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THREE ACCESSORIES: THE ISOTEK REJUVENATOR CD,
MEMOREX OptiFix pro DISC REPAIRER/CLEANER, AND THE
BLUE CIRCLE BC86 MARK II POWER LINE PILLOW
I have been playing with these three tweaks for the past few months and I
thought it was time to report on how they are working out, at least to this
point.
THE ISOTEK FULL SYSTEM ENHANCER & REJUVENATION DISC
(ISOTEK-IBD-CD1)
I purchased this CD when I visited Acoustic Sounds in late May. It was highly
recommended. The disc consists of a series of tones and other signals
scientifically designed to burn-in and demagnetize an entire audio system.
The disc and booklet make no claims for precisely how this will affect the
sound of the system but presumably it will be improved. It seems like all I
have done this summer is burn-in tubes and cables so I was looking forward
to hearing what resulted from using this disc. Click here for a photo.
There are three tracks on this CD. The first two, each about 30 minutes
long, are essentially the same. The first track is for systems with small
speakers—two-ways, mini-monitors, and stand-mounted speakers in
general. Track 2 is for speakers with deeper bass performance—floor
standers and systems with subwoofers. While either track should be
beneficial, I used Track 2 for my evaluation. I turned my system volume
down substantially while running this CD as I am a coward. Isotek claims no
harm will be done to an audio system by the signals being produced on the
CD, short of doing it at insane volume levels. Your system will make sounds
with this CD that you never, ever want to hear coming from it while it is
playing music. I put the CD on and left the listening room while it ran.
I first tried the Isotek Rejuvenator CD (for short) in early June and was left
with the impression that my system was slightly quieter overall and that
sound stage depth was slightly enhanced. It was a subtle improvement but I
felt pretty confident regarding what I heard.
With one thing and another over the summer, I did not come back to this
disc until recently. I ran Track 2 again, with a fully warmed-up system, and
got pretty much the same result as in June—a sense of the system sounding
slightly quieter and the sound stage being slightly deeper. I was listening at
the time to the De-Lovely soundtrack and used the first track on it, “De-
Lovely” sung by Robbie Williams as a before and after comparison. About
four minutes into this song, he and the orchestra stop dead for a couple of
beats before the music resumes. I have always heard this stop as silence.
After using the Isotek CD, I heard in this silence the soft tizzy tailing off of a
cymbal. It was really subtle but it was definitely there. I have never heard
this before in the numerous times I have listed to this CD. Is it due to the
Isotek or did I just notice it for the first time? I am willing to credit the Isotek
CD.
The third track on the Isotek CD is a shorter version of the first two, about
five minutes long. Isotek recommends using this track as a daily touch-up,
which is what I have been doing. It takes my system about twenty minutes
to warm up from cold so using five of them to run this track is really
convenient.
The bottom line on this is that it seems to work in that it makes the system
quieter overall. It is subtle, though, and I suspect that its efficacy will depend
a lot on the system in which it is used. In my system, running it seems to be
beneficial. If it also speeds the break-in of new components, that, in itself,
justifies trying it. I will report any further developments as they occur.
MEMOREX OptiFix Pro
I purchased this CD repairer/cleaner at Target for $20. I was just browsing
when I found it but after reading the information on its box, I decided to try
it. I buy a lot of CDs at garage sales. I pass on anything that does not look
pristine, but, in the dim recesses of many garages and basements, still get
stuck with the occasional CD scratched badly enough to have a problem. If
this device could repair the occasional blemished CD, or allow me to buy CDs
in less pristine condition, it would certainly be worth the investment.
In fact, I already had a couple of CDs to try it out on. My De-Lovely and
Space Jam soundtrack CDs each had a scratch bad enough to cause the Sony
SCD-C333ES to lose track of what it was doing. Could the OptiFix fix them?
The OptiFix looks like a portable CD player and comes with an AC adapter*,
two sets of pads—one for repair and one for cleaning, a tube of repair
compound, which resembles toothpaste in consistency, a bottle of cleaner
(isopropyl alcohol), and instructions. Click here and here for photos.
