Don't want to get burned.

I am considering getting a lite on cd burner, recommended on cnet for about $20. What is the difference in quality of sound, between a burner and a cd recorder. How much quality is lost from the original cd when I burn. tanks

Its all digital. Bits are bits. If the bits are written correctly there is no quality loss. Digital lets you make perfect copies. If there is a writing error, you typically get an unplayable disk. Cheap disks and cheap burners are more likely to give writing errors. There is no 'quality of sound' issue to be concerned about. Burn away!

noddinOff quote:-

"Its all digital. Bits are bits"

If that were the case, then all cd players would sound the same, but it obviously doesn't work like that. Cheap cd burners have inherantly cheap components. These components are responsible for decoding the information from the master cd and then transferring it to the blank disc. This is a complicated process, which can result in a loss of important information through lesser quality circuitry. I'd recommend the Marantz DR6000 as the machine for copying cd's, excellent build and not half bad as a cd player either!

As for cd's, they also range in quality with cheaper discs prone to problems such as warping, easier scratched and corrupt surface layers.

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Originally Posted by MGFalc

If that were the case, then all cd players would sound the same, but it obviously doesn't work like that.

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You're confusing the digital information (bits) with the Digital to Analog conversion (DAC). CD players sound different because of the quality of the DAC and other downstream components. Bits are indeed bits. And bits don't 'sound' they encode. That's the way it works.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MGFalc

These components are responsible for decoding the information from the master cd and then transferring it to the blank disc. This is a complicated process, which can result in a loss of important information through lesser quality circuitry. I'd recommend the Marantz DR6000 as the machine for copying cd's, excellent build and not half bad as a cd player either!

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Again, some confusion. If you are making a ‘copy’, there is no decoding. It is a bit for bit transfer. You are right that information can be lost by poor quality circuitry, however this is very rare. Either way, sound quality is not likely to be effected as most DAC's can fully compensate for the very rare minor errors. Major errors will result in an unplayable disk.

The copying technology is very reliable. Music CD data is very forgiving due to the error correction mechanisms in the hardware and the actual encoding used on CD’s. Copying actual data files from your computer is much less forgiving of errors--an incorrect bit creates a corrupt file. A burner that copies data reliably will make perfect copies of CD's very reliably. Bits are bits.

Thank you both for your input . A computer insane person gave me a Phillips CDD 3610, and I'll give it a shot.