Densen DeMagic CD revisited

Since nobody wants to buy this from me (I can perfectly understand why), and since the thing is no darn use to man or beast (IMMHO, of course), I propose to donate it to science. Remember how, in the old HFC days, we circulated cables? I propose circulating this disc to those who have never heard one and letting them hear whether it makes a difference. Anyone interested? If so, I'll make up a circulation list and get it started.

 

Tones

Ill go on the list (then i can back up your claims ) but dont put me first in line. The stringy feet you sent me seem to work and hence didnt get passed on :shame:
Let others have a pop and ill take a go if it is still in circuit

 

Hi Tones,

What a great idea! Has been done is the past with cables, etc, so this should be a very interesting survey.

Could you put my name down on the list please.

 

As an open-minded sceptic, I too would welcome the opportunity to give it a go before dismissing it as reptile effluence.

 

Great idea

Tones,

If you can see fit to do this, then I'd also like to be added to the list.

Chain-CD's, makes a change from chain letters

Andy.

 

Me too please!

Paul

 

I'll have a dibble Tones. I already use a S.I.D., so tweaky stuff well up my proverbial alley. Whack me on the list.

 

Tones just wondering about these DeMagic discs. As I understand it, the idea is that you run this thing on your CD and there is something special about the noise it makes which demagnetises something or other (but to be frank not sure what) which results in an improved sound (but improved how we don't really know). Is that right?

Sounds like snake oil to me but three thoughts:

1) If you ran it and it didn't work - it might mean it doesn't work OR it might mean it does work but your systems whatever it is didn't actually need demagentising

2) You are limited to before and after testing as if it does work you can't go back a remagnetise the system. This would make trying to work out the effects almost impossible to ascertain, I'd have thought.

3) As HiFi snake oil goes its pretty cheap. If you work on the assumption that all of these types of tweak are a waste of money at least the DeMagic is less of a waste on the basis that it didn't cost much in the first place

 

Hi, Uncle. Set against my views are the views of other contributors who find that it does work. With my technical background, I find the idea unbelieveable, but then Densen, a fairly respected maker of hi-fi equipment, has gone out on a limb with this, so it seems to believe in it. And you've probably seen the discussion on the subject of the CD Stoplight green pen, for which, as far as I can see, there is no theoretical basis whatsoever, yet serious, trustworthy people, such as Michael, our forum provider, find them to work.

I personally think psychoacoustics are at work here, but each to his or her own.

The three points you make are all good ones. The reason I bought the DeMagic was because it was relatively cheap, so no harm done. Moreover, with the circulation, more people get to hear it and make up their minds, so everyone wins all round. I won't repeat the Mana experience (see Review), which cost me a lot and which started me down the road to tweak scepticism. As I've said before, I have no problem with people finding these things good, just so long as they don't insist that the rest of the world has to hear them the same way!

 

Count me in, I'd like to give it a go.

Bob

 

Interesting idea.

However, since we are known as geeks, to some people, if you may allow me to propose to take the idea further.

Design a double blind test.

If one of you have a CD printer could make a blank copy of it. Then sent out both one label A and the other B together for everyone to test. However, one person who know which is the real thing keep his mouth shut. Everyone then put both CDs to test in their player and decide if one does amazing thing and the other don't as it should not if it is just a blank.

After about 50 or so people done the test we will put the result together and then that person could tell us if we all guess correctly. If the result is 25 guess right and 25 don't then we know Densen is a snake oil company. However if most people get it right then we should all go out and buy their shares.

 

Nice idea, but unfortunately it wont really work as the demag disc makes a god awful racket so you will know which one is which.

 

I see. Do you have any idea how to go around this? Anyone?
If not it would be difficult to convince the sceptics either way. Guess I would still be keen to join a 'none blind' test never the less.

Tones hope you are not put off to offer CD for the test just yet.

