget changing your sound with mere cables, change it right at the source with tube AC.... you think you know warm and punchy??? How about the warmth of an Otari 2" 24-track even while using a Fostex VF-16!!! You can get all that and more with tubes right on your basic household AC line.

Tube cables my arse - that's fantasy.... it's all about the AC, man................


Bruce

:D :D
 
laughing my arse off!!!

Thanks for the good laugh - and I'm damn glad it's not at MY expense....I'll be seeing my buddy soon. I'll take it (relatively) easy on him...

"forget changing your sound with mere cables, change it right at the source with tube AC.... "

Hell YES!! TUBE AIR CONDITIONING!!!! Now THAT'S what I call COOL!!!!

This of course could not be used when mixing "Heavy Metal" type music. The air conditioning will jus' KILL the hot mix....better stick with jazz or the blues for that application.

zip >>
 
Hey I read about a power inferganation technique of pre and post conditioning any Hosa cables with steam yielding Canare-like results from your cabling...... as luck should have it I'm selling buckets of steam.... $19.95.... and that's DELIVERED!!! Hurry supplies are limited and your results may vary signifigantly.
 
Hi Zip,

Yes, I HAVE heard of this (and don't you other guys jump all over me either - smile). One of my co-workers is a bonafide audiphile, and was the first to tell me about the "green ink magic marker". He wipes the edges of all his CD's with the green marker, and swears by the difference. I haven't heard it for myself, but another co-worker did - and was blown away by it. Another trick offered by this audiophile: Lightly coat the plugs of your power cords (receivers, decks, etc.) with 3&1 oil, and notice the difference.

Many times we, as human beings, have a tendancy to overlook, or disbelieve, the greatness that can be found in simplicity. Be skeptical, yes - but be open. You never know what you may find out.
 
NL....

I did try it - didn't hear it though.

Why would an oil help conduction of electricity? That sounds strange. One would think anything other than perfectly clean metal to metal would hinder it.

Ask him what the oil does....

zip >>
 
Zip,

I did query him as to WHY the oiling method was to supposed to create a difference and, though I don't remember what his answer was (it's been a good while back), he did indeed provide one. He also told me about the "$1.20" method effect. He said to place a quarter at each front corner of your main speakers, and a dime equa-distance between them. This is supposed to aid in the dissipation of static electricity. He also mentioned about how the "Eagle" brand electrical outlets were supposed to be better for your components. He belongs to an audiophile club, and the members somehow find out about these little tricks and gimmicks. There are some that my friend noticed no change in, but others that he is very strong on. The "green ink" deal is something that HAS been substantiated by at least one other reliable source. Now, I don't know if this particular ink has some type of property that isn't found in regular markers. And, if price is any indication of this (about$20 per pen) then the latter is true. I am going to try this out myself, but will wait until he orders something from the company again. to save on shipping costs. I'll let you know how I fare.

Cheers
 
Big yikes...

*shakes head* :eek:

As I mentioned in my earlier post -- people can talk themselves into hearing ANYTHING they want to believe...
And audiophiles are the worst offenders of that...

These "tweaks" are simply psycho-fantasy-bullshit-bordering-on-religion.... funny how none of these tweaks are used in ANY pro place - if they're SO effective, how is it that they never made it into any Recording Technique books or even better, the rec.audio.pro FAQ??? C'mon, use your heads people -- you simply CAN"T throw logic and common sense out the window!!!

*sheesh*

Bruce
 
NLAlston,

Just think about it. The laser reads reflective and none reflective area on the disc. That's all 0 and 1's. If there is a mistake, the cd-player uses some redundant information on the disc to correct it. If there are to many mistakes, you'll hear a click or something.

Now suppose the green ink really helps. It would help to read the 0 and 1's better. So less errors maybe. But that doesn't matter, cause you would here them.

Then after this error correction, which results in the same data for both cases, the data gets translated to music, and converted to analog.

Believe me, I'm involved in development of chips the do this error correction and conversion. This is complete bullshit. Don't buy it. Buy a book on how cd-players work instead. :)
 
the oil thing seems logic though... no chance for dust or other crap to scratch... or am i totally off here?

i had a "warm and punchy" solidstate poweramp for my guitarrig once... had a tube so it was warmer and punchier. it did lit up when i hit the switch... when i took it to repairman when it was broke i was told the tube wasn't even in the audiocirquit... if you wanna hear warmth you'll most definately hear it!

greetz !
 
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