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REVIEW: EZ Dupe Cool Copy Accessory

Model:	Cool Copy
Category:	Accessory
Suggested Retail Price:	$189.00
Description:	CD duplicator
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available

Review by Quint (A) on March 15, 2006 at 07:12:27 IP Address: 140.244.104.162

Add Your Review for the Cool Copy

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Based on some promising comments by inmates SK and RH, last week I ordered the EZ Dupe Cool Copy (CC) CD duplicator, with the intention of comparing it with George Louis’s widely acclaimed, and controversial, RealityCheck (RC) unit.

I received the CC yesterday morning and spent the entire day playing with it. I even took the day off to experiment with it. (Now if that’s not an audiophile, I don’t know what is!) I was planning to give it a week before reviewing the unit, but the results were so clearly obvious and definable after only an hour or so that I decided to post a review now.

Physical description

The CC is billed as a portable duplicator, and judging by its physical dimensions, that description seems apt. It measures 11.3" (W) x 8.9" (L) x 2.4" (H) and weighs 3.9 pounds. It contains two top-loading drives. From a build-quality point of view, the CC isn’t particularly impressive. The drives are fairly noisy, and the plastic construction of the unit leaves something to be desired. To use an automotive analogy, I would probably compare it to a Ford Aspire. It definitely aspires to better build quality. But, for $189, what can one expect? More on that later.

Use

The CC is extremely easy to use. It can be hooked up to a computer and also used as a CD player, but I was only interested in its duplicator functions, so I used it only in that capacity. Basically it comes down to this: Pop the read disc into the left drive, the write disc into the right, press the Start button, and you’re ready to rock. At 52x, a 60-minute CD takes about 6-7 minutes to copy, MUCH less than the RealityCheck, whose default burn speed is, I think, 4x.

Demo music

For the purposes of my experiment, I used three CDs: Randy Newman’s “The Randy Newman Songbook,” Dire Straits’ self-titled debut, and Badfinger’s sorely underappreciated final album, the Bob Ludwig–mastered “Say No More.”

The Showdown

For the past week, I’d really been looking forward to doing a shootout between the Cool Copy and the RealityCheck. As mentioned earlier, RH’s and SK’s favorable comments about the CC seriously piqued my interest. At $189, the CC wasn’t a financial stretch, so I decided to give it a shot.

CD-Rs were the ridiculously expensive George Bischoff gold discs. I like the ProDisc black CD-Rs better, but I didn’t want to waste them, as they’re my reference.

As a time-saving measure, I didn’t use any CD treatment. Before burning each disc on the RC, I demagnetized them on my Furutech RD-2. I did the same before burning on the CC. I then compared the discs, using three tracks from each disc for comparison’s sake.

The results immediately disproved the adage “You get what you pay for.” To my shock, the CC was easily superior to the RC in every measure I hold important. This was not a subtle improvement, nor one that took hours to discern. Instead, the improvements were apparent within the first few minutes of the first song. But being the thoroughly anal audiophile (is that redundant?) I am, I decided to give it some more time before making a final decision. The results were repeatable and definable on every song I played. For instance, on “I Got You,” from “Say No More,” there was much more space and air around Joey Molland’s voice on the CC copy. The guitar fingering in the first few bars was more clearly resolved, as were small details in the mix. The RC copy sounded dark and muffled by comparison. Overall, the CC copy simply sounded more vivid and alive, and natural. The highs were smoother, and the lows were faster and more powerful.

The CC copies also did a better job of conveying the emotion of the music. Perhaps this was a result of their superior resolution and better dynamics. I’m not sure. But on “Three Time Loser,” again from “Say No More,” the desperation in Tom Evans’s voice was absolutely chilling on the CC copy, whereas it sounded more distant and less involving on the RC version. On the RC, when he screams “Three time loser” over and over at the end of the song, I got goose bumps thinking of his suicide a mere two years after the album’s release.

On “Water of Love,” from “Dire Straits,” the faint percussion part at the very start of the song was much more clearly resolved on the CC copy. In addition, the drumming was more powerful, and the bass lines were easier to follow. Mark Knopfler’s vocals were also weightier, more open, and had more presence.

On “The Randy Newman Songbook,” the results were similar. Again, more detail, more openness, more dynamics on the CC copy. Overall, SK’s original review (now deleted) was SPOT-ON. I agree wholeheartedly with his assessment. The Cool Copy is, without a doubt IMHO, a better duplicator than the RealityCheck.

TWEAKS

As with the RealityCheck, there are several ways to improve the duplication process on the Cool Copy. First and foremost, isolation is key. One need not go overboard, but good footers/cones or a decent isolation platform is mandatory. A good power cord plugged into a nice line conditioner also helps a lot. Treating the CD and CD-R with a first-rate fluid takes things up a notch, too. RH pointed out that putting a strip of black electrical tape over the glass slots on the side of each drive helps keep light out of the drives. I THINK that’s the rationale, but whatever the reason, it works, providing a very slight improvement in overall resolution and smoothness. For the cost of a small roll of tape, it’s more than worth the investment.

As RH also pointed out, placing CD mats on top of the discs are to be avoided. In my experience, they work in the RealityCheck, but not in the Cool Copy. I tried the Herbie’s Grungebuster 2 on both the original CD and CD-R, and it sounded like I had gone back to the RealityCheck; the sound became muffled, dark, and slow. I also tried a Marigo mat on the read disc, and it spun in the drive rather noisily. I took it out without even comparing it.

CONCLUSION

For $189, the Cool Copy CD duplicator is the biggest bang-for-the-buck “tweak” I know of. If you thought the RealityCheck was good, you gotta check this thing out! It betters the RC in pretty much every parameter I can think of—particularly in terms of space and transparency—and is a third the cost. For me, it’s a no-brainer. SK and RH got it right, and we should thank them for turning the board on to such a great device. I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. I think Mr. Louis needs to go back to the drawing board.

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Product Weakness:	A little flimsy, but the price and sonics more than make up for that one small shortcoming
Product Strengths:	Elevates CDs to a level I thought unimaginable, even with the RealityCheck

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Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	JRDG Concerto
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	none
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Arcam DV-29
Speakers:	Von Schweikert VR-4 HSE
Cables/Interconnects:	Jena Labs
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Rock/pop
Room Size (LxWxH):	24 x 20 x 7
Room Comments/Treatments:	Echo Busters, ASC
Time Period/Length of Audition:	2 days
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Shunyata Hydra-8
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

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