If anyone reading this is already familiar with these products, just chalk it up to Randy in Caintuck being "late to the party" once again .....

If you are not familiar with the products, methinks that you are in for an audio treat.

Despite the fact that many readers of the forum are vinyl buffs or have set up computer based audio systems, the venerable RedBook CD format refuses to go away and there are still many of us with extensive (and growing) collections of CDs.

I have been very happy with my digital front end and was just introduced to something that has made it even better ..... much, much better in fact. During my past several visits to the home of Parker Audio Dave, I was greatly impressed with the sound he is getting from his "big rig". I was actually hearing some things from his system that were lacking in my system, despite the fact that our digital front ends and amplification are almost identical.

Dave's Excalibur speakers are truly superb, but my various speakers are nothing shabby so I was thinking to myself that there was something else at play that was giving me a severe case of "audio envy".

Last night, Dave paid a visit to my listening room and brought with him something that I'm convinced is at least partially responsible for the incredible sound I am hearing at his place (and now at my place) ..... the TruVoice CD dampers from Digital Systems & Solutions.

I was already using another brand of damping disk in my CEC belt drive transport which does improve the sound a bit ..... but nothing on the level of what the Digital Systems & Solutions product does.

Up to now, I would never have believed that something this "simple" could have this level of impact on the sound ..... but, hearing is believing ..... and I am now a believer.

Please notice that I said "simple", not "cheap" ..... and these dampers are not in the latter camp.
There are two versions, a blue one at 129.00 and a red one at 249.00.
According to George at Digital Systems & Solutions, one works better in some systems and the other better in other systems ..... or a combination of the two in yet some other systems.

Dave and I spent a couple of hours listening to music that we are VERY familiar with and wouldn't you know it ..... the more expensive red disk worked heads and shoulders better in my system .....  

I really wish that I could say the improvements to my system are subtle, but they are not.
All of the audio descriptors and buzzwords apply to what the damper does for the music .....
1 - It eliminates almost all (if not all) of the annoying "edge" on CDs that have one ..... while actually improving detail ..... amazing .....
2 - Increases bass response while "tightening" it at the same time and making it more tuneful and coherent.
3 - To my ears, cymbals have always been a weak spot in digital recordings ..... the damper adds some serious realism to cymbals.
4 - More silent background.
5 - Wider and deeper image with more (and better defined) space between instruments and vocals.
6 - Improved low level detail.

The music has a sense of "ease" that does not exist when the damper is removed. I was able to push the volume beyond what was formerly possible with no fatigue ..... simply put, the overall sound is more musical and believable.

The longer we listened and the more the amplifier warmed up, the better everything sounded.

I have never been a big believer in every "tweak" that comes down the road and frankly have found many of them to be disappointing over the years ..... but to me, this is the real deal.

Dave is of the opinion that one of the main functions of the damper is to reduce "jitter" ..... and I think he is right about this.

$250.00 might sound like a lot of money for a "piece of plastic", but this is one very special piece of plastic .....

*George has informed me that the damper is actually a "proprietary carbon fiber and filler combination" of his design *

Digital Systems & Solutions is so certain that you will hear a big improvement that they offer a very unusual warranty :
"A money back guarantee that includes shipping both ways plus $10.00" if you don't like the product.

http://audiogeorge.com/

Highly recommended.

Randy

That looks interesting and much more affordable than the previous poster's CD mats.  I might get the grunge buster mat too at $10.. Once I have my HR-1s broken in and other things dialed in, I'll make a large Herbies order for isocups, tenderfeet, turn table mat and these CD mats...and anything else I can think of.  Any more suggestions from current users?  Mark.

Hey guys,

I have used several of the Herbie's products over the years with good success .... and currently own the Black Hole damper.

It does a good job ..... but IMHO this is one of those situations where you get what you pay for.  The TruVoice damper improves the sound to a much greater degree in my system.

I originally purchased the Super Black Hole damper because I just could not justify paying 250.00 for a CD damper ..... however, when Dave brought his to my listening room it took all of 30 seconds for me to decide that it is money well spent.

As always, your mileage may vary, but to me the warranty offered by the vendor takes any risk out of the situation.

As to the damper jamming in the transport, my primary transport is a top loading belt drive unit ..... however, I also own an Onyx (Music Hall) front loading player.  I tried the damper in the Onyx with no problems.