To do a repair, install the lime green repair pads and put two small dollops of
cleaning compound on one of them. Insert the CD and press Repair. The
OptiFix will run for two minutes. When it stops, exchange the yellow cleaning
pads for the green. Each yellow pad gets four drops of cleaner; pressing
Clean runs the OptiFix for 45 seconds. In theory, the CD is fixed and cleaned
when the unit stops.
Because the pads were new, I did two repair cycles on the De-Lovely disc and
one cleaning. (I assumed that much of the cleaning compound would end up
absorbed by the new pads.)
When I tried the repaired disc, it still skipped but with noticeably less distress
from the Sony. I did a third repair cycle and a second cleaning and tried
playing the disc again. This time it sailed through the entire CD with no noise
of any kind!
My Space Jam soundtrack received one repair and one cleaning cycle and still
skipped. I then did two additional repair cycles and a second cleaning. This
time the CD played just fine. The OptiFix seems to work although it took
more than one repair cycle to have any benefit.
As a CD cleaner it has one advantage over using a cloth with alcohol on it and
that is that it cleans tangentially to the CD’s pits. This is hard to do
manually. It seems to clean CDs just fine although it does not reach
completely to the outside edge of the CD.
I would recommend trying one of these devices to anyone who buys used
CDs or DVDs (or borrows them from the library). I feel like I can now gamble
on used CDs that look a little less well cared for than I would normally like and
potentially fix them if they have a problem.
The OptiFix literature states that the Repair pads should be replaced after 15-
20 uses and the Cleaning pads after 20-25. Target sells kits with new pads,
repair compound, and cleaning fluid for $8. At this price it costs roughly 40
cents to run a repair/cleaning cycle, ignoring the cost of the player. For the
right CD or DVD, that is reasonable. Even doing multiple cycles, if needed,
(and they probably will be based on my experience) is not a bad deal.
BLUE CIRCLE BC86 Mark II POWER LINE PILLOW
(A quick note: the BC86 Mark II has been replaced with the BC86 Mark III,
which Blue Circle claims is substantially better than the Mark II. It is priced at
$130.)
The Blue Circle BC86 Mark II is a parallel line conditioner designed to remove
noise from the AC line. Unlike most line conditioners which are inserted
between the wall socket and the audio/video equipment, the BC86 is plugged
into the same circuit as the equipment and reduces noise on the circuit itself.
Presumably, the BC86 provides a path for noise to follow that is more
attractive than continuing on to your equipment. There is a video on their
website that shows the BC86 doing a remarkable job of removing noise from
an AC line. www.bluecircle.com Click here for a photo.
I purchased this unit used; it was very reasonable. I have tried it in the
circuit powering the Perpetual Technology pair; the circuit feeding the front
end equipment—the Sony 333, Audio Experience +R preamp, and Dahlquist
crossover; and the circuit powering the Rogue 90 power amp. I could not
detect any difference in noise level in any of the circuits. I did listen very
carefully, including right at the speaker, but, no detectable change occurred.
Your results may vary, especially if the freezer is on the same circuit with your
amplifier.
This is a simple, but well made, very reasonably priced product. Unlike an in-
line line conditioner, you do not have to worry about overloading it or having
too few outlets. All you need is a spare outlet to plug it into on the circuit
you are using. At the price, it is well worth trying if AC line noise is an issue
for your system.
I actually bought this filter with the intention of using it in my living room
system where, when I get it reconfigured, all of the equipment will be
(unavoidably) on the same circuit. We shall see how that works out and I will
let you know what sort of results I get. Consider this a review in progress.
Kent Johnson
September 22, 2007
*There is a downside to this product and it was not apparent until after I
unpacked it. There is a label on the power cord that states that handling the
power cord exposes the user to lead. In our house, this is not necessarily a
big concern—no one is going to chew on it—but it might be if you have small
children around. While I can recommend the OptiFix for what it does, I feel
that I would be negligent if I did not mention the power cord issue. Even the
big kid’s toys are contaminated.
