Chisto lotions & Nordost Kones
Chisto is an Ukranian brand with just two products: Disk Analoguer and Black Analoguer. Both are lotions and both are meant for cleaning CDs (SACD, DVD, Blu-Ray). AND both are meant to bring an improvement of some magnitude to the sound quality "without a billion dollar investment".
Having had an interest in audio hobby and business for years, Chisto decided to develop a lotion of his own, and did it "with the help of some tech guys from another side of the world". At first, he didn't personally believe the formula could work but others disagreed: for them, the lotions made CDs sound "like a vinyl".
Audio hobby is often unbelievably uncritical. If someone tried to sell ornitoligists 50 euro lotion (100 ml) that removes/polishes the dirt from the lenses in a new way, it might happen that they wouldn't buy. But so what. After such a story, of course I was interested in finding out if Chisto's magic formulas did work, - or not. Chisto urges non-believers to try, and I did, and I am not one of those who are against such products as a matter of principle.
Disk Analoguer & Black Analoguer is an interesting pair. Dirt is a fact of life. And "dirt" is what both lotions are designed eliminate from the CD's surface. Disk Analoguer is applied onto the CD's data side, the Black Analoguer onto the label side, and only that. Both have a different rationale: the Disk Analoguer removes dirt and MRA (Mould Release Agent), a silicon-like grease, left on the disc after the manufacturing process. Using the lotion results in "less reading errors, less stress on the DAC, less digital artifacts and irritating sound". The Black Analoguer is expected to "eliminate static induced signal phase distortion by dispersing the low-voltage hot spots while a disk is being played".
That dirt is not a good thing, everybody agrees. What will be achieved by removing the dirt is more controversial. And similarly with the static: that static can interfere with the the digital information, and "impair the signal", is something that is not universally accepted. Chisto infers from the fact that "disk drive electronics are very sensitive" to the concludion that "any small improvement here will benefit", and he's perfectly entitled to such a judgement. According to Chisto existing cleaning solutions on the market make a mistake by trying to condition polycarbonate data surface instead cleaning and polishing the surface carefully, leading to none or non-significant results.
Application is simple. The lotion is sprayed from the bottle on the CD, and wiped off with included Evolon® cloth until the surface is dry. Reapplication is recommended from time to time. I found the Disk Analoguer be very effective in its primary task: just as the manufacturer predicted, even brand new cd's left grey mark (dirt) on the cloth. Subjectively the two lotions worked surprisingly well together, meaning that I generally liked the sound after the treatment more than before it. The Black Analoguer in particular appeared to be an effective poison for digital bitches.
I even applied the Black Analoguer onto the surface of my power cords, and felt that it could have a positive influence (rational people understand that the lotion must not be sprayed anywhere close to the contacts or AC outlets). However, the effect was durable only a couple of ours.
Nordost ECO 3 is another interesting and frequently mentioned CD treatment lotion. I will try and review it at some later stage. Until then, the two Chisto's lotions will have a permanent place in my tool box. Highly recommended.
Chisto Disk Analoguer and Black Analoguer, 100 ml natural spray bottle plus Evolon® polishing cloth (washable and reusable). About 50 euro each.
PS. Chisto webpages report of the following tweak: Process CD with DIsk Analoguer --> Process CD with deionized water --> Demagnetize CD with tape heads demag --> Process CD with Black Analoguer.
Stands & spikes
Cerapucks have been my reference supporting feet thus far. They function well underneath my 50 kg Zu Definition MK II, 24 kg Sony SC 777 and my Tri 300B mono blocks. Especially the bigger Cerapucks have been convincing.
Nordost Sort Kones are an interesting option as the firm is known to be very ambitious in what it's doing. The Sort Kone is a directly coupled and mechanically tuned resonance control device, the purpose of which is not to isolate sensitive electronic devices from vibrations that enter the device from outside. Instead the Sort Kone aims at killing mechanical vibrations generated by the device itself (by the audio circuits and their power supplies). Those vibrations are said to "create timing errors that smear and distort the music". The Sort Kone kills internal vibrations by bypassing soft feet fitted to equipment and by providing "direct mechanical ground path for internal energy".
The Sort Kone has a three-part construction and employs four different materials depending on the model: AS – aluminum post and base combined with a hardened steel coupling ball; AC – aluminum post and base in combination with an upgraded Si3N4 ceramic ball; BC – bronze post and base elements combined with a ceramic coupling ball; TC – titanium post and base in combination with the ceramic coupling ball for ultimate performance. The Sort Kones can be used in triplets, quartets or even larger numbers, also under racks and other support systems.
I first "heard" Sort Kones in a Hi-Fi Shop in Oslo where they were placed almost everywhere possible. There were five of them under the CD player, and the difference before and after was impressive, although I haven't always liked the so called "Nordost-sound" which I've found too light. A jazz session in a 1950s jazz club should not sound like, say, Sting's concert. It should sound somewhat misty.
I wasn't entirely enthused about the expensive Titanium Sort Kones, because they appeared to add to the sound some metallic tones and colors. But the following model downwards, the Bronze Sort Kones were excellent: I felt that the sound was clearly bettered. The price/quality ratio of the Bronze is very good, whereas the Aluminium steel model can cause problems in the bass. But one can always combine the Sort Kones in order to obtain the best results. I placed the Bronze Kones under the Hydra 8 power supply of my BelCanto 3.5, and the difference was almost dramatic: better transients, better dynamics. Four Bronze Sort Kones cost 350 euro but add something essential to the sound. The only problem is that having Sort Kones somewhere one starts to miss them elsewhere, under every device, and then the cost will be ... Warmly recommended.