Isotek System Enhancer & Rejuvenation Disc

satfrat · « **on:** 14 Apr 2009, 09:00 pm »

For the lack of a better Circle, I'll ask this product question here as it "can" affect the audio system as a whole. The Isotek Audio Enhancer CD was brought up some time ago, I'm just wondering if anyone other than myself is continuing to run this program on a somewhat daily basis.

I have other system enhancing CD programs available but this is the only one that seems to give me immediate audio enhancing gratification after simply running the 5 minute tuneup. It continues to amaze me after all these months of continual use as I'm still receiving apparent audio clarity each and every time I run the program, either the whole 30 minute stretch(Program #2) or the daily 5 minute tuneup (Program #3). There are 3 programs alltogether, a 30 minute program for small standmount speaker, a 30 minute program for floorstanders and subwoofers, and a 5 minute tuneup to be used daily.

So is there anyone else that feels the same way I do or are there others that got nothing after trying the (read about it here) Isotek Audio Enhancer & Rejuvenation Disc? Just curious.

Cheers,
Robin

whubbard · « **Reply #1 on:** 14 Apr 2009, 09:50 pm »

Robin,
This is fine to post here. I know right now it's hard to figure out where to post certain things with the lack of the old 'Audio Central' and this topic seems fitting for Source to the Ear.

To all posting here:
Let's keep this on topic! If you have negative feelings towards the IsoTek, please have either heard it or have some proof of why you don't think it works. I would really like to try and avoid the 'Snake Oil' debate and the slander that comes with it. Other than that, lets have a nice friendly discussion about the IsoTek.

-West

rodge827 · « **Reply #2 on:** 15 Apr 2009, 02:36 am »

Gents,

In the last year this disc has seen a lot of play in my system. Due to a complete system overhaul from the ground up. From wires to electronics to speakers, this disc can do it all, and in half the time it would normally take with just music.

I still play it through a couple of times a week depending on the amount of listening that I do.

In short the thing just plain works, at about $30.00 you can't go wrong.

Chris

rydenfan · « **Reply #3 on:** 15 Apr 2009, 03:17 pm »

The ISOTEK disc is very good as a quick tune-up. I find the Purist Audio disc to do far more for my system than the ISOTEK though. I run the Purist about once a month to once every 6 weeks, and considerably more than that if I am breaking something in.

rajacat · « **Reply #4 on:** 15 Apr 2009, 03:32 pm »

Quote from: rydenfan on 15 Apr 2009, 03:17 pm

The ISOTEK disc is very good as a quick tune-up. I find the Purist Audio disc to do far more for my system than the ISOTEK though. I run the Purist about once a month to once every 6 weeks, and considerably more than that if I am breaking something in.

IMO $30 for the ISOTEK is reasonable but $100 for the Purist Audio disc is really over the top and an invitation to copy. There are some audio companies that try to milk audiophiles for every penny possible.

-Roy

satfrat · « **Reply #5 on:** 15 Apr 2009, 05:03 pm »

I get the most benefit from running the Isotek 5 minute tuneup daily myself. Every now and again when I'm leaving the house I'll run the 30 minute #2 program for large loudspeakers & subwoofer on a repeat playback but I alway try and run the 5 minute program daily. For the immediate clarity gains I feel I'm receiving, especially the highs, it's worth 5 minutes for me.

But I'm sure there's someone who has tried this CD and found it useless. Just because I feel it's benefitial to my ears doesn't make it gospel for everyone. aa

Cheers,
Robin

rydenfan · « **Reply #6 on:** 15 Apr 2009, 06:25 pm »

Quote from: rajacat on 15 Apr 2009, 03:32 pm

Quote from: rydenfan on 15 Apr 2009, 03:17 pm
The ISOTEK disc is very good as a quick tune-up. I find the Purist Audio disc to do far more for my system than the ISOTEK though. I run the Purist about once a month to once every 6 weeks, and considerably more than that if I am breaking something in.

IMO $30 for the ISOTEK is reasonable but $100 for the Purist Audio disc is really over the top and an invitation to copy. There are some audio companies that try to milk audiophiles for every penny possible.

-Roy

Well until you own the disc, run it, and hear what it can do for your system I'm sure it is easy to make a blanket statement like that. I believe is exactly the type of post the Circle Facilitator asked not to be posted

rajacat · « **Reply #7 on:** 15 Apr 2009, 06:40 pm »

Quote from: rydenfan on 15 Apr 2009, 06:25 pm

Quote from: rajacat on 15 Apr 2009, 03:32 pm
Quote from: rydenfan on 15 Apr 2009, 03:17 pm
The ISOTEK disc is very good as a quick tune-up. I find the Purist Audio disc to do far more for my system than the ISOTEK though. I run the Purist about once a month to once every 6 weeks, and considerably more than that if I am breaking something in.

