Has Anyone Tried CD Stabilizer Discs?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by tmtomh, Apr 26, 2020.

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  1. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Wondering if anyone has experiences to share about this:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QKXGPCT/

    It's a thin carbon-fiber disc that you're supposed to put on top of a CD when you play it in a tray loading player (it would of course be a disaster in a slot-loader!).

    I am not looking at this for claimed sound-quality improvements (I don't believe in that). Rather, I have noticed that Blu-Ray/universal players, which spin all discs faster than CD-only players do, sometimes make a bit of a racket when playing the early tracks on very lightweight CDs - like some of the aluminum-center-hub Polygram discs from the '80s that are very light and have tapered, almost sharp edges.

    I presume the noise happens early in the album because the CD is spinning more slowly when the laser is near the inside of the disc - the noise either goes away or rises to an inaudible frequency as the laser moves outward and the disc spins faster.

    These carbon-fiber discs seem to go for $17-$22, which is overpriced but not outrageously so, and would be worth it to me if it actually reduced the mechanical sound made by lightweight CDs spinning as described above.

    Anyone have any experiences to report? Thanks!


    [​IMG]
     
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  2. thegage

    thegage Forum Currency Nerd

    I've used various discs since 1985 (now a Marigo Audio Aida, expensive but worth it, but that's all I'll say about that given your point about sound).

    Whether the disc is expensive or cheap, their impact on the vibration you hear has been variable in my experience. Making sure it's properly placed is the key, and some drawers close relatively harshly, which can dislodge the disc position and cause even more noise. But even properly placed the disc may cause more noise, not less. In your case I'd buy from a dealer who takes returns, and then get something in your price range to try out.

    JohnK
     
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  3. Gary

    Gary Nauga Gort! Staff

    Location:
    Toronto
    Tried it once. It made the CD + Disc too tall and almost jammed up my tray and I had trouble getting the CD and disc to eject.

    I'm not doing THAT again!!!!!

    :bigeek:
     
  4. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thank you both for your feedback - much appreciated!
     
  5. thegage

    thegage Forum Currency Nerd

    I'd add, if you do get one, use it on every disc for a couple of weeks. Then stop using it. See if you notice anything.

    JohnK
     
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  6. siebrand

    siebrand music lover

    Location:
    Italy
    That's it.
    I bought one, used it for a long time, it improved the sonics.
    When I changed my Musical Fidelity CDT for Marantz 17 I could'nt use it anymore, the Marantz tray was not deep enough. So I cannot say if it would be better with Marantz too.
    Surely with MF- CDT it did.
    Pay attention:
    it is not as robust as a "normal" CD. if it falls to the ground it breaks and you can throw it away. I know it... :sigh::shake::realmad::rant::buttkick:
     
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  7. Mike-48

    Mike-48 A shadow of my former self

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    I tried something like it in the 1980s. I didn't hear any improvement.
     
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  8. PoisonM

    PoisonM Member

    Location:
    Singapore
    I tried the Millennium CD Stabilizer, didn't hear any difference.
     
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  9. Mike-48

    Mike-48 A shadow of my former self

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    I also tried the green pen, special plastic rings around the circumference, and some kind of CD polish (a more costly take on Armour All). None of it made any appreciable difference.

    What has made a difference through the years are the improvement in recording techniques (proper dither and 24-bit recording) and the great improvement in DACs.
     
  10. blakep

    blakep Senior Member

    I actually own two of those-the exact "stabilizer"/mat which comes in the orange CD case. Purchased two off ebay a few years ago for about $30 or $15 a piece.

    Interestingly, they appear to be exactly the same thing as the Millenium mat, which got pretty good reviews and sold a few years ago for $120. Kind of like the Canrong stylus force gauges that sell for $10-$12 "unbranded" but about $60-$70 branded and silk screened with an "audiophile" company name on them.

    I never really critically evaluated them until last night after reading your post as I've just used them since purchasing. The big advantage of these as compared to other similar products that I've used (Herbie's grungebuster mat as well as Herbie's black hole and super black hole, all of which I liked) is their ease of use. The Herbie's products were a bit of a pain in terms of putting them on specific discs; these simply drop on top of the disc as you insert it into the player. They are very simple to do.

    I use them in a very inexpensive Sony DVD player which I use for digital playback in a secondary system and also in a tweaked/modified Panasonic BD 65 Blu-Ray player which plays the odd CD and does movie/blu-ray duty in my main system. But I mainly listen to vinyl.

    Out of curiosity after seeing your post last night I spent about 30-40 minutes listening to a couple of CD's, one quite well recorded and another not as well recorded (old blues stuff from the 50's) to see if I could hear much difference. I found that the mat did very slightly improve sound quality but to be honest with you I'm not sure I could pick it out in a blind test as it was very, very subtle. The mat seemed to very slightly take off a bit of edge/glare and allow one to hear just a bit more detail/separation of instruments, etc. But again, this was extremely subtle.

    As far as noise in playback I loaded a Blu-Ray disc both with and without the disc to see if it seemed to quiet down the initial loading/reading of the disc (which is where you hear the most noise with BR discs) as well as during playback and I couldn't ascertain any difference with or without. Did not look at any video to see if picture quality improved in any way.

    So frankly, I doubt that these would do what you are hoping them to do. Some of the thicker Herbie's products may work for you in that regard but it is also possible that they might be too thick to work with all discs (I found this to be the case) and that you might encounter problems similar to those that Gary above did.

    Hope this helps.
     
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  11. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Extremely helpful - thank you so much!
     
  12. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Matt, maybe something similar to this in theory.
    Picked this up at a thrift about ten years ago. Puppy's glued on to the hilt, i'm afraid of pulling it off for some comparisons :laugh:
    Not sure i'd risk this in a slot loader.
    [​IMG]
     
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  13. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thanks! I was potentially drawn to the item in my original post because it's not permanent or adhesive. I'd rather deal with the occasional disc noise than stick/glue something onto a vintage CD! ;)
     
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  14. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    :laugh: No kidding!
    I don't remember seeing these center rings at shops. I actually inquired about it here on the forum.
     
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  15. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I'd be a bit hesitant to use a stabilizer disc or products similar to it. My concern would be causing inadvertent damage to one of my Oppo players. I can't say with any certainty that there are any issues with disc stability to begin with. So it's a type of product I doubt I need.
     
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  16. Jimi Floyd

    Jimi Floyd Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pisa, Italy
    Actually it is the other way around. CDs spin faster on first, inner tracks and slower on last, outer tracks.
     
    tmtomh likes this.
  17. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Ah, thanks - interesting!
     
  18. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    that was as essential as the green marker fad...LOL...
    NOT!
     
    Dennis Metz likes this.
  19. thegage

    thegage Forum Currency Nerd

    That's from one of the first CD stabilizers on the market back around the mid-'80s. I can't remember who made it, but they seemed to think perfect centering was important. I occasionally pull out a little-played CD that still has one of those on it. They can be removed--carefully. A little bit of orange cleaner like Citra-Solv will remove the remaining adhesive without damaging the disc.

    JohnK
     
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  20. thegage

    thegage Forum Currency Nerd

    Essential? No. Useful? Yes.
     
    Michael likes this.
  21. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Thanks John for the info, appreciated. Kinda think it looks neat, so I'll probably just leave it on :)
     
  22. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    I disagree...they don't work for me...I like my CD spinning nude.
     
  23. Dennis Metz

    Dennis Metz Born In A Motor City south of Detroit

    Location:
    Fonthill, Ontario
    Useless yes
     
    JohnCarter17 likes this.
  24. Dream On

    Dream On Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Same here. I was given one for free maybe three or four years ago. Have never used it. Maybe there is no risk of damage, but then again maybe there is. I am quite certain my player was not designed with a CD mat in mind.
     
    Bill Mac likes this.
  25. DigMyGroove

    DigMyGroove Forum Resident

    I’ve been using the Herbie’s Super Black Hole for several years and find it improves the sound. With certain SACD and DVD discs the SBH will cause an inability to let the player play due to disc thickness. That’s never been an issue with CDs though, and it has never caused any issues with the loading tray.
     
    Andy Saunders likes this.
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