Audio Desk Systeme CD Improver Lathe

Audio Desk CD Sound Improving System cuts
and bevels the out edges of Cds and SACDs so that they will spin true
(cutting down on error and jitter) and bevels the edge to help scatter
the laser light.  This unit has a extra belt and a newer cutting edge
that was used on about 50 cds so you should be able to 1950 more.

Midwest Audio 574 329-1850

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Audio Desk CD Sound Improving System

Trim the Edges of Your Discs, Improve Sound and Picture Quality

We highly recommend the Audio Desk Systeme, a unique
motorized cutting device manufactured in Germany. Designed to “true” the
shape of the CD to reduce mechanical jitter, the ADS also
trims the edge of the CD to a 38° angle to reduce laser scatter. This
new edge is then treated with the included black marker. This 60-second
process results in pronounced improvements in focus, transient attack,
detail and transparency. The included hardened cutting blade trims about 2000 CDs.

"This is a 'must have' product for anyone really interested
in maximizing the potential of their CD/SACD collection. The price is
reasonable and the construction and presentation of the product is
outstanding. The results are simply quite staggering!"

– Richard Foster, HiFi+, Issue 44

German company Audio Desk Systeme has come up with a machine that
cuts a bevel into the edge of CDs (DVDs, BDs etc) and is designed to
combat light scatter when playing an optical disc.

It sounds bizarre but even more odd is how well it works.

Making the cut

The CD Sound Improver is a
simple lathe that's built specifically to cut a bevel on the playing
side of a 12-centimetre disc. It has a belt-driven turntable onto which
you clamp the disc and a specially mounted cutting tool.

This tool
also makes the disc totally concentric, thus reducing any potential
vibration that an off-centre disc will induce in the disc transport. A
surprising number of the discs I bevelled were not truly concentric.

It's
a little unnerving to start slicing the edge off your favourite CDs, so
my initial investigations were done with a pair of identical CD-Rs, in
order to have something to compare results with.

The process is
pretty straightforward once you steal yourself to get going and its very
fast to do, twenty seconds is enough. You then need to mark the edge
with the supplied permanent pen.

Built to last

As
one would hope with small-scale German engineering, build quality is
very good, while the lathe and cutter are remarkably good value. You
won't find many accessories that offer this sort of quality/price ratio.

There's
a port at the back for connecting a vacuum cleaner hose to extract the
swarf which builds up quickly, and the cutting tool, or burin as it's
called, is said to be good for 2,000 discs and can then be replaced.

The
knob on the front adjusts speed: run it fast for cutting and slow for
marking with a permanent marker afterwards. In practice, turning it by
hand makes this second process a little easier.

How it makes a difference

The
effect is not mind-blowing, but it's certainly worthwhile. Discs that
have been 'improved' clearly have wider dynamic range, thanks to a
lowered noise floor that naturally lets more detail through. Nothing
changes tonally and imaging remains the same, but you can hear further
into the mix and the nature of sounds is easier to distinguish.

There
is a general cleaning-up of the sound across the board, so bass is
better defined and more punchy, while the treble has more air – cymbals,
for instance, sound more realistic.

On one album of percussion
and drums it was not possible to hear exactly how some of the sounds
were being made prior to bevelling and marking, but after machining the
extra resolve gave me enough insight to be able to visualise the
instruments (if not actually name them!).

The improvements wrought
by this device are clearly worthwhile if you want to hear more of
what's on your discs. And you'd have to spend a lot more on cables or
hardware to get the same effect, this combined with the fine build
quality make the CD Improver something of a bargain.