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REVIEW: Audience Auric Illuminator Accessory Review by Sean Heisler at Audio Asylum

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Made by Audience, the Auric Illuminator is said to improve the audible and visible playback quality of all optical discs. The AI comes in the form of a kit which consists of a black pen/marker to blacken the inside and outside edges of the optical disc, a couple small bottles of cream to apply to the disc and a package of lint-free polishing cloths.

After plopping in a familiar disc and listening to it for a while, forming a mental image of how the disc sounds, I applied the AI to the disc by marking the outer and inner edges of the disc with the marker and then applied the cream to both sides of the disc as instructed. Upon first listen my initial impression was the sense of greater transparency as if there was more information coming through. As a result the soundstage seemed to have grown in a "broader" sense. There also seemed to be just a slight lessening of background noise, this led to a slightly greater focus of images. From a tonal standpoint any improvements or changes were not audible to me with the exception of the treble seemingly becoming more natural, maybe smoother and lacking less of a "digital" character. After trying the AI on several discs I noticed the same results everytime - greater transparency (affecting soundstage size and detail) and a slightly smoother top end.

How noticeable is it? The degree of greater transparency and soundstage improvement is actually quite high given the cost and how it works, and is ultimately quite noticeable, especially in systems that are quite revealing. It's a nice little enhancement. I haven't tried it on a DVD yet but will and I do plan to post a review. Considering the improvement I noticed and the fact I can treat hundreds of discs with just one kit at $40 it seems well worth it to me. Thanks to John McDonald of Audience for letting me audition the AI, great product!

Sean Heisler


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Topic - REVIEW: Audience Auric Illuminator Accessory Review by Sean Heisler at Audio Asylum - Sean Heisler 14:20:59 11/20/99 ( 1)