Nordost 3 Eco

Nordost 3 Eco - CD & cables treatment

Product: Nordost 3 Eco CD & cables treatment
Manufacturer: Nordost - USA

[Nordost 3 Eco]

And now for something completely different: the 3 Eco liquid from Nordost! Unlike all the other CD treatment fluids the 3 Eco has to be applied on the label side of the CD...if this doesn't sound strange enough, the same treatment can be applied to signal, speakers and power cables.
Ok, let's unveil the secret: this liquid isn't meant to improve the readability of the surface of the CD by applying a coating that reduces the number of laser reading errors, like other CD treatment fluids.
No, the 3 Eco is meant to reduce the electrostatic charges on the surface of the CD that, while rotating, can cause interferences to the delicate CD transport circuits.
The same applies to cables as well: electrostatic charges may accumulate on the surface of the cables sleeve, hence the 3 Eco by Nordost is meant to reduce or cancel these charges.
Nordost suggests to use the 3 Eco even on video discs such as LaserDisc or DVDs: it should help to improve the sharpness of the images. I've tested the fluid on Audio-only devices.

How to use the 3 Eco

Easy like Sunday morning :-)
Just wipe the entire label of a CD, creating a thin lather of 3 Eco. Do the same to all the cables into your system, wiping down the outer surface insulation of the cable along its entire lenght.
With the 3 Eco by Nordost even the most reluctant audiophile who trembles at the idea of "treating" the surface of his CDs were the data are stored, can relax: the thin lather goes only on the LABEL surface and it doesn't affect in ANY way the data on the other side.
As for cables, the fluid doesn't interact with connectors and RCAs, it goes on the sleeve only!

Listening to the 3 Eco fluid

The thing works, despite all odds: what can a fluid do to a CD if it is spread on the LABEL side? Clearly it minimizes the electrostatic charges on the surface that -evidently- may affect the performance of the CD transport.
More precisely the treatment improves the mid to high range, increasing the amount of inner detail and transparency. As a result, this helps the 3D soundstage which becomes better focused and detailed.
The amount of micro-informations extracted from the CD increases though I've noticed no benefit in the bass or mid-bass range of frequencies.
Of course I'm talking of tiny differences, audible if (and only if) you have a decent HiFi system, properly installed and optimized. Don't complain if you can't hear any difference with your 80s HiFi rack...
With cables I've noticed no clearly audible and identifiable positive effect.

Complaints

Just only one: the thin lather on some particular CD label surface isn't very pleasant to see and it makes the CD look like it was dirty...
Nothing else, the idea behind the product is a good one and the product itself is pretty honest.

Conclusions

Not exactly "just another CD treatment" on the market: the 3 Eco from Nordost is quite different by design. Its effect is clearly audible and it isn't too system-dependent, in the sense that it remains the same on a variety of CDs and CD players. A clever idea and a good product.

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