Furutech PC-2 optical disc cleaner review

Buff up your CDs sound with this optical disc cleaner

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Furutech PC-2 optical disc cleaner
It's surprising we noticed an improvement with clean discs as well as dirty

TechRadar Verdict

Certainly does the business in terms of basic cleaning, but even apparently clean discs seem to sound just a little fresher and more natural

Pros

  • +

    Cleans well

  • +

    Improves sound

  • +

    Easy to use

Cons

  • -

    What's not to like?

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Furutech has been an increasingly familiar figure in the world of tweaks recently, thanks to a range that includes cables, mains connectors and more esoteric devices such as an LP flattening oven, a sort of Corby trouser press for vinyl.

The PC-2 looks pretty ordinary and there are lots of bottles of fluid allegedly ideal for cleaning CDs, DVDs and other flavours of optical disc.

This one, however, caught our attention because its makeup is unusual. Instead of using organic solvents (which do remove most contaminants, but are frequently bad for the environment, bad for the user and are alleged to induce or worsen static charge problems) this one uses a 'combination of enzymes and ions' – in other words it is a biological cleaner.

We recall the good results we've had with a couple of those on LPs. Furutech packages this water-based fluid in a handy puffer bottle and throws in an exceptionally soft micro-fibre cloth to use with it.

In terms of removing visible contamination it works as well as any, though when we tested disc error-rate we found it no more effective than a clean shirt-tail (!) – both restored error rates to the levels before (deliberate) contamination of the test disc.

And yet we were convinced that discs both pristine and well-used gained just a little extra precision and lifelike immediacy after PC-2 treatment. It's not a major effect, but like so many tweaks it's the sort of thing one feels reluctant to forego, having once heard it.

Application takes very little time and a bottle seems set to treat several dozen discs, making it inexpensive to use.

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Richard Black