warning - millenium cd mat

[mike11]

If you've heard that ripping cds with a millenium cd mat improves the quality of the rip, be very very careful.I had read this and was advised by the distributor that using the mat on a standard dvd drive was perfectly fine.

I was using the mat and into my 140th rip, my beloved plextor makes the most horrendous sound ever heard from a dvd player - stopped the player - drawer is stuck - pick it up and I hear what could be my cd in a million pieces in the plextor. Im trying to open up the unit but it isnt going to be easy and even if I do, I dont know if the lens has been damaged by the cd breaking up into tiny bits.

So Ive lost a brand new plextor, a brand new cd mat which I am now quite glad to get rid of if not already blown to smithereens and ive lost a part 2 of a 3 cd set of a Christian Mcbride recording that I love and which is not going to be easy to find where I am.

After this happens, I google the mat and I find a reviewer who reported having problems using his mat in his dvd drive. too late.

 

[wgb113]

Are you sure that's not just the better dynamics you're hearing???

 

Seriously though, that sucks that this tweak ruined so much for you. Any recourse with the manufacturer?

 

Bill

 

[silverlight]

Sorry to hear about your experience. I too use the Millenium mat on every rip, but I ended up buying an external DVD/BluRay drive that has the center mount that keeps it in place and behaving nicely with the drive. It was clear with my prior drive and was clear it wasn't a safe endeavor...

 

[mike11]

yeah....pretty much.

Dont think I will have much of a recourse with the manufacturer although I am planning on letting them know about this. It appears to be a known problem the more I read on the net.

 

[mike11]

it would work fine with dvd drives where you can actually mount the cd on the spindle - like the drives that come with laptops - these I reckon would be more secure. But if its a drive with a tray, like the Plextor I had, it may pose a problem.

 

 

 

[mike11]

from the trauma of hearing a cd being demolished - not a pretty sound i must tell you and having finally opened up the Plextor - yes it was beyond repair - I could see the lens had been impacted, I just had to laugh when I saw the millenium cd mat intact - the damn thing is a survivor!!

 

The good news? Ive got a brand new Plextor 880u on its way to me and a new copy of the Christian McBride recording - Thank you Amazon.

 

And, Ive got a Millenium CD mat in fair condition, for sale

 

[wgb113]

Glad to hear you were able to find another copy of the recording. Amazon can be a savior for hard to find stuff.

 

Bill

 

[blownsi]

Could someone please explain the theory behind using a mat to rip? As long as I verify it with accurate rip, what's the difference?

 

[Part-Time Audiophile]

The theory is that the mat provides more damping for the disc, so that the read is going to be much less error prone. Similar things are promised with SHM and UD versions of CD.

 

AFAICT, the benefits, if any, are subtle. For rips, I suspect that if you're using something like sbooth's Max, you can get (most of?) the same benefit by using all the paranoid ripping options.

 

[Tipper]

CD drive rules are a bit like rules about what you should put in your ear……only your elbow

 

[roscoeiii]

Hi folks,

 

I've got a Millenium CD mat that I'd hoped to use while ripping my CD collection. Can anyone recommend an external drive that DOES work well with the Mat in their experience? Preferably a quiet drive. But I'd trade quality rips for quiet...

 

Will be ripping using a Mac Mini.

 

[1audio]

Years ago Monster cable offered "Soundrings" that were supposed to be stuck onto CD's to make them sound better. Monster wound up owning a lot of destroyed car decks. I would suggest only using gadgets like that in a top loading CD transport with no tray. And getting them from a company with deep pockets.