Comments
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Reviews/ Comments |
Vasant Kaiwar, Durham, North Carolina
"The Grungebuster 2007 CD mat is great. An absolute winner."
Richard Bryan, San Francisco
"Hiya! The GB2007 CD mat is FANTASTIC! A swell improvement over the previous mats for me. THANKS!"
Brian Smith, Detroit
"I've used the mats on my two systems. I gotta say that I was a complete skeptic--at first. But those mats change things for the better and it shocked me; not because how things improved, but because there's any change at all. The soundstage is slightly higher, wider, deeper; the reverb trails are more audible."
Norm Handwerger, Maryland
"I got the Grungebuster 2007 yesterday. It's awesome. Very subtle differences between the 07 and the 2.2, but the 07 sounds 'just right' to my ears. Same smoothness with a little more detail coming through. Great product!"
Dr. Vasant Kawar, Durham, North Carolina
"The CD mat [2007] works beautifully; I wasn't too happy with the original version but this one addresses all my concerns."
Tom Zdziech, Chicago
"I have received my CD mat today. I put it onto my hd dvd player along with mission impossible 3 and let me tell you holy shi-- I knew that mat will be good (I had one before) but 2007 version is just amazing. The hd picture improves considerably, it was easy to spot good influence of the cd mat. Sound got more powerful than before, more detail more punch and bass got great clarity and control WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!!!!!
"Thank you very much, cd mat 2007 is simply AMAZING NO DOUBT ABOUT IT"
Gilles Lacroix, Gatineau, Canada
"For me, the grungebuster2.2 is the best tweak for the money that I ever saw. There is more precision in the highs and in the bass. There is also less stress in the sound but more dynamic. Very-very impressive! This is the best mat that I ever tried, and just by putting your mat on the CD the difference was incredible!"
David Sheard, Leeds, U.K.
"Have recently had a Marigo Stealth Mat on loan, glad I returned it as your product works much better in my system and costs a lot less. Thanks."
Scott MaGuire, Reston, Virginia
"The 2.2's work very well, even on DualDiscs."
Paul Ewell, Reading, Pennsylvania
"My original grungebuster still works super after almost five years now, but I thought I'd try the 2.2 version and maybe just keep it as a spare. I didn't think it would be as good as the original because it's only little. But hey, it kicks butt on the original!"
Richard Myers, Tallmadge, Ohio
"Just wanted you to know that the new grungebuster 2.2 cd mat you sent me is the single best tweak I`ve experienced in my system. Kinda like going from digital to analogue!"
Terence Stephen, Malaysia
"I just received the grungebuster 2.2 cd mat from you yesterday. I rushed home and placed it on a few of my fav CDs and gave them a quick listen. Boy was i impressed! Never before in my life have I seen a product as simple as yours make such a big difference to the overall sound of my system. Initially, I thought I would have to strain to hear some little difference here or there, but the change was very obvious. Lower frequencies are more pronounced, less muddled and more rythmic. Highs and midrange are clean without harshness. CDs I couldn't stand listening to are suddenly more 'listenable'. To say I'm excited is putting it mildly -- I'm ecstatic! Kudos for an excellent product, Steve. You have reignited my passion for listening to good music -- something I thought was lost for good when I relinquished my old LP collection. I must also add that I truly appreciate your hands-on, personal touch customer service. Keep up the excellent work over there!"
Bobby Tam, Salem Oregon
"I want to let you know how well your CD grungebuster mat 2.2 worked in my system. A glare in the upper mids I believe was what I had and your mat did the trick of suppressing it."
John Garrett, Battle Ground, Washington
"I LOVE the new version of the Grungebuster 2! The clamshell case is a nice touch as well."
Matt Cecil, Chicago, IL
"Got the grungebuster2 today and it totally works very, very well. I entertained buying the $100 Marigo mat, but yours simply rocks for 1/15th the cost."
Jay Carlberg, Modesto, California
"Thanks so much for the complimentary GB2. It seems that everything has become very clearly focused, and the detail that was more of a strain to hear before, is now right there. I get the feeling that I'm no longer missing any detail, and the bass is much tighter."
Keith Lockwood, Michigan
"I just wanted to thank you for sending me your new Grungebuster2. I have only listened to it for a few minutes and the amp is still stone cold but I can tell already that I like the sound of this item. It is much simpler to use than the original, which I like a lot."
Dan Stanley, Indianapolis, Indiana
"The grungebuster2, when properly applied, works just fine with the CD caddys that I use with my NEC 602 CDROM. As to the grungebuster2 sound improvements: I have a system with pretty high resolution, so I thought this mini-mat might provide a small 'bit' of improvement. I was wrong, wrong, wrong!!! The improvement was very significant, and very easy to hear, even when my stereo system was just switched on and NOT warmed up. Everything is better! Bass definition & power, dynamics/microdynamics, soundstaging, resolution, transparancy, less digital grunge, the works! It literally transformed my digital playback to a new level. I can't think of anything for the price that can approach what this mat does."