MEMOREX OptiFix pro DISC REPAIRER/CLEANER, AND THE
BLUE CIRCLE BC86 MARK II POWER LINE PILLOW
I have been playing with these three tweaks for the past few months and I
thought it was time to report on how they are working out, at least to this
point.
THE ISOTEK FULL SYSTEM ENHANCER & REJUVENATION DISC
(ISOTEK-IBD-CD1)
I purchased this CD when I visited Acoustic Sounds in late May. It was highly
recommended. The disc consists of a series of tones and other signals
scientifically designed to burn-in and demagnetize an entire audio system.
The disc and booklet make no claims for precisely how this will affect the
sound of the system but presumably it will be improved. It seems like all I
have done this summer is burn-in tubes and cables so I was looking forward
to hearing what resulted from using this disc. Click here for a photo.
There are three tracks on this CD. The first two, each about 30 minutes
long, are essentially the same. The first track is for systems with small
speakers—two-ways, mini-monitors, and stand-mounted speakers in
general. Track 2 is for speakers with deeper bass performance—floor
standers and systems with subwoofers. While either track should be
beneficial, I used Track 2 for my evaluation. I turned my system volume
down substantially while running this CD as I am a coward. Isotek claims no
harm will be done to an audio system by the signals being produced on the
CD, short of doing it at insane volume levels. Your system will make sounds
with this CD that you never, ever want to hear coming from it while it is
playing music. I put the CD on and left the listening room while it ran.
I first tried the Isotek Rejuvenator CD (for short) in early June and was left
with the impression that my system was slightly quieter overall and that
sound stage depth was slightly enhanced. It was a subtle improvement but I
felt pretty confident regarding what I heard.
With one thing and another over the summer, I did not come back to this
disc until recently. I ran Track 2 again, with a fully warmed-up system, and
got pretty much the same result as in June—a sense of the system sounding
slightly quieter and the sound stage being slightly deeper. I was listening at
the time to the De-Lovely soundtrack and used the first track on it, “De-
Lovely” sung by Robbie Williams as a before and after comparison. About
four minutes into this song, he and the orchestra stop dead for a couple of
beats before the music resumes. I have always heard this stop as silence.
After using the Isotek CD, I heard in this silence the soft tizzy tailing off of a
cymbal. It was really subtle but it was definitely there. I have never heard
this before in the numerous times I have listed to this CD. Is it due to the
Isotek or did I just notice it for the first time? I am willing to credit the Isotek
CD.
The third track on the Isotek CD is a shorter version of the first two, about
five minutes long. Isotek recommends using this track as a daily touch-up,
which is what I have been doing. It takes my system about twenty minutes
to warm up from cold so using five of them to run this track is really
convenient.
The bottom line on this is that it seems to work in that it makes the system
quieter overall. It is subtle, though, and I suspect that its efficacy will depend
a lot on the system in which it is used. In my system, running it seems to be
beneficial. If it also speeds the break-in of new components, that, in itself,
justifies trying it. I will report any further developments as they occur.
MEMOREX OptiFix Pro
I purchased this CD repairer/cleaner at Target for $20. I was just browsing
when I found it but after reading the information on its box, I decided to try
it. I buy a lot of CDs at garage sales. I pass on anything that does not look
pristine, but, in the dim recesses of many garages and basements, still get
stuck with the occasional CD scratched badly enough to have a problem. If
this device could repair the occasional blemished CD, or allow me to buy CDs
in less pristine condition, it would certainly be worth the investment.
In fact, I already had a couple of CDs to try it out on. My De-Lovely and
Space Jam soundtrack CDs each had a scratch bad enough to cause the Sony
SCD-C333ES to lose track of what it was doing. Could the OptiFix fix them?
The OptiFix looks like a portable CD player and comes with an AC adapter*,
two sets of pads—one for repair and one for cleaning, a tube of repair
compound, which resembles toothpaste in consistency, a bottle of cleaner
(isopropyl alcohol), and instructions. Click here and here for photos.
