De testing of DeMagic

OK, folks, it's on its way - I posted it to Henry this morning, so he should have it for the weekend. Please pass it on to the next person on the list and report what you found on this thread. Good listening!

P.S. Health warning; this thing makes one terrible racket for the three minutes that it's on (you're supposed to play it at normal listening volume) - I had to leave the room!

(Those who have already received it are crossed off)

Henry T.....................X
My name is Ron........X
Andrew Weekes.......X
Paul Ranson.............X
Gambit.....................X
Uncle Ants................X
Bob McCluckie...........X
Wolfgang..................X
SCIBD.......................X
Sauerkraut...............no test
Mr Sukebe................no test
Penance....................X
domfjbrown...............X
lordsummit.................X
matthew2456.............X
David Cotton
Nepherim
Mekon
Heavymental
Sauerkraut
Mr. Subeke
MO!
Ditton


RESULTS SO FAR:

+ = improvement
0 = no difference
- = detrimental


(a) Test victims

Henry T..................+
My name is Ron.....0
Andrew Weekes....+
Paul Ranson......... 0
Gambit..................0
Uncle Ants.............0
Bob McCluckie.......+
Wolfgang..............0
SCIBD...................0
Sauerkraut............no test
Mr Sukebe.............no test
Penance................+
domfjbrown............+
lordsummit.............0
Matthew 2456........0
David Cotton
Nepherim
Mekon
Heavymental
Sauerkraut
Mr. Subeke
MO!
Tenson


(b) Others

Tones......0
TonyL......+
Robbo.....-
Lawrie.....-
Saab.......-
User34.... +
Gaffer74...+
Anex.........+
Marcd51....+
Mike Lacey..+

SCORES SO FAR

tested:.... 23
+...............11
0................9
-................3


Due to equipment malfunctions chez Sauerkraut and Mr. Subeke, no effective testing was possible there. I've added their names to the end of the list and wish their equipment a speedy recovery.

 

The DeMagic arrived in this morning's post, thanks Tones.

Not had time to test yet, but in the meantime guys, here's some of the blurb from the CD packaging FYI (or maybe FYA where A = Amusement ):

Will give the CD a whirl this evening after work...

 

ill keep an open mind, but i have a feeling i may be in Tones camp on this one

 

Ah yes,

The Densen DeMagic Disc. I do have this disc at home and have used it several times. Unlike Tones, I did notice an effect on the sound of my system but as there is a test currently going on, I won't state whether that effect was positive or negative until after all the results have come in.

I am hoping that from these results, I would be able to understand why some of the effects I have experienced after using this disc have occurred. Suffice to say that my own results are, shall we say, 'interesting'. I will be keeping an eye on this thread.




Enjoy the music,

Lawrie.

 

Test done earlier on this evening...

Basically compared a single track before and after DeMagic treatment (as I currently have The Beatles "Let It Be - Naked" CD on loan to me the first track "Get Back" was used before settling down to an evening's music rather than hi-fi listening ).

Did I hear a difference between before and after? Erm, yes, definitely heard a change. Was it a big/significant difference? Hard to say without more of a concuses of opioion as I was the only person in the room at the time of comparison. Save to say that IMO, the differences were probably less than the differences I've heard between a lot of cables in my system (and I generally always hear differences between cables in my system). I'd still rate ye old green pen as a more worthwhile tweak/improvement, IMO. The DeMagic then, IMHO, is one for the anally rentative audiophile who's always seeking to squeeze out that last ounce of detail - nth degree stuff.

Oh, but what were the differences I heard? A touch more openness, a lifting of a veil, etc. Most noteable/noticeable was that the decay on instruments and notes seem to go on for longer (and also sounded more natural for it too) - mainly noticeable on my system with cymbols which shimmered more but also had more (rhythmic) "swing" on certain tracks. A similar thing was noticed across the entire spectrum, and thus bass lines seemed to flow and integrate better. A very word description for the in context subtle differences noted, but there you go.

Over to the next person... "My name is Ron", if you could PM me your details I'll forward the DeMagic to you on Monday.

 

Can we for definate discount the speakers in this?

If it does make a racket, mabye its shaking the cones up a bit, making them warmer. As such they might work more easily when the next track is played.

Just a thought, you do need to dicount these things for it to be even midly effective.

If its cleaning the pathways of the CDP why does it need the speakers at all?

 

Maybe it makes such a racket that anything will sound better after it

 

The CD is now in my possession (thanks Henry). Time is a bit tight at the moment for a proper test (Turkeys to entertain, kids to slaughter. Have I got that right?) but I'll try it as soon as possible and then send it on to the next person. Watch this space.

 

Ron,
dont forget to wrap the kids in bacon before cooking

 

It's a kinda deMagic

First things first: here's wishing a contended and peaceful New Year to all Zero Gainers.

Down to business. I've finally given the Densen deMagic CD a spin. Following a rigorous testing session, the conclusion was unavoidable. It made not a knat's fart of a difference that I could hear. Still, there were more musical ideas on that one little track than anything I've heard from, say, Dido.

I believe Andrew Weekes is next on the list. If you're reading this drop me a PM with your address.

 

Shouldn't you be keeping the results quiet so as not to influence anyone?

 

Sounds good. This is the one that Tone's circulating yeah? How about each sending him a PM with thoughts and he can post them all at once when it's done the rounds.

 

I'm not so concerned about influencing anybody's opinion of the deMagic, but absolutely mortified that I spelt gnat with a 'k'.

 

Ron, I've merged your thread with this one so it's all in the same place

Michael.

 

Thanks, Michael.

 

DeMagic safely received

Thanks to Ron and Tones, the Demagic disc arrived safe and sound tonight - I hope to try this tonight and will report back.

I'll then forward to the next person.

Thanks to all.

Andy.

 

Anal retentive techy alert

For anyone interested in 'what's on the disc', here's a high-res FFT analysis of the tones present.

The frequency components stay constant with the amplitude fading linearly over the course of the disc, as one would with a classic degauss cycle.

 

Re: Anal retentive techy alert

Now I can't think who already mentioned this before , cheers for the Plot Andy

 

So, does it do anything?

Finally had the opportunity on Thurs. evening to evaluate what effect, if any, this disc has.

I started the evening by playing a range of music for about an hour or so, to jog my aural memory about a few fave tracks.

The DeMagic then went in and did it's stuff for 3 minutes, during which I left the room, fearing those horrible tones would render my ears inoperable

I then sat down and listened to some more music.

This was a surprise, this disc had a far more marked effect than I would have expected, the sound was clearly more open, particularly noticeable during busier tracks, where things were just easier to follow. The noise floor seemed to have dropped a little, but the biggest difference was just a sense of clarity that wasn't, in hindsight, there before. As a result, it seemed to be more dynamic sounding too.

It's not a huge difference, but certainly a clearly audible one, in my experience, and it's both a musical and a HiFi change, although primarily the latter - I wonder how long it lasts?

I also wonder whether the marked effect I've experienced stems from the Naim kit I use, since there's loads of components in the signal path with a magnetic construction and it's well known that these components do bring measurable non-linearity when used in certain places. In fact the improvements were not unlike those I have brought about through replacing steel-leaded components with copper leaded replacements, things sound a little cleaner and purer every time I do this.

Anyway, next on the list is Paul Ranson, if you'd like to PM me with your address, I'll get this disc winging its way to you!

Andy.

 

Bump up only.