Biogeometry teaches us that shapes and symbols can have special meaning
to us, and friendly ones can have beneficial effects on our
environments, and as I have discovered in my long and wondrous journey
as an audiophile, on our senses as well. For today's excercise, we'll
be drawing special shapes on objects to improve the sound we hear from
our audio systems. To this end, I'd like to introduce you to the
"L-Shape". So-called because it looks like an "L", with the corner
curved inward. Here's what I mean:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/amarth...s/my_photos%3E

This special shape chosen out of thousands of possible figures, has
proven to have remarkable properties, and is said to include the
ability to reduce EMI. We'll be using it on CD's today. I will suggest
two methods, one for advanced audiophiles, and one for those who's
listening skills do not reach the advanced stage, but who are
nonetheless interested in improving the sound of their hifi systems for
nothing. (I believe the latter will best apply to most and probably all
RAO regulars, judging by the results of the last free tweak I
published).

// THE ADVANCED METHOD //

This is the easier method, but I call it "advanced", because it
requires you have an aural memory longer than 3 seconds. And if you
consider yourself or others consider you a so-called "objectivist",
then it's a guarantee you won't. Ok, let's begin. Draw the shape on the
label side of your CD, preferably at around 3 o'clock on the label,
over top of the "Compact Disc" logo, if there is one. Draw it with a
good, fresh black marker, about a 1/4" thick ("fresh" because the
darker the better). Try to keep the edges and corners as straight as
possible, and the curve well defined, as in the picture.

n.b. You can use the example in one of the pictures exactly as shown if
you wish, but I prefer to draw the symbol this way, as I feel it is a
more "authentic" L-shape: The corner of the shape is geared towards the
right (so that it looks like a "T" with the top right line chopped
off). The vertical leg (going down) is slightly longer than the
horizontal top line (going across). About 15-20% longer. And the entire
shape is not drawn straight, but at an angle tilted a few degrees
toward the left.

// THE "RAO REGULAR" METHOD //

If the above method didn't work for you, it simply means your listening
skills are not up to snuff, and you should use this method. This
requires you have two exact or similar copies of the same CD. Yes, I
realize that two commercial pressings of the same CD are unlikely to
sound identical even with the same stamper no., and that making an
exact sounding copy of a CD on CD-R is impossible (at least I've never
been able to accomplish it...). However, this test is still valid,
because the L-shape done correctly, should produce a difference greater
than the inherent differences between the CDs.

Once you've made your CD copy or gotten a hold of two identical CDs,
listen to them carefully a few times, to be sure you know the
differences between them. Then draw the shape on one of them as
described above, then compare the two. (I do not suggest you compare
them blind at first, as blind tests have been proven to introduce
unnatural stresses that interfere with our neurological processes).

If you don't hear a difference:

Then it doesn't work for you, that's okay. Don't worry, it doesn't mean
your stereo sucks. It just means your listening acuity requires further
refinement. This can be achieved by simply doing such test comparisons
more often, until you get better at identifying differences in shorter
periods of time. I promise this will help you in the end, to enjoy a
superior level of music reproductionin the end. If you think you hear a
difference, but are not sure (people often deny differences if their
prejudicial mind tells them there can't be any), then try adding more
such L-shapes around the disc to the one you already drew. This can
compound the effect a bit, but is not necessarily better to the sound
than to simply draw one symbol. (Due to the "odd-even" rule).

If you do hear a difference:

Congratulations, you've learned something new about the strange and
magical world we live in. And if you're actually brave enough to post
here that you have heard a difference, knowing you may be subjected to
mockery and ridicule by grown men whose minds never graduated from the
fifth-grade, and who spend their lives on audio groups deriving great
pleasure from mocking, deriding and ridiculing others with beliefs they
don't share or understand, then heartier congratulations are in order.
Ridicule is nothing to be scared of. Plus, it shows you're not sheep.