I recently bought a CD cleaner (l’arc du son) just hoping to rescue a few S/H albums we love that got mold on it
Didn’t expect – but the result is rather magical:
obviously those albums are perfectly playable now;
a few more other albums are playable, but failed to cue a few songs that I love – I blamed to my aging CDS1 – now cueing perfectly anytime I want; (many of your cd players may actually got plenty of life )
Obvious sonic improvements (lagreed by friends and myself)
More natural sounding, smoother and rounder (more analog imho);
Could hear more musical information and subtle details, somewhat a bit more bodied as well;
Better depth and soundstaging;
Less obvious improvement (could be placebo):
I felt a subtle coldness before that I blame the inherited character of CD (or grey burndy) but O could hear a subtle warmth – if there is any comes with the records (like Blue Note’s CDs remastered from tape);
I would go far to say the timing is even more snapped…
Not aware of L’Arc du Son previously - google tells me it’s a cleaning fluid only (i.e. not a machine) for about GBP40 - is that what you’re referring to?
I think many readers will be keen to know if you’ve done any comparison with another cleaning liquid, especially a cheaper one such as washing-up liquid. For example, I’ve tried Reveel cleaning wipes but I’m not convinced they achieve anything that good old washing-up liquid doesn’t, including making previously unplayable discs playable.
Hi Mark, to be honest it’s my first time using CD cleaning fluid (as on the packaging ‘cleaner’ – not a machine but fluid), tho I’m also big fan of their vinyl cleaning fluid.
I would seriously doubt it works if the disc had already damaged by mold (impossible physically), however if your old Naim cd player(s) couldn’t read some discs occasionally, I think it helps big time apart from cleaning the head unit. And worth a try before dump the player.
I mean there are some albums I love but defo not willing to play a second time in CDs. For example Kind Of Blue there is always a layer of coolness on CD version which I thought either the problem of mastering or CD as a medium. After a clean I had enjoyed it this noon whilst cleaning the rest of discs. Most albums sound from ‘like it’ to ‘love it’, YMMV
As most of my CDs come from charity shops they often have smudges or marks, so I have gotten into the habit of washing them. I used to use Reveel, but having used this for my glasses, I tried it for CDs.
£1 in Poundland, a small squirt each side, massage with fingertips, rinse clean, careful shake and most water drops will fall off. I use decorators roll to dry. Do NOT wipe, one folded sheet on the worktop, one on top and pat all over.
Finger prints and dust disappear.
If there are abrasions that cause skips, I have been known to resort to Cape Cod polishing cloth, working on the premise that if I cannot play a £1 disc it might be worth a try. Of course you try that at your own risk…
Having ripped well over 2500+ CDs over the years, I have on occasion had a number that would not download info. I have then reverted to washing the CD with soap and then drying with a dish cloth and then a lint free cloth. After this maybe 20% have ripped. All of the others I have ripped to a laptop, added the required metadata, copied to a memory stick and then added to the Innuos hard drive. I have not noticed a sonic difference to this that have been treated to a Fairy Liquid wash
Me too – most of my CDs were bought S/H and in different nasty conditions. Thanks it sounds like a good alternative! How does it change the sound tho? I recommend l’arc du son’s because it greatly turns my CDs sound organic and a natural warmth that comes with recording.
When I moved my collection to sleeves I cleaned most of my CDs just with a micro cloth and breathing over the disc for a mist of moisture. The dirtier ones I used record cleaning lotion with the cloth. I now mix up my own fluid (20% iso propylene alcohol, 80% rain water, a dash of washing up liquid).
I only buy used CD’s when I just can’t get hold of new ones due to being rare/deleted. I always wash these in warm tap water and dishwashing detergent several times and then rinse very thoroughly, pat dry with paper towel and then allow to air dry. Then polish with a microfibre cloth. Occasionally I use some diluted isopropyl alcohol before washing if the disc appears to have any sticky residue on it. This regime appears to work well with no ill effects as far as I can tell. The main thing I think apart from obviously achieving a clean CD is that you really don’t want cleaning product residue of any kind left on the disc. This is what concerns me with commercially available cleaners. I’m very fussy about what I’ll load into our CD transport!
I once bought a CD cleaning machine that seemed to actually scour the discs!
It had a bottle of thick fluid, more like a fine grade rubbing compound, and a couple of “pads” of different materials that one applied the liquid to and fitted into the machine.
I think it was perhaps aimed at recovering scratched CD’s?
Perhaps more for data, rather than audio?
I was alarmed at the results and never used it again!
)