IMO $30 for the ISOTEK is reasonable but $100 for the Purist Audio disc is really over the top and an invitation to copy. There are some audio companies that try to milk audiophiles for every penny possible.

-Roy

-Roy

Well until you own the disc, run it, and hear what it can do for your system I'm sure it is easy to make a blanket statement like that. I believe is exactly the type of post the Circle Facilitator asked not to be posted

So I should spend the $100 before I can express skepticism? I'm not saying anything that's political, religious or lewd, in fact, posts like mine are commonplace on all audio forums.

-Roy

p.s.... I'm not saying that it doesn't work but that the price is too high. Is it really $70 better than ISOTEK?

whubbard · « **Reply #8 on:** 15 Apr 2009, 08:51 pm »

Roy,
You know where this is going...

No general skepticism!

If you've heard it, and it didn't work, thats fine, let us know!

I'm a pretty skeptical on a lot of things in the audio world, and as much as I would like to run around saying: it costs $$$$ and its silly, etc, etc etc, it always spirals into the same useless argument. If you can provide backing (your ears, others ears, sceintific data, similar products, etc...) then I'm fine with it. I just don't want any personal skepticism with no true backing other than gut feeling. I should add that I have no problem with someone asking to understand how a product works. Questions are always (well generally...) okay.

Now, to be fair, I'm not sure your comment really crossed this line, it's borderline and phrased badly, but from now on lets just try and keep it a bit more 'factual'. Especially with that last sentence, you know you implying that the Purist Audio is more 'junk' than the IsoTek or does the same thing, and therefore not worth the extra $70. I understand what you saying, but since there is no backing, I would prefer to avoid statements like those. I hope you understand what I'm trying to say, nothing personal, but I just don't want to have to deal with this debate.

-West

Edit: I went ahead and put this into my circle welcome post, so it should be more clear now.

rydenfan · « **Reply #9 on:** 15 Apr 2009, 11:17 pm »

Quote from: rajacat on 15 Apr 2009, 06:40 pm

Quote from: rydenfan on 15 Apr 2009, 06:25 pm
Quote from: rajacat on 15 Apr 2009, 03:32 pm
Quote from: rydenfan on 15 Apr 2009, 03:17 pm
The ISOTEK disc is very good as a quick tune-up. I find the Purist Audio disc to do far more for my system than the ISOTEK though. I run the Purist about once a month to once every 6 weeks, and considerably more than that if I am breaking something in.

IMO $30 for the ISOTEK is reasonable but $100 for the Purist Audio disc is really over the top and an invitation to copy. There are some audio companies that try to milk audiophiles for every penny possible.

-Roy

-Roy

Well until you own the disc, run it, and hear what it can do for your system I'm sure it is easy to make a blanket statement like that. I believe is exactly the type of post the Circle Facilitator asked not to be posted

So I should spend the $100 before I can express skepticism? I'm not saying anything that's political, religious or lewd, in fact, posts like mine are commonplace on all audio forums.

-Roy

p.s.... I'm not saying that it doesn't work but that the price is too high. Is it really $70 better than ISOTEK?

Calling the disc a rip-off to milk audiophiles doesnt just seem like just expressing skepticism to me, but I guess you views things differently.

Like anything in this hobby there is a law of diminishing returns. But I own both and can tell you that the Purist Audio disc is superior to the ISOTEK for me. I feel it is worth the extra money and would certainly purchase it again and have no remorse. If I had a friend looking to spend money on the ISOTEK then I would suggest he spend the extra money on the Purist.

It should be noted, they are not exactly the same thing though. The ISOTEK is generally used by me for the 5 minute warm-up track where as the Purist is a full 80 minute track. For best results the Purist should be run 4 times for a total of 6 hours. As a system rejuvenation the ISOTEK can work well; for assisting in break-in of gear the purist is invaluable.

Quiet Earth · « **Reply #10 on:** 16 Apr 2009, 04:35 am »

Tracks 1 and 2 of the Isotek CD are designed for full system burn in and demagnetisation. I like to run the entire CD on repeat when I want to burn in something new. I don't know why it won't burn in stuff at your house. It seems to work pretty good over here.