To do a repair, install the lime green repair pads and put two small dollops of
cleaning compound on one of them. Insert the CD and press Repair. The
OptiFix will run for two minutes. When it stops, exchange the yellow cleaning
pads for the green. Each yellow pad gets four drops of cleaner; pressing
Clean runs the OptiFix for 45 seconds. In theory, the CD is fixed and cleaned
when the unit stops.
Because the pads were new, I did two repair cycles on the De-Lovely disc and
one cleaning. (I assumed that much of the cleaning compound would end up
absorbed by the new pads.)
When I tried the repaired disc, it still skipped but with noticeably less distress
from the Sony. I did a third repair cycle and a second cleaning and tried
playing the disc again. This time it sailed through the entire CD with no noise
of any kind!
My Space Jam soundtrack received one repair and one cleaning cycle and still
skipped. I then did two additional repair cycles and a second cleaning. This
time the CD played just fine. The OptiFix seems to work although it took
more than one repair cycle to have any benefit.
As a CD cleaner it has one advantage over using a cloth with alcohol on it and
that is that it cleans tangentially to the CD’s pits. This is hard to do
manually. It seems to clean CDs just fine although it does not reach
completely to the outside edge of the CD.
I would recommend trying one of these devices to anyone who buys used
CDs or DVDs (or borrows them from the library). I feel like I can now gamble
on used CDs that look a little less well cared for than I would normally like and
potentially fix them if they have a problem.
The OptiFix literature states that the Repair pads should be replaced after 15-
20 uses and the Cleaning pads after 20-25. Target sells kits with new pads,
repair compound, and cleaning fluid for $8. At this price it costs roughly 40
cents to run a repair/cleaning cycle, ignoring the cost of the player. For the
right CD or DVD, that is reasonable. Even doing multiple cycles, if needed,
(and they probably will be based on my experience) is not a bad deal.
BLUE CIRCLE BC86 Mark II POWER LINE PILLOW
(A quick note: the BC86 Mark II has been replaced with the BC86 Mark III,
which Blue Circle claims is substantially better than the Mark II. It is priced at
$130.)
The Blue Circle BC86 Mark II is a parallel line conditioner designed to remove
noise from the AC line. Unlike most line conditioners which are inserted
between the wall socket and the audio/video equipment, the BC86 is plugged
into the same circuit as the equipment and reduces noise on the circuit itself.
Presumably, the BC86 provides a path for noise to follow that is more
attractive than continuing on to your equipment. There is a video on their
website that shows the BC86 doing a remarkable job of removing noise from
an AC line. www.bluecircle.com Click here for a photo.
I purchased this unit used; it was very reasonable. I have tried it in the
circuit powering the Perpetual Technology pair; the circuit feeding the front
end equipment—the Sony 333, Audio Experience +R preamp, and Dahlquist
crossover; and the circuit powering the Rogue 90 power amp. I could not
detect any difference in noise level in any of the circuits. I did listen very
carefully, including right at the speaker, but, no detectable change occurred.
Your results may vary, especially if the freezer is on the same circuit with your
amplifier.
This is a simple, but well made, very reasonably priced product. Unlike an in-
line line conditioner, you do not have to worry about overloading it or having
too few outlets. All you need is a spare outlet to plug it into on the circuit
you are using. At the price, it is well worth trying if AC line noise is an issue
for your system.
I actually bought this filter with the intention of using it in my living room
system where, when I get it reconfigured, all of the equipment will be
(unavoidably) on the same circuit. We shall see how that works out and I will
let you know what sort of results I get. Consider this a review in progress.
Kent Johnson
September 22, 2007
*There is a downside to this product and it was not apparent until after I
unpacked it. There is a label on the power cord that states that handling the
power cord exposes the user to lead. In our house, this is not necessarily a
big concern—no one is going to chew on it—but it might be if you have small
children around. While I can recommend the OptiFix for what it does, I feel
that I would be negligent if I did not mention the power cord issue. Even the
big kid’s toys are contaminated.