PUBLISHER'S LETTER
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Leo Simpson, B.Bus.
Editor
Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.)
Technical Staff
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.)
Robert Flynn
Darren Yates
Reader Services
Ann Jenkinson
Advertising Manager
Paul Buchtmann (02) 979 5644
Mobile: (018) 28 5532
Victorian Representative
McDonald Woodside & Associates
Pty Ltd, 143a Como Parade East,
Parkdale, Victoria 3194. Phone (03)
587 5155. Contact: Cameron
McDonald.
The CD/Green Pen Story:
getting to the truth of the matter
This month, we lift the lid on a story which has been brewing for some
months now and which we had tended to ignore: using green pens to
improve the sound of compact discs. At first it sounded too stupid for
words and a procedure which any informed CD listener would merely
laugh off. But then we heard a little of the theory behind why the green
pens are claimed to work and it began to seem as though the story may
have some basis in fact.
Some audio writers have claimed that they can hear the difference
brought about by the pens while others have preferred to sit on the fence.
Well, the trouble with letting a concept like this go without any informed comment is that it starts to build up momentum. If enough people
- audio dealers, writers and keen enthusiasts - claim to notice a difference,
the concept becomes vested with authenticity, despite never being put to
objective tests. Besides which, the more we thought about it, the more
intrigued we became with the methodology you would need to prove
whether or not the concept really did work. And coming up with a
method is no easy matter. You can't do double-blind tests (for reasons
which are explained in the article); instead, you must use a CD analyser.
So that's what we did in preparation for this month's main story. We
went to the only organisation in Australia which has CD analysers - the
Disctronics plant in Melbourne. They kindly made their equipment available to use for a day plus one of their Quality Assurance staff to actually
do all the tests.
And what was the result? Do the pens have any effect on compact
discs? Well, I'm not going give away the story - you'll have to read the full
article inside the magazine. I'm sure you will find it intriguing.
See you next month.
Leo Simpson
Regular Contributors
Brendan Akhurst
Jennifer Bonnitcha, B.A.
Garry Cratt, VK2YBX
John Hill
Jim Lawler, MTETIA
Bryan Maher, M.E., B.Sc.
Jim Yalden, VK2YGY
Bob Young
Photography
Glen Cameron
Editorial Advisory Panel
Philip Watson, MIREE, VK2ZPW
·, Norman Marks
Steve Payor, B.Sc., B.E.
SILICON CHIP is published 12 times
a year by Silicon Chip Publications
Pty Ltd. All material copyright©. No
part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent of the publisher.
Printing: Magazine Printers Pty
Ltd, Rozelle, NSW 2039; Macquarie
Print, Dubbo, NSW 2830.
Distribution: Network Distribution
Company.
Subscription rates: $42 per year
in Australia. For overseas rates,
refer to the subscription page in
this issue.
Liability: Devices or circuits described in SILICON CHIP may be
covered by patents. SILICON CHIP
disclaims any liability for the infringement of such patents by the
manufacturing or selling of any such
equipment.
Editorial & advertising offices:
Unit 39, 5 Ponderosa Pde, Warriewood, NSW 2102. Postal address: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach,
NSW 2097. Phone (02) 979 5644.
Fax (02) 979 6503.
ISSN 1030-2662
DECEMBER 1990
3
|