Happy listening,

Randy

Hi 4krow,

Both the blue and red dampers are very light weight ..... whatever the material is, it is low mass.

Randy

I agree with Mike, I was stunned when my ripped music sounded better than the original CD on my Oppo. I even wrote Oppo about it after the AVScience guys laughed me out of their forums, and Oppo agreed with me that the reduced jitter of a ripped copy is why I'm hearing better sound.

Not only do I playback my music off hard drive, but I got a USB powered hard drive so I have no (cheap) external power supplies adding noise to the system.

It does make a difference.

I'm done with silver discs at this point. And I'm honestly debating about tape...tape sounds amazing, but it's a hassle compared to digital files. I think the Direct Stream DAC might be my deciding factor. No more CD stabilizing gimmicks for me.

"Contrary to the new paradigm I actually love the discs and the handling of the physical objects and loathe using files."

Hi Lon,

Yep ..... I work on computers all day and am happy to leave them behind at quitting time .....

Besides ..... my top loading belt drive CD transport goes a long way toward soothing my "analog envy" .....

To each their own, I say .....

Best wishes,

Randy

Quote :
"But as you know, "synergy" is key.  I can certainly believe it being a good fit in some systems."

Hi Mike,

For years, I have championed the "total system" concept.
Synergy is what makes or breaks a system. A piece of gear might sound great in one system and terrible in another.

Anything new that goes in my system has to work with everything else. The CEC transport is one of those pieces that does good (and unique) things for the music IMHO ..... so the DAC, amplification and speakers have all been chosen to take advantage of its signature.

I'm 60 years old, but still enjoy "getting up to change CDs" ..... the only convenience that I care about is the remote volume and balance controls built into my DAC .....

Can't see a computer based front end in my system any time soon ..... maybe when I'm 80 or so .....

Take care,

Randy

Quote:



I love that we have such differing opinions!


I notice some generational changes - this new generation grew up with the internet, instant access to movies and music, and everything just simply made easy. I'm sure you've seen Paul's comments on his son's audio endeavors tuned to how the current 20-30 somethings use technology and listen to music.

On the flipside, I totally appreciate the ritual of pulling and prepping vinyl, of flipping to the B-side, etc. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to go down the rabbit hole of Reel to Reel so easily; it's got it's own esoteric ritual of prepping and flipping that I appreciate and enjoy.

Lonely Raven wrote on 05/19/14 at 16:11:01:


I don't read Paul's daily posts or much of what he writes so I don't know that reference.

I'm sure there's generational attitudes at play. And I know a lot of people who enjoy a lot of FREE (i.e. in many cases stolen) music, and then having it all avaialble so simply, and everything plastered onto a PC and/ore a phone. . . .the whole thing cheapens music to me. Music is very important to me. Kindness and affection to and from friends and family may be about the only thing that trumps it. I won't cheapen it. I know it's probably different for others, and that's great, I celebrate diversity. But I'm keeping computers and phones and music separate things, and enjoying browsing my collection.

Hi Will,

I have used the Ultrabit Platinum with good success ..... but I still have my original bottle (a little goes a long way) and Parker Audio Dave tells me that the "new improved" version works even better.

As a side thought, there may be a generational thing involved in the different preferences people have ..... but I do find it interesting that I do IT work for a living ( using and enjoying computers, tablets and smart phones personally) but choose to keep my music separate from that realm.

It's amazing how things have changed ..... from the labor intensive care and feeding of vinyl to the incredible convenience of music server based systems ..... and there are still plenty of fans in both camps.

I guess my top loading CD transport is somewhere in the middle .....

Randy

I'm of the older generation, but do like the convenience of going all digital.  Cheapen it?  Well, in some ways, I'd have to agree.

Meaning I miss the discipline of listening to the entire album (or at least one side).  It's a work of art and to get all the value, you need to listen to it in its entirety.

For space considerations, I mostly only ripped only key tracks off each CD.  I am finding myself recently going back and ripping the entire disk to get more of the full value, even the songs I don't like as much.  Disk space is much cheaper now...

I have been a mix tape creator since the days of 8 tracks (then reel to reel, then cassette, now digital).  I do like to create a mood by stringing various songs together.  And that's where there is some counter balancing value for me.