mobile homeless Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Ok, remember those horrifying 5 1/4 Floppies that used to be floating about like Postit Notes? You know, the ones that stood tall with your IBM 8088 PC back in the early 80s? Yeah, nearly everyone has some of these floating about, practically useless in this day of CD-ROM and Zip drives, not to mention the 3.5 Floppy. Well, Thorsten Loesch had pointed this out quite awhile ago and I finally got around to trying it when I was cleaning out my office closet and tossing those ancient floppies. Seems the disk can have you use afterall. I have found that it does indeed do some magic when placed on my CD within my Rega Planet. I believe it helps provide more rotational inertia and perhaps block out more stray light entering the chamber. Some also comment on the magnetic qualities... I realize in many ways this is the LAST place to bring a tweak like this up, but it is SO FREE and easy, some might want to give it a go. Others that scoff, hit your back button with a sly grin. The sound is slightly more dimensional and the bass seems a bit more extended. There might even be a larger sense of space around the instruments. This is very subtle but noticable, although not mind blowing. Evidently, it works quite well on some systems. Since it's vertually free and harmless, you can give it a go. Simply cut away the case of your aging floppy and trim the disk to just within the perimeter of the CD. Getting a good trim job is important, obviously. I imagine most have a few to burn. If it does nothing, consider it 10 minutes down the drain and one more disk to RIP. I end up using mine quite often. kh ------------------ Phono Linn LP-12 Vahalla / Linn Basic Plus / Sumiko Blue Point CD Player Rega Planet Preamp Cary Audio SLP-70 w/Phono Modified Amplifier Welborne Labs 2A3 Moondog Monoblocks Cable DIYCable Superlative / Twisted Cross Connect Speaker 1977 Klipsch Cornwall I w/Alnico & Type B Crossover system one online / alternate components / Asylum Listing f>s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted May 29, 2002 Author Share Posted May 29, 2002 Thanks, Mdeneen. Perhaps we can all start off on the proverbial "right foot" even though I am left handed! Sure had a lot more time when away from here, though. Good to see the ole crew again. If you are in need of a few floppies, I can fire a few your way... Better get out the bulk eraser or you could hold me ransom (CHEAP)! kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 What's this "CD" thing you guys are always talking about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Welcome Home!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Allan, Obviously you're a young whippersnapper. CD's, also known as "Certificate of Deposit", were a financial investment mechanism popular back in the early Roaring 80's. At one point, mine was paying upwards of 18% APR on a $10K investment. Unfortunately, they were subject to serious margin erosion after a short period. Mobile's point is that by placing one of these mylar floppy disc media over a CD, it is possible to prevent environmental degredation of the paper stock. Note that the 5 1/4" floppy took over from the earlier 8" floppy at roughly the same time that CD's became more attractive to investors than the dirty business of actually investing in businesses or people. Funny world. ------------------ Music is art Audio is engineering Ray's Music System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good2BHome Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 If you don't have any 5 1/4" Floppies could you CAREFULLY spray paint the CD flat black, (on the non-play side of coarse)? No risk of the floppy getting jammed in the CD/DVD player that way. Might be interesting to test. Mike This message has been edited by Good2BHome on 05-29-2002 at 01:45 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 I'll have to give this a shot... Welcome back mh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Hey, thanks for calling me young. Been a while! Unfortunately I'm closer to 80 than 25 (OUCH!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowooo Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 I've always wondered how well those mats would work, and the price seems right on this particuliar one. However, and this is a serious question, what are the chances of that mat becoming displaced? I'd hate to screw up my player by inserting a cheap ole mat. The mat would work nicely with my vibration damping mouse pads under all my components. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Should I dare bring up the Felt Pen tweek? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Now just how could you possibly tweek a felt pen, Mike? Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted May 29, 2002 Author Share Posted May 29, 2002 Hello Mike, so nice of you to bring up tweak #1. Although I never mentioned it on this forum, I have been doing the green marker treatment on CDs for over 10 years, whenever I feel so moved(and at times, I dont). It's another little tweak that is too cheap to pass up, especially with the Staedtler Lumocolor 357 permanent marker option, which though a bit difficult to find, surely saves a massive amount of money over the $14 version, which is patently unnecessary. This green German/Californian art pen can be found at most art stores and is only a few dollars and lasts a LONG while. I bought my last three of them in 98 and I am still on the first one. What do you do? Run the Staedtler around the outside perimeter as well as the inside. What does this do for the sound? Well, I am sure many would think NOTHING within the confines of thy Klipsch Forum and that is fine by me. I sort of enjoy fooling myself occasionally and this pen seems to do a damn good job in fooling me into thinking I am getting a more solid image, better staging, and perhaps a blacker background if I have been drinking enough Shiraz. To me, it's another cheap tweak that I dont mind trying and, as I have said, have been fooling myself for quite a few years with it. Sometimes it feels good to be duped for $2.95 per 1000 CDs. Your results may vary as always... kh Phono Linn LP-12 Vahalla / Linn Basic Plus / Sumiko Blue Point CD Player Rega Planet Preamp Cary Audio SLP-70 w/Phono Modified Amplifier Welborne Labs 2A3 Moondog Monoblocks Cable DIYCable Superlative / Twisted Cross Connect Speaker 1977 Klipsch Cornwall I w/Alnico & Type B Crossover system one online / alternate components / Asylum Listing f>s> This message has been edited by mobile homeless on 05-29-2002 at 11:51 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnorv Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Does anyone make a Sorbothane mat for this purpose? I have a Sorbothane mat for my turntable and it is great. Really grabs the vinyl. I have never tried a vaccum hold down, but this seems to work very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted May 29, 2002 Author Share Posted May 29, 2002 Rowoo, you bring up a valid point concerning the mat. Indeed, I have only used this mat on my Rega Planet which surely could not have the problem that you fret over. It is a very light piece. So far, I have not heard of anyone complaining of this disc hurting the player or getting caught and doing damage. Perhaps you can run your player with the top off to see how it does within the drive. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted May 30, 2002 Author Share Posted May 30, 2002 jnorv, I dont think there is a sorbathane mat for your player but there have been MANY commercial versions of CD mats to mostly positive response. SIMS made CD rings that you put around the perimeter that served the purpose of the green marker AND the perimeter weight. A quick look in any Audio catalog and you will see the various CD mats, most costing too much, especially when you have this virtually FREE disk option. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowooo Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 Thanks for the idea's Mobile. Might just have to try that green pen, if I can find one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 As far as the felt pen trick is concerned, I caught the tail end of a story on the radio the other day regarding felt pens and cd's. It was something about being able to outwit Sony's anti-copying system on their discs by drawing a black line around the outside of the disc. I may have some of this confused as I only heard part of the story. But it was definitely about black felt pens, music disks, Sony, and copying. Did anyone else hear this? Chris ------------------ 2 channel Klipsch Cornwalls (1978) Cary CAD 300SEI amp (WE 300B's, various NOS 6SN7's) Arcam Alpha MCD cd player Accuphase T-101 Tuner Clearaudio Champion TT Rega RB250 ST arm (Six Stream wire and cable) Benz MicroAce Cartridge EAR Phono Stage HT Klipsch KG2.5 (front & rear) Klipsch KV2 (center) Klipsch SW12 (sub) Marantz SR7000 receiver Toshiba DTS DVD JVC SVHS VCR Sony Hi8 VCRs> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted May 30, 2002 Author Share Posted May 30, 2002 Rest assured, that is an entirely separate affair although an interesting one. No, I have not heard anything about it but would be worth looking into although Sony is surely not my favorite sounding company nor the best for material, although they do have some stuff. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowooo Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 Sony has inserted a track of worthless data at the beginning of the so-called "protected" audio CDs. Therefore, the disc, when played in a computer drive, "confuses" the computer with that first piece of worthless data, and the drive cannot move forward to the actual music tracks. By using a black magic marker on the very edge of the disc, it allows the drive to skip thru the worthless data ( which is probably just coded to endlessly loop )~Word on the street is that this information leaked out of Sony proper...perhaps some disgruntled programmers? Anyway, goes to show a few million dollars in research won't stop determined kids! ------------------ 2 Channel System: Klipsch Epic CF-2s McIntosh C-15 Preamplifier Adcom GFA 5500 Amplifier Music Hall MMF-5 Table Adcom GCD 700 CD Adcom ACE-515 AC Enhancer Transparent Audio Cabless> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 The problem with that is that the first track of data on a CD is on the innermost ring. What happens to the sound if the "free" mat gets a little off center and causes the roataional speed of the disc to vary due to the eccentric weight? If it has so little mass eccentricity is not a problem, what makes it effective? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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