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Freezing CD's MY RESULTS

Posted by Mark W. (A) on August 17, 2007 at 20:19:18

OK I got sucked into the thread below about the idea of freezing a CD somehow improves the sound of that CD. I took the opposing point of view that since we are talking a digital medium there was no way it could.

I was called on the carpet for expounding my point of view with no experience to back it up.

I fought this idea for a while but figured why not give it a try and see what happens.

SO here for your enjoyment is what I did what I did it with and what I found out after experiencing this "tweak"

MY system:

Pioneer SA-9100 amp TOTL in 1973 Completely restored and capped including an upgrade to the power supply. Said to be a "warm sounding SS amp"

Pioneer SG-50(M) Spectrum Analyzer and EQ. Used to adjust my system to have as close as a flat response as possible within the room I listen in.

Pioneer PD-M-552 CDP

Pioneer HPM-100 speakers properly tuned into the room (see SG-50(M) above)

DIY MINI 8 50 ohm Coax based interconnects and Speaker cables.

Monster Products HTS3500 MKII Power filter

The room is approx 13 X 23 with the speaker triangle 9.5' apart by 17' from the listening position grill to ear.


THE PLAN

SO here is the plan of procedure:

I picked two very different CD's one I know extremely well the other I only have listened to a few times but enjoy they are very different kinds of music. One is a very new CD the other dates from the late 80's.

The CD's Steve Miller "Fly Like an Eagle" & Diana Krall "When I Look in Your Eyes"

I made two copies of each using my Computer I made the copies on MAXELL CD-R MUSIC Gold 80min CD's

One copy of each is labeled Frozen the other RAW. Both copies were then wrapped in a new clean paper towel. This was then placed in a sealed ziplock baggie with the air sucked out.

The copies marked Frozen were then put into the top of my fridge for 18+ hours to slow cool to approx 38-40F degrees. Then they were placed in my stand alone freezer which sits at approx.-2F They were at that temp for approx. 17 hours.

The CD's labeled as RAW The control copies were placed on the same shelf near my stereo I keep all my CD's.

At the end of the freezing period I took the CD's out of the freezer placed them still in the baggies on the shelf with the RAW labeled CD's allowed them to warm up slowly to room temp for about 2 hours.

For the first test I selected a 6 disk mag for my PD-M552 my Pioneer PD-M552 changer. I then put the CD's in the magazine.

I then warmed up the system for a few minutes listening to FM.

Then I started to while sitting at the sweet spot switch back and forth from one copy to the other trying my damnest to hear something different between the two copies.

I then switched to my Koss 4AAA Pro headphones listening intently to the lead in to a nu8mber of songs. Repeatedly listening to the 10sec "SPACE INTRO" on Fly Like an Eagle.

I listened to complete Diana Krall songs before switching to the other copy as well as switching every couple seconds during songs.

I then took the Steve Miller CD's into my office system that has again a Pioneer SA-9100 amp (But in original unmodified condition) and uses a Samsung HD850 upsampling DVD player as it's Digital front end. listening on both Pioneer HPM-60 speakers and Koss head phones.


I then switched back and forth on a number of tracks not listened to earlier on the main system. Switching to the Krall CD I did the same.

During all this time at no time not once did I hear anything that even hinted at a difference between the two copies. They were as far as I can tell 100% identical.

ABSOLUTELY with no doubt in my mind that at no time did I hear an improvement with either choice of CD.

SO for me in my limited experience this Tweak is not something I will continue to pursue.



I am now waiting for the wife to come home so I can try her ears out.

I'll post her findings as a follow up. I have a feeling I know what she will say.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Atma-Sphere Music Systems, Inc.

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