Millenium Audio Vision CD-Mat

[naturephoto1]

I wanted to report on a CD-Mat that may prove of some value to at least some of the members. This being the Millenium Audio Vision M-CD Mat.



This is a Carbon Mat that according to the manufacturer is .3mm thick with a very low weight with Discdamper features that is suited to all drives and offers ease of use and great results.

The CD-mat absorbs stray light which can be either laser or environment induced. The unique damping characteristic of Carbon allow the CD mat to absorb additional CD and DVD motor drive resonances.

The mat can be used with CD, DVD, DVD-A, SACD, and though it does not indicate, I presume also Blu-ray disks.

The disk has a retail selling price of $119 which many here would find to be a very expensive tweak. But, for those with the available money and those with the proper equipment, I highly recommend this for improving your audio reproduction.

For myself, with my heavily upgraded (modified) Denon 5910 there was a decided improvement in the audio performance of CDs, DVD-A, and SACD disks. I have yet to try the mat with Blu-ray disks on my upgraded Denon 3800 BDCI Blu-ray player (though we did try the mat with CDs when I visited Dave Schulte of the Upgrade Company).

Reviews of the mat in a number of audio magazines has been highly positive. The reviewers have observed very noticeable improvement with an assortment of machines including a $21,000 player.

I do not recommend this to those with low end CD, DVD, or Blu-ray players, however, those with medium or high end players should take note.

Rich

[rded]

I've been contemplating about getting one for my Naim CD 5x but it might not work well with its magnetic cap/clamp.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by rded

I've been contemplating about getting one for my Naim CD 5x but it might not work well with its magnetic cap/clamp.

Hi Rhett,

I am not sure if it would be a problem either. It is quite light and a little less than a third of mm in thickness. It does not add much thickness to the CD. You may want to contact one of the suppliers to ask the question or to at least request a demo test to make sure that it will work with your player.

If it works for you, I will attest that at least on the CDs that I have tried the audio performance was definitely improved.

Rich

[bluRazor]

please forgive my ignorance , but how exactly would this be installed? *from your previous reply i assume it overlaps
would the benefits of this upgrade be musical, or would it also apply to ht?
& lastly, in a set up such as mine would the money be better spent elsewhere?
just curious.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by blu/razor

please forgive my ignorance , but how exactly would this be installed?
would the benefits of this upgrade be musical, or would it also apply to ht?
& lastly, in a set up such as mine would the money be better spent elsewhere?
just curious.

I am not sure of what you have for your player(s). The mat itself is just placed on top of a CD, DVD, DVD-A, SACD, and should also work for Blu-ray disks with the writing side up (opposite side of the laser). The disk is removed with the disk and put back in place when you change to the next disk.

As I mentioned, for someone with lower end equipment, I would not recommend this purchase because it may be too much money for the benefit.

If your system is of medium to higher end, I believe that there will be benefit. I would say that the CD mat will benefit both music and home theater as far as the audio performance. At this point, I can not say whether it will improve the video performance of the DVD or Blu-ray player. But, the disk will probably lower the motor-drive resonance of the player.

Rich

[rded]

Rich, I just checked MUSICDIRECT.COM and they have it. I'll ask my buddy that works there if they have one for me to try out. They did offer to loan me a cd mat(different brand) at one point but I never got around to it. We'll see....Ahh the audio tweaks, it never ends does it?

[bluRazor]

opps. didnt realise i deleted ps3 last time i edited my sig.
i know some of my components probably fall on the lower end of midgrade, but im not sure where my next upgrade should be & this caught my eye.

[rded]

Originally Posted by blu/razor

opps. didnt realise i deleted ps3 last time i edited my sig.
i know some of my components probably fall on the lower end of midgrade, but im not sure where my next upgrade should be & this caught my eye.

I don't think you'll be able to use it with the ps3 as it might get stuck. Its suppose to be for use on players with a traditional disc tray.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by rded

Rich, I just checked MUSICDIRECT.COM and they have it. I'll ask my buddy that works there if they have one for me to try out. They did offer to loan me a cd mat(different brand) at one point but I never got around to it. We'll see....Ahh the audio tweaks, it never ends does it?

Rhett,

If it works on your player, I think that you will be quite pleased. The mat tightened up on the sound, yielded more body to the presentation, I believe the background is blacker, the presentation is larger with more depth, better imaging and soundstage, bass is better controlled, and it sounds more analog. And no, there is no end to possible tweaks (some of which actually work; and this one does).

Rich

Rich

[kpkelley]

Probably won't work with slot-loading drives.

Rich, do you know if there is any reference material on these types of products? TIA.

[rded]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

Rhett,

If it works on your player, I think that you will be quite pleased. The mat tightened up on the sound, yielded more body to the presentation, I believe the background is blacker, the presentation is larger with more depth, better imaging and soundstage, bass is better controlled, and it sounds more analog. And no, there is no end to possible tweaks (some of which actually work; and this one does).

Rich

Rich

Good to know Rich! The CD5x already has an analog sound to begin with. I'll have to check it out sometime but not this weekend as I'm expecting a delivery

[bluRazor]

Originally Posted by rded

I don't think you'll be able to use it with the ps3 as it might get stuck. Its suppose to be for use on players with a traditional disc tray.

i tend to compulsively read the forums here after long hours of 3rd shift. in retrospect that was fairly obvious. thnx. off to tweak elsewhere. (eyes cords)

[rded]

Originally Posted by blu/razor

i tend to compulsively read the forums here after long hours of 3rd shift. in retrospect that was fairly obvious. thnx. off to tweak elsewhere. (eyes cords)

No problem! Its stuff that's "good to know"

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

Probably won't work with slot-loading drives.

Rich, do you know if there is any reference material on these types of products? TIA.

I am not sure of any reference material on these types of products. But, here are some links to the manufacturer and some reviews:

http://m-puck.de/intercdmattenseite.htm

http://www.dagogo.com/Millennium-CDMat.html

http://www.stereomojo.com/MILLENNIUM...DMatReview.htm

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/twe...15/158525.html

Rich

[Driver_King]

Hmm... Very interesting. If I didn't have other major tweaks to do (upgrade crossover networks, possibly change tweeters, decouple speakers from the ground, ect.), I think I would have to look into this. That may happen in the next year or two though.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by Driver_King

Hmm... Very interesting. If I didn't have other major tweaks to do (upgrade crossover networks, possibly change tweeters, decouple speakers from the ground, ect.), I think I would have to look into this. That may happen in the next year or two though.

No one ever said that this was an easy or inexpensive hobby.

Rich

[rded]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

No one ever said that this was an easy or inexpensive hobby.

Rich

So true especially for a select few of true audio affeccionados, this is more than just a hobby- its an obssession with a lot of passion.

BTW, I'll get one in a few weeks when music direct gets their supplies/orders in.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by rded

So true especially for a select few of true audio affeccionados, this is more than just a hobby- its an obssession with a lot of passion.

BTW, I'll get one in a few weeks when music direct gets their supplies/orders in.

Rhett,

Let us know your impression of the performance once you have had a chance to use it.

Rich

[Johnny Vinyl]

I've always been a little leary about those tweaks, although I considered it. I remember another company being around some time ago as well. I suppose if the mat had some weight to it then it would stand to reason that this may offer improved stability. Or is it just the fact that the material used offers enough damping to be effective (regardless of weight)?

John

[rded]

Originally Posted by John72953

I've always been a little leary about those tweaks, although I considered it.
John

Me too! But luckily MD has a 30 return policy.