How To Improve Your Sound

I came across the Intelligent Chip in my quest to improve the quality of my recordings. This little piece of orange plastic magically upgrades the sound of CDs, DVDs, and SACDs by sticking a piece of plastic on top of the CD/DVD player while the disc is spinning inside. You only get to upgrade 10 discs if you buy the $16 piece of orange plastic, or 30 discs if you buy the $40 piece of orange plastic. If you want to make more of your discs sound better then you have to buy more intelligent chips.

Here’s the pitch from Machina Dynamica’s website:

Machina Dynamica now carries the amazing Intelligent Chip, an emerging technology device that improves CD sound quality in the blink of an eye. The Intelligent Chip is a thin, 1-inch square orange wafer that automatically upgrades any CD/DVD/SACD disc when the Chip is placed momentarily on the top surface of the player while the disc is playing. The sound of the upgraded disc more closely resembles the sound of a remastered version, with less congestion, more information, greater dynamic range and more air. The disc upgrade is virtually instantaneous – and is permanent. The Intelligent Chip is available in two models – the GSIC-10 ($16) upgrades 10 discs; the GSIC-30 ($40) upgrades 30 discs.

I wonder if I can put the Intelligent Chip on top of my Pro Tools rig? Surely, this would make my recordings sound less congested, with greater dynamic range and more air!

Enid Lumley, a former columnist at The Absolute Sound demonstrated similar magical properties at a hi-fi show. Except that she did not use the Intelligent Chip. She took a plastic tripod out of a pizza box. Enid placed the tripod atop a CD player and convinced her audience that the sound was better.

Remarkable that people can be so gullible. Perhaps imaginary differences are easier to sell.