I'd be happy to join the group buy for Dynamat Extreme! I'd like enough for 2 cd players. I can send funds via PayPal.
I didn't see this thread until today but I spent a couple of hours yesterday dampening the transport of my ancient (4 year old!) Toshiba 2109 dvd player with Blue Tak... and was really very pleasantly surprised at how big a difference it made!
I initially focused on adding blue-tak to the top and bottom of the drawer where possible). Then, for kicks I decided to fill in the depressions on the top of a "canopy" on top of the CD mechanism and drawer. Good thing! I realized that the disc, once loaded, is no longer in contact with the drawer and is pushed up against a round hub connected to the "canopy" (sorry, I can't think of a better description). The canopy, once very flimsy and resonant, was quite "dead" after packing the top of it with blue-tak.
I also added small blobs of blue-tak on top of the clock crystal, every capacitor and every little encapsulated round thing (??) I could find. Note, I used little bits, I didn't totally blanket the inside player with blue-tak.
I also added a few strips of blue-tak to the top cover of the dvd player (so it would not ring so badly) and rearranged my 3 Tenderfeet so that 1 was in front under the transport, and 2 were in the back under the power supply and analog output, respectively.
What remains to be done, I think, is to fully dampen the case. I'd like to pay particular attention to the areas where adjoining pieces come in contact with each other, as well as the screw holes. I didn't want to use blue-tak in these areas since it would have made it really hard to open up the case again! Very thin rubber with adhesive on 1 side would be perfect for this application but I have no ideas at this point.
How does it sound? Keep in mind that I am "only" using the Toshiba as a transport...
The sound was immediately very much improved. Sound was much louder (I had to turn down the volume from my usual setting), dynamics were also improved. I heard much more detail, a deeper and wider soundstage. HF was more extended *and* refined. And, the mid-range (a big issue for me when I switched from my Cary to my Toshiba) filled out a bit. Yes, it was an across-the-board transformation. You did not have to listen hard at all for this improvement. I guess this is not surprising given how flimsy this player was inside.
I used a total of 2 packs of blue-tak. It cost me about $5. Time and money well spent if you ask me.
I have read online that one of the big advantages of an expensive cd player or transport is a more rigid chassis and greater attention to resonance. Well, while my Blue-Tak'ed Toshiba is still no match, as a transport, as my former Cary 303 (a very solid 35 lb cd player!), it has closed the gap by maybe half (if it is even possible to quantify these things). Also note that the Toshiba benefits from quite a bit of upstream power filtration/conditioning, which helps to reduce the advantage of the Cary's more sophisticated power supply.
Anyway, I would love to take this to the next step by adding Dynamat Extreme to the case of my Toshiba. The few strips of blue-tak on the top cover don't really do that much -- I would like the case to sound "dead" when I tap it. Plus, the player sounds a bit noisy when playing some dvds. Its odd -- its totally silent with cds and most dvds... but the dvd that I watched last night was so loud that I could hear it whirring from my listening position.
Thanks,
- Jay