Pat O'Malley, Collingswood, New Jersey
"Well, the thing works. I tried it on a really poor original recording of Coltrane - Coltrane Plays the Blues, which I was hoping they were going to remaster but to what effect? The original recording is so bad, sounds like the tape machine was going on/off speed at points and a lot of break up in the top end. Very grainy as they like to say.
"With the grungebuster2 the sound lost some of the 'grunge', I guess, and the vibratey beginning of the song eased up and became more focused. Now, this is with a clean CD in a decent CD player (NAD C541i). Next the horn came in nice and smooth with a better, blacker(?) background.
"Anyway, if any recording, as is, was going to be bettered then this Coltrane CD is the test for me, which the grungemaster2 passed easily. I even had my kids sit on the couch and test -- a sort of blind test, if you will -- and they all agreed that the grungebuster2 made the CD sound better.
"Cheers, Kudos, Slainte, etc, etc. A Happy Customer, (and for a cynic that aint easy)."
Larry Welsh, New York
"There is major improvement in bass control, imaging, leading-edge transients, clarity of complex passages, soundstage depth, timbre of instruments and voices.
"Further listening confirms my initial impressions. The depth of the sound stage is the most startling improvement. Soloists snap front and center when that info is recorded. My wife was amazed and listened with a big grin!"
Blake Palmer, Canada
"It works better than the original grungebuster."
Todd Southworth, Waterloo, Iowa
"Eureka! Your Grungebuster2 will work in car CD players. Well, at least mine and that's who's counts! Mine is a slot loading Eclipse and I could tell a more spacious sound with more detail going on in the background. I always felt auto CD players could probably need the most amount of help but none of your previous mats worked. Later tonight, I will test drive the car and try not to get in an accident, reveling in my newfound sound. I bought one for my brother and I remarked how most people think the '2' is an improvement over your original ones but at a serious price DECREASE? Unbelievable! Nice job too, by the way."
Christopher Grieves, Winmalee, Australia
"For a laugh really, I tried the Grungebuster 2. More transparent straight away. I heard a glissando string I didn't know was there. I jacked the Droplet CD player onto some wooden blocks with the tenderfeet. Bass power! Definition and yada yada. More rhythm and boogie. It's all good."
"I visited my friend with all the new things to play with in his system. We are shaking our heads over the Grungebuster. The Droplet CD player has a heavy magnetic puck in the top-loader that fits over the CD and STILL this little thing does what it does. Whatever, it is a useful thing, no doubt about it. Amazed with it."
Cyrus Wong, Hawaii
"The new CD mat lowered the noise floor and cleaned up the 'splatter.' It is so much easier to apply than the original grungebuster that I can now see using it every time I play a disc."
Andy Claps, Livonia, Michigan
"Your products have been a pleasant discovery for me. The Grungebuster2 mat, in particular, has been a revelation. It's by far the best-value tweak I've ever encountered.
"I've been using the Grungebuster2 on every recording since I got it, listening to it alone and comparing it with various other CD mats. I will say this: This thing is, by orders of magnitude, the best tweak I've ever encountered. It has utterly transformed every CD I've put it on. My friend, who has a very discerning ear, heard it on a Johnny Cash disc, and I had to winch his jaw off the ground. He wanted to buy it from me, but I gave him my spare as a belated birthday present. He hasn't stopped chattering about it since! I've heard tweaks that have made as big, or even bigger, differences than the GB2, but on average, they cost 100-1,000 times as much. It's easily the biggest value in audio. Please don't take advantage of what I'm about to say, but you could charge a lot more for this thing, and people would still line up to buy it. It's that incredible. Most tweaks either make things sound different, not necessarily better, or improve maybe one or two things. The GB2 is an across-the-board improvement, and a dramatic one at that. I consider it absolutely mandatory for peak CD playback. Congrats again on a breakthrough product."
Dave Paddock, Japan
"grungebuster2 is great. Makes my system more whole."
Mark Latkowski, Salt Lake City, Utah
"I just wanted to tell you how impressed I am with the grungebuster2 mat I received a week or so ago. It seems to be a significant improvement over the original. I am noticing improvements pretty much across the board. Female vocals are particulary striking. Thanks for all of your great products!"
Quint, Audio Asylum
Excerpt: "It's much smaller than the acclaimed original Grungebuster, but it's superior in practically every regard, especially in ease of use. I tried it on my longtime reference CD, Johnny Cash's 'American IV: The Man Comes Around.' From the first few bars of the title track, I could tell it was superior to the original grungebuster in almost every way. Vocals had more presence, dynamics popped like never before, I could hear deeper into the mix, and soundstage width seemed to get larger as well. This thing is the real deal."
PureAudio, Audio Asylum
Excerpt: "Tonight my wife put on Moody Blues 'Days of Future Passed.' There is a clarity, cleanness, and naturalness to the music that neither one of us has ever heard and we've listened to that recording many times since the late '60's. My wife, who is a music scholar, is noting instruments deep within the music that she had never noticed previously. I'm simply floored by the holographic layering, the cleanliness of the entire presentation and the thought that I'm really just hearing this recording for the first time."
Mike Labuda, Bethesda, Maryland
"This thing is killer. All the buzz it's been generating over on the Asylum is quite accurate. It's a noticeable sonic improvement for sure!"
Vade Forrester, San Antonio, Texas
"The CD mat makes a noticeable improvement, with more relaxed, liquid sound, and more natural instrumental timbre."
Thomas Zdziech, Chicago, Illinois
"I just can't believe how in the world smaller mat can be better than original?? Well it is. It is working great and it brings new dimension to music and movies. Thanks for making it super easy to use and for making audio world better."
Peter Camperos, Altadena, California
"I did not expect much help from going smaller in size in the Grungebuster 2. Boy was I wrong! Evidently this new design really clamps on better removing the vibration that is distorting the sound. Vocals are clearer, cymbals float in air, even bass is better. I am very pleased."
Chris Grieves, Winmalee, Australia
"Having taken the plunge on a few of Herbie's Audiolab pieces for our system, I am happy to say they all make a positive contribution to the sound. The Hal-O dampers on the linestage tubes and the Isocups and ebony balls under our Atma-Sphere MP-3 pre-amp are very effective. Tenderfeet installed as replacement feet under the Consonance Droplet 5.0 CD player also work well. Grungebuster2 CD mat? What a surprise! After the 'honeymoon period' where there is a simple fascination with change, I have to say that the cumulative effect passes the absolute test of whether the music is more enjoyable as well as revealing more of the source."
Stefano Amico, Italy
"Great! Simpler to use and much better sonically than the previous one."
Tim Deller, Berkeley, California
"I love the Grungebuster 2 CD mat. It gives a subtle but definite improvement in focus and depth. It is one of the best tweaks, especially for the affordable price."
Don Barber, Shepherd, Michigan
"The new CD mat is much easier to use and does seem to reveal even more detail than the original."
Doug Elmore, Colorado
"The CD Mat is really something especially when listening to music through headphones."
Ray Lui, Hong Kong
The gb2 CD mat, it works wonderfully on my CD player and I also notice it is slightly louder (w/o changing the volume setting) when the gb2 is used, and a slightly better soundstage and details. I also notice the effect on CD-R is even more appearently than original CD. I guess it depends on the mastering at the factory. Anyway, wonderful product."
Nick Smith, Ballarat, Australia
"Congratulations on your Grungebuster 2 mats. I've been most pleased with them."
Tim Patchett, California
"I had no idea the improvement would be so significant. EVERY note comes across full, rich and natural. Voices and notes (of the acoustical variety) all have those glorious imperfections that make them such a joy to hear. Don't get me wrong: voices and notes are not linear and they fluctuate, vary and sustain however the musician decides, and all of this comes across with this mat. I don't know how else to put it. Digititis is gone along with the glare, making each note sound so natural resulting in a wonderful flow of music. Nothing is homogenized, everything is distinct and easier to follow.
"I'm now rethinking my purchase of a new CDP: this is how much of an improvement this is. In fact, I wonder how many audiophiles keep upgrading, chasing the digital dragon to get that sound that is quite possibly in most well-made CDPs, needing only this mat to get them to audio heaven. Thanks for a great product!"
John Moschella
"When I ordered the TT mat I also ordered the CD mat as an afterthought. I just tried it last night and I was very impressed as it made distinct sonic improvements that were immediately evident. What a bargain. Kudos."
Brian Calbury, Vancouver, Canada
"Wow, what a difference! Way more background. Something so simple. Thanks."
Alan Graham, Arizona
"Thanks Steve -- the 'smaller version' works great on my Mimik!"
Todd Reitz, TR Audio
"I just wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying using the Grungebuster II CD mat. I notice a lot more of the low level details with the mat in use as well a more refined sound."
Marc Kellinger, Buckhurst Hill, United Kingdom
"Well I have now had time to experiment and I can report back. It is definitely better than the original - the sound has become more transparent and generally better. It is also much easier to use than the original."
Nick Wickenden, Edmonton, Canada
"My first impression is of greater solidity and substance to the sound, something that CDs can really use, as I need hardly say. Thank you very much, Steve!"
Mark Nolan, North Broomhill, United Kingdom
"The CD mat has really made a difference. I'm not using a super-expensive unit but the Grungebuster has really brought out a surprising amount of detail-- I like it a lot!"
Hans Hoeksema, Netherlands
"I am very happy with the grungebuster2 mat and the Halo-9 tube-dampers on my tubes. I can safely say my set up has gained a lot in clarity, sound-stage and above all musicality."
Tony Cano, Saipan, Marianas Islands
"Was able to listen with the mat only last night and all I can say is WOW. Got added bass, extra details and most impressive was vocals. The singers just got bigger in height, width and depth; got better tonal quality also adding more lusciousness to the sound -- very impressive indeed.
"Thanks for making my system sound new and better for a mere $12 investment. More power to HAL!"
Ian Craig, United Kingdom
"There's a touch more discernable detail within the overall sound."
Damian McIntosh, Chicago, Illinois
"The grungebuster is a remarkable improvement -- thank you! My system is getting closer to live."
G.G.
"I never play a DVD without your grunge mat. Another great product!"
John Zurek, Positive Feedback Online
"Once you get hooked on this little delight you will want to keep it."
John's grungebuster2.2 online review: Positive Feedback Online Issue 28