I agree with Roy about the "pricing insanity" of some of the audiophile accessories marketed these days. If a CD cost 100 dollars, then people are more likely to share the cost of one and make copies. (I'm not saying that it's cool to do that, I'm just agreeing with the reality of the situation.) 30 bucks seems fair for a test disc.

rydenfan · « **Reply #11 on:** 16 Apr 2009, 12:50 pm »

My point was that I dont use the ISOTEK for full system burn-in as the Purist is far superior for that. So I use the 5 minute warm-up track.

BTW, ISOTEK does not recommend playing the entire disc on repeat. They recommend playing the appropriate track on repeat.

mca · « **Reply #12 on:** 16 Apr 2009, 04:14 pm »

Robin,

At what volume do you find the Isotek disc works the best?

Rob S. · « **Reply #13 on:** 16 Apr 2009, 04:43 pm »

I considered buying the Isotek disc, but I already have the XLO Test & Burn In Disc. Do they both do the same type of thing?

Anybody have experience with both?

Rob S.

satfrat · « **Reply #14 on:** 16 Apr 2009, 04:47 pm »

Quote from: mca on 16 Apr 2009, 04:14 pm

Robin,

At what volume do you find the Isotek disc works the best?

Loud,,, never really measured the volume but it's usually at the loudest volume that I would normally listen to music at. That's why I don't like to run the 30 minute cycle (especially if continuously) with either myself or my Australian Shepard in the house. Being that my system is a 6.1 system, I run "party" mode on my processor which is the same signal through all 6 loudspeakers. If I had to guess at a DB, I would say it's around ~~85-90db~~(80db actually). If I'm just running the 5 minute cycle though, we'll just suffer through it.

For the actual components though, I really don't think the volume makes much of a difference. I only crank it up for the speaker's benefit.

Cheers,
Robin

satfrat · « **Reply #15 on:** 16 Apr 2009, 04:58 pm »

Quote from: Rob S. on 16 Apr 2009, 04:43 pm

I considered buying the Isotek disc, but I already have the XLO Test & Burn In Disc. Do they both do the same type of thing?

Anybody have experience with both?

Rob S.

The XLO Test & Burn In Disc is one of the one's I have and really never noticed any change with.

Even though I've never tried the Purist Audio disc (as I too won't spend $100 for a tuneup CD), the Isotek disc offers to my ears an immediate audible improvement each time I run it and it's only a 5 minute tuneup if done daily after initially running the 30 minute program (either #1 or #2).

Cheers,
Robin

satfrat · « **Reply #16 on:** 16 Apr 2009, 05:26 pm »

Just started the 30 minute program and I found the volume to be only 80db which is plenty loud enough for my ears, even though I'm not sticking around any longer than it takes to chicken peck this post.

Cheers,
Robin

jtwrace · « **Reply #17 on:** 16 Apr 2009, 05:42 pm »

I've been using the Isotek for a long time now. I just have the volume just audible. I really don't think you need to have it at 80dB. It even says so...

be kind to your speakers

satfrat · « **Reply #18 on:** 16 Apr 2009, 06:40 pm »

Quote from: jtwrace on 16 Apr 2009, 05:42 pm

I've been using the Isotek for a long time now. I just have the volume just audible. I really don't think you need to have it at 80dB. It even says so...

be kind to your speakers

I fully agree with you that 80db is really loud for the ears, that's why I step outside with my pup. I just like to run the program at the volume that I would normally listen to music at, even if all them pops & shrills are irritating to the ear. I would imagine Isotek recommends a low volume for that sole purpose, to protect the consumer. I know I wouldn't sit in the same room while this program was blasting away at 80db. But either going to another part of the house or running to the store for awhile makes this perfectly accptable for me to do. Hope this better explains things cuz I'm in no way recommending that you sit and listen to this program at high volumes!

Personally I wouldn't sit and listen to this program at any level,,,, just not my cup of genre tea.

Cheers,
Robin

Quiet Earth · « **Reply #19 on:** 16 Apr 2009, 09:28 pm »

Quote from: rydenfan on 16 Apr 2009, 12:50 pm

ISOTEK does not recommend playing the entire disc on repeat. They recommend playing the appropriate track on repeat.

Yes, I have done that too. As you know, there is very little difference between track one and track two. Together they make up almost the entire CD. My system is "nearly" full range, so I like to alternate between the two tracks when the speakers are involved. Hence, the "repeat all" selection.

Also, I don't like to run the cd player on repeat for more than 8 hours or play only one track on repeat for that long either. Don't ask me why, I just don't like to do that.

In my opinion

"burning in" your components really only means using them as you normally would and being patient. I think the Isotek merely helps things along at a quicker pace. I like having the Isotek, but I don't think it's necessary to own one if you use your system a lot and you are patient.