All of which leaves me wondering just how the CD Sound Improver passed me by, first time around? The benefits are far from subtle and far from unimportant. ADS might have stopped producing the CD Sound Improver in 2018, but significant improvements in optical disc replay through the intervening years have rendered it more, rather than less, effective. Playing ‘cut’ discs in either the CH D1.5, the Wadax Studio Player or, most of all, the Wadax Reference Transport, raises optical disc performance to an even higher level, making the music more present, more immediate, more convincing and more engaging, irrespective of the recording quality or genre. ‘Cut’ discs simply sound better. So much better that it seems like high time to revisit this approach. I’ve yet to try the CD Sound Improver on BluRay discs, but I see no reason why it wouldn’t be just as effective there – other than the relatively modest investment I’ve made in BluRay replay hardware.
Meanwhile, Audio Desk Systeme’s CD Sound Improver has been added to my list of essential tools when it comes to maximising system performance. Even the best systems depend on the quality of the software they’re playing. If you are offered the opportunity to improve the quality of that (optical disc) software, across the board, is it really something you want to (or can afford to) ignore? And whisper it quietly: the rumour is that with the current resurgence in interest Audio Desk Systeme might be persuaded to put the CD Sound Improver back into production…