 

Not at all. So far the list reads (in order of circulation)

Henry T
My name is Ron
Andrew Weekes
Paul Ranson
Gambit
Uncle Ants
Bob McCluckie
Wolfgang
...
...
Penance (who has asked to be last)

My intention is to send it out at the weekend, so, Henry, please PM me with an address.

So, everyone on the list tries it out, reports his findings and passes it on.

Wolfgang, as Robbo says, a double blind test would be impossible, unless you had access to two identical CD players, one of which would be treated and the other not. And of course, if the magnetism of components idea is correct, there'd be no way of assuring that the two machines started off with a substantially identical level of magnetism. It is, unfortunately, inevitably, a "before" and "after" test, and I can think of no way of disguising the fact.

 

Just to really cheer up the sceptics (Basic form here only, The M/D read stebbos' posts this morning, and considers him a amateur, and only 'Minorly anal with the mearest whisper of sceptisum')
I 'green penned' the Demag best played loud, whilst leaving the room for 3 mins (hide the cats too). Wm

 

You are right I am an amateur audio tweakhead.

However I am a professional designer of DVD hardware with my name on the team that have 3 US patents to our name.


You are the one that cant figure out Primary school science

 

Hi Tones,

Add me to the list as well.

SCIDB

 

Not meaning to sound stupid, but couldn't you just turn your amp down when playing the disc? I assume it's the actual signal that de-magnetises, not the sound itself.

 

Yes, you are quite correct Stuart I know nothing at all
3 patents out standing sir, :kneel: I bow to your clearly superior mentality & ability, my measely pitiful exsistance has been brought crashing down all around me.
I'm but a mere shell of my former self, you cruel man you.
And then to rub salt in the wound too, with

"However I am a professional designer of DVD hardware with my name on the team that have 3 US patents to our name."
I see, tea-boys now included on patent doc's, fair enough.
Does your head get jammed in the door shuts when you return home at nite or is it so far buried up your elementry Cannel, that if you braked hard you would disappear?, proberbly not.
Stuart please don't confuse 'forum persona' with ability, you may just be a little surprised. BSC.ENG (Hons) class of 88
Sometimes a takes a little more 'openiness' and less ridgid, corperate mentality to appriecate whats is possible.
Lets take a senareo, board meets at Big electronics consumer giant, Sales director says' Right, new product needed for a market sector we've identified as lacking ) Ok I want you lot to design me a multiformat DAC, must do dvd/sacd/dvda, right bottom line is cost to make £500, must have seperate suppiles for digital/analogue stages, have an S to N of 124DB min, single ended and balanced outputs, I2S/ as well as the usual inputs.
No small order, so the bods trundle off, get the TI/CD/AD catolgues out check for recievers and filter/dac chips that fit the spec, a couple of frame trannys maybe a torriodal if your lucky, maybe a smart guy has done a half about analogue stage too,nice shiny box, lovely blue leds, 4-6 months and a working protype, yeah thats sound ok, sell sell sell.
Or maybe they sussed the design, but are having serious cross talk problems, that have unforcenly popped up, and are having to spend a lot of man hours to rectifiy it? so may a compromise is reached !!
Work practice restrictions & theroies governed by corperate finanical contraints, are/can be a real hindenece as well as a plus I feel.
They are a few poeple out there they don't suffer from this, and have the ability/time to go deeper in depth, so don't dismiss it, until, you seen and heard what they've done.
I put this bit straight (my fault for not spotting it), The ameatur part refers to your scepticisum, as in that compared to the 3 wise boys here, you are merely at the bottom of the ladder of being a sceptical, where as Tones and Paul R are a couple of rungs above you .
My postings style is some what different, and can lead to some what wide mis constroodisums Wm

 

The instructions are to play the disc at normal listening volume. Why this should make any difference is not at all clear to me, because the amplification of the signal happens outside the CD player, but I did it exactly by the book, so that nobody could say, "Aha, but you didn't do